"I wish my entire family could have been there," he says. "My children were unable to join us." He appeared on major television programmes including the celebrated Today and Oprah shows. Oprah Winfrey asked him to perform Jai Ho, and also asked him what it meant.
The week-long Oscar sojourn in Los Angeles was so hectic that he cancelled coming to New York for the world premiere of Delhi 6, for which he composed the music.
Rahman wore a flowing sherwani at the ceremony. "I usually don't wear black," he says laughing. "But Oscar rules said if I wasn't wearing a tux (which I wore for the red carpet), I should wear something black and it could be Indian."
His wife Saira has been choosing his clothes in the past two years. "I am very happy with that for it gives me time for my music," he says.
Photograph: Mike Blake/REUTERS
Video: Sway to O Saya