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| Home > Luminaries of the Indian Film Industry > Music Directors
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| | Music Directors of Indian Film Industry
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Sachin Dev Burman (1906-75):
 Sachin Dev Burman was born at Tripura. He was lovingly called as Sachin-da. He received classical music training from his father Nabadwipchandra Dev Burman, Ustad Badal Khan and Bhishmadev Chattopadhyay. The Bengali, Bhatiali, Sari and Dhamail folk music traditions influenced S.D. Burman greatly influenced him and these echoed through his compositions. His bardic voice complemented the earthiness of his music - it imbued the numbers with a haunting quality. Everyone remebers his songs like: Mere saajan hain us paar (Bandini), Wahan kaun hai tera (Guide) and Safal hogi teri aradhana (Aradhana). Other songs sung by him were cast in the same mould - conveying the soul as it were of the character and the situation. Burman composed music for many of the most renowned films of Hindi cinema: Dev Anand`s films - Afsar (1950), Taxi Driver (1954), Funtoosh (1956), Guide (1965), Jewel Thief and Prem Pujari. Guru Dutt`s films - Baazi (1951), Jaal (1952), Pyaasa (1957), and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959). Bimal Roy`s films - Devdas (1951), Sujata (1959) and Bandini (1963).
Ilayaraja (1943):
 The legendary composer of Tamil cinema, Ilaiyaraja`s real name is Rajayya. He was born in Pannaipuram and together with his brother formed the group Pavalar Brothers. They held concerts as a part of the Left party campaigns. Ilaiyaraja learnt to play and write musical scores of western classical music and furthered this by learning Carnatic music from T.V. Gopalakrishnan, the singer and mridangam player. His entry into films was as a member of various orchestras. The first film composition was for Annakkili (1976). Folk melodies formed an essential part of the music which proved sensational. He later combined Carnatic, western classical and pop music for his musical scores, for example in the film Raja Parvai (1981). Fusion was his forte and Tamil cinema succumbed to his genius. Among the musical scores to his credit are the films of his childhood friend Bharathirajaa - for example, Pathinaru Vayathinile (1977) and the Mani Ratnam films - Agni Nakshatram (1988), in particular the song Raja rajadhirajan indha raja, and Anjali (1990). His compositions for his two albums are no less innovative. For instance, I Love You Mozart has Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia`s rendition of raga Kalyani on the flute accompanied by Mozart`s 40th Symphony on the violin. Ilaiyaraja`s talents encompass more than music - he is an occasional lyricist and singer as well! Also, the author of two books - Sangeetha Kanavugal, a travelogue and Vettaveliyil Kotti Kidakkudhu, a philosophical effort.
A.R.Rahman (1967):
 A.R. Rehman was born as A.S.Dileep Kumar in Chennai and he is a hugely popular Indian film composer. He is a native Tamilian. He made his debut in 1992 with Mani Ratnam`s Tamil movie, Roja (Rose), which was subsequently dubbed into many languages. Ram Gopal Verma`s Rangeela (1995) was the first Hindi movie to have Rahman as the music director. He is a recipient of the Padma Shri, which is one of India`s highest civilian national honours.
Early years:
Rahman is the only son of R. K. Sekhar, who was a composer, arranger and conductor for Malayalam films. His father died when Rahman was nine years old and his family used to rent out musical equipment to make ends meet, something they found very difficult. During those hard times, a Sufi saint helped them spiritually. This led Dileep to convert to Islam, changing his name to Allah Rakha Rahman.
At the age of 11, Rahman joined the troupe of Indian composer Ilayaraaja as a keyboardist. He later played on the orchestra of M.S. Vishwanathan and Ramesh Naidu, and accompanied Zakir Hussain and Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan on world tours. The experience allowed him to obtain a scholarship to Trinity College at Oxford University, where he received a degree in Western classical music.
