Rajagopala Kulashekharan Shekhar (7 November 1933 – 9 September 1976) was an Indian music composer who worked primarily for Malayalam cinema. Shekhar served as a music conductor for over 100 films and composed scores for 52 films. He pioneered the early integration of Western classical music orchestration techniques into South Indian film music. He is the father of A. R. Rahman and A. R. Reihana.
His grandchildren A. R. Ameen, Khatija Rahman, G. V. Prakash Kumar, and Bhavani Sre are involved in the music and film industries.
His debut song as a music director was "Chotta Muthal Chudala Vare" ("from cradle to grave"), which was a big hit in Kerala. This was composed for the film Pazhassi Raja (1964).
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Early life
He was born in Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu to K. Rajagopalan, also known as Rajagopalan Bhagavathar, a Harikatha exponent. His entry into film music was opened through his extraordinary performances on harmonium for theatre plays. He started his career in the film industry as an assistant to music director M. B. Sreenivasan.