Academy Award winner A. R. Rahman is one of the most celebrated composers and has spearheaded several notable films with his music in India as well as in Hollywood. The acclaimed music director, who has had one release this year, the Hindi film Dil Bechara, starring the late Sushant Singh Rajput, once again hit the bullseye with his songs and musical score. Meanwhile, in a shocking development, the Madras High Court has sent a legal notice to A. R. Rahman in a case filed by the Income Tax (IT) department. 

According to reports, it is being said that A. R. Rahman has not paid the tax for an amount speculated to be of Rs. 3.47 crores, which he collected for composing a ringtone for a UK-based mobile company. It is being stated that the popular composer had instructed the mobile company to make the payment to his A. R. R. Trust founded by him. The IT department filed a case on him alleging that he has tried to avoid paying tax to the government. Top IT officials had accepted the explanation given by A. R. Rahman during investigation and had subsequently dropped the case. Reports further state that this decision has also been approved by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. 

The IT department then filed a case in the Madras High Court against the approval given by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. A two-judge bench of Justices Sivagnanam and V. Bhavani Subbaroyan have asked the High Court registry to send a legal notice to A. R. Rahman expecting him to respond. 

On the professional front, A. R. Rahman has a long list of projects lined up in Tamil among which include 'Chiyaan' Vikram's action thriller Cobra being directed by Ajay Gnanamuthu, the Sivakarthikeyan starrer science fiction venture, Ayalaan, and the highly-anticipated historical magnum opus multi-starrer, Ponniyin Selvan, under Mani Ratnam's direction. The 'Mozart of Madras' is also composing songs and the musical score for the Akshay Kumar and Dhanush starrer, Atrangi Re, including the musical romance film, 99 Songs, in Hindi. His directorial debut, Le Musk, is also currently in post-production, while he is also returning to Malayalam cinema after more than two decades with the survival drama film, Aadujeevitham, starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Amala Paul under Blessy's direction.