Music Career:
In 1991, Rahman began his own studio (attached to his house), called the Panchathan Record Inn. He initially composed music for use in advertisements, the title music on popular Indian Television channels and music in documentaries, among other projects. Rahman was, at first, hesitant about composing music for the Indian film industry primarily because most film makers at the time used songs as "fillers" - a means by which the audience was given a break from the movie`s plot. In 1991 he was approached by film director Mani Ratnam, who offered Rahman the job as composer of music for his upcoming film Roja, at a price of Rs. 25,000. Rahman accepted, and the movie`s superhit debut made him a household name in Tamil Nadu virtually overnight and led Rahman to receive the Rajat Kamal award for best music director at the Indian National Film Awards, the first time ever by a debutant. Rahman has since then gone on to win the award 3 more times (for Minsaara Kanavu (Electric Dreams, Tamil) in 1997, Lagaan (Tax, Hindi) in 2002 and Kannathil Muthamittal (A Peck on the Cheek, Tamil) in 2003), the most ever by any composer.
When Rahman arrived on the Indian music scene with his first film Roja, the music industry in India was going through a crisis with the retirement of older music composers and the lack of innovation in Indian film music. Roja was a massive hit, and Rahman followed it up with a number of other extremely popular films, including Bombay, Rangeela, Dil Se and Taal . The huge sales of these albums prompted movie producers to take film music more seriously.
Rahman`s work is also unique in the fact that his collaborations with a few movie directors have always resulted in hugely successful albums. In particular, he has worked with Mani Ratnam on eight movies (until 2004) (see list of movies by Mani Ratnam featuring A R Rahman), all of which have been musical superhits. Also notable is his collaboration with the director S. Shankar (Gentleman, Kadhalan, Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Nayak, Boys and Sivaji).
He made an album Vande Mataram (1996) on India`s national song. Recently, he also came up with an album called Jana gana mana, a huge conglomeration of performances by all the leading exponents/artists of Indian classical music.
His work also includes Mani Ratnams`s Yuva, Meenaxi: Tale of 3 Cities, Bose - The Forgotten Hero, Swades, Mangal Pandey - The Rising and Rang De Basanti. He is currently working on Mani Ratnam`s next venture Guru, and on one of Shyam Benegal`s most expensive ventures, Chamki Chameli, which is set for release in 2007.
International Accolades:
 Andrew Lloyd Webber, a well known composer of musicals, was impressed with Rahman`s unique style and therefore hired him to compose his maiden stage production Bombay Dreams (2002). This play was well received in England and opened him up to new vistas in Hollywood. Furthermore, Rahman, along with the Finnish folk music band Vδrttinδ, composed the music for The Lord of the Rings musical, which opened in Toronto on March 23, 2006.
Rahman received more international attention with this article in the TIME magazine. Rahman`s first movie album "Roja" was listed in TIME magazine`s TOP 10 Movie Soundtracks of all time; source. According to BBC Rahman is reported to have sold 100 million records world-wide.
In 2000, Rahman`s annual income was estimated to be around $4 million from worldwide endorsements and royalties dating back to Roja (1992). According to Rediff.com, rights for his Tamil album Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000) were sold for an astonishing record sum of Rs. 22 million. This record still remains unbeaten six years hence.
In addition to influencing western audiences, Rahman also impressed eastern audiences with his music so much that he was tapped by Chinese director He Ping to provide music for the Chinese film Warriors of Heaven and Earth in 2003 IMDB. The music of this film was very much appreciated in Asia and in India.
Awards for Indian Film Music
National Film Awards (India)
1993 - National Film Award for Best Music Direction - Roja
1997 - National Film Award for Best Music Direction - Minsaara Kanavu
2002 - National Film Award for Best Music Direction - Lagaan
2003 - National Film Award for Best Music Direction - Kannathil Muthamittal
Filmfare Awards (India)
1995 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award - Rangeela
1998 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award - Dil Se
1999 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award - Taal
2001 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award - Lagaan
2002 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award - Saathiya
2002 - Filmfare Best Background Score - The Legend of Bhagat Singh
2004 - Filmfare Best Background Score - Swades
Zee Cine Awards (India)
2000 - Zee Cine Award Best Music Director - Taal
2002 - Zee Cine Award Best Music Director - Lagaan
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