Famous Indian Musicians

A. R. Rahman is an Indian film composer, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Rahman is one of the most decorated and celebrated musicians in Indian history. He was won several prestigious awards including two Grammy Awards, two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a BAFTA Award. In 2009, he was named among the 100 most influential people in Time.

Armaan Malik is an Indian singer, record producer, songwriter, actor, and voice-over artist. In 2015, he won two Global Indian Music Academy Awards (GiMA), becoming the youngest singer to win a couple of debut awards at GiMA. He has also received other prestigious awards like Stardust Award, Filmfare R. D. Burman Award, and South Indian International Movie Award. 

Anirudh Ravichander is an Indian singer and film composer. He achieved international recognition in 2012 when his debut track Why This Kolaveri Di went viral on the internet. Since then, Anirudh has been an important composer in the Tamil film industry. Over the years, he has received several prestigious awards like Edison Awards, Vijay Awards, and Mirchi Music Awards South.

Born into a Tamil musical family, legendary composer, conductor, and lyricist Ilaiyaraaja became the first Asian to compose for the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He has composed for more than 1000 feature films and has five National Film Awards, the Padma Bhushan, and the Padma Vibhushan to his credit.

G. V. Prakash Kumar is an Indian film composer, singer, producer, and actor. After starting his career as a music composer in Tamil films, Prakash Kumar went on to establish himself as an actor. One of the most acclaimed music composers in the Tamil film industry, Prakash Kumar has received several prestigious awards like Filmfare Awards South and MTV Awards.

Rahul Dev Burman was an Indian music director. He is regarded as one of the greatest music composers in the history of Indian music. He is credited with composing songs that helped define the career of singers like Kishore Kumar. His works have inspired a generation of Indian music directors. 

Bismillah Khan was a reputed classical musician, credited with popularizing the shehnai, an Indian oboe like woodwind instrument, at home and abroad. Until his time, shehnai was considered a folk instrument played only at traditional ceremonies, an idea he demolished with his concert performance in 1937, eventually taking it to the global audience with his appearance at Edinburgh International Festival.

Bappi Lahiri was an Indian singer and music composer. He popularized the use of synthesized disco music in Indian films. He achieved popularity in the 1980s and 1990s and was best known for his work in dance films like Dance Dance and Disco Dancer. 

Zakir Hussain is an Indian musician, tabla virtuoso, percussionist, composer, and music producer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest tabla players of all time, Hussain has received many prestigious awards in his illustrious career. In 1990, he was honored with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. In 2002, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award.

M.M. Keeravaani is an Indian playback singer, film composer, and lyricist. One of the most respected and decorated music directors in the Telugu film industry, Keeravani is the recipient of 11 Nandi Awards, eight Filmfare Awards, and a National Film Award. Over the years, he has composed music for successful and popular movies like Baahubali.

Gwalior-born composer Tansen, also known as Ramtanu Pandey, was an iconic figure of Hindustani classical music. Best known for his dhrupad and raga compositions, he was one of the navratnas, or nine gems, of Mughal emperor Akbar’s court. He also invented a stringed instrument named the rabab.

Anu Malik is an Indian singer, music composer, and arranger. He is credited with composing some of the most popular Hindi songs, including Chamma Chamma from the film China Gate, which was used in the jukebox musical romantic drama film Moulin Rouge! Anu Malik has also served as a judge on the popular TV show Indian Idol.

Part of the legendary Indian music composer duo Laxmikant–Pyarelal, which ruled the Hindi film music industry for decades, Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar had a tough childhood in the slums of Mumbai. He took up music after his father’s death, so that he could support his family, and never looked back.

Bhupen Hazarika was an Indian playback singer, musician, poet, lyricist, and filmmaker. He is remembered for composing such songs that highlight the importance of humanity and universal brotherhood. His songs remain popular in places like Assam and Bangladesh. He is also credited with introducing the folk music of Assam to Bollywood. He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2019.

Known for blending Indian classical music with contemporary undertones, Indian music director, composer, and record producer, Pritam Chakraborty is also a well-known singer and instrumentalist.  Beginning his career with ad jingles, he later partnered with Jeet Ganguly to compose music for Hindi films before going solo. He has won numerous awards for his work, concurrently helping budding musicians through his organization JAM8.

Santhosh Narayanan is an Indian musician and film composer who works in the Tamil film industry. One of the most successful and celebrated film composers of his generation, Santhosh Narayanan is renowned for his willingness to experiment. Widely regarded as one of the best musicians of the Tamil film industry, Santhosh Narayanan has won many awards for his background score. 

Though renowned playback singer Hariharan is known for his soft ghazals, he rocked the 1990s with the musical duo Colonial Cousins, with fellow singer Lesle Lewis. The two-time National Award winner also has a Padma Shri to his credit. He is also known for his long-term collaboration with A.R Rahman.

Harris Jayaraj is an Indian film composer who works predominantly in the Tamil film industry. Dubbed The Melody King, Jayaraj is renowned for composing soothing music. One of the most decorated film composers of his generation, Harris Jayaraj has received several prestigious awards including six Filmfare Awards South, six Mirchi Music Awards, and four Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.

Daler Mehndi is an Indian singer, record producer, songwriter, and author. Renowned for his dance songs, Daler Mehndi is credited with popularizing Bhangra around the world. He is also credited with creating a musical genre named Rabbabi, which combines elements of rock, Sufi, and Thumri. Mehndi is also known for his philanthropic efforts and has contributed to many charitable causes.

Gopi Sundar is an Indian singer, songwriter, and music director. He is predominantly active in the Malayalam, Telugu, and Tamil film industries. He started his career composing music for TV commercials and gradually made his way to more substantial projects.  After achieving success as a music director, he started his own recording label, Gopi Sundar Music Company. 

Indian flutist Hariprasad Chaurasia, a major figure of Hindustani classical music, is known for taking the Indian bansuri to the international stage. Born in Allahabad, he hid his musical aspirations from his father, who wanted him to take up wrestling. He grew up to became a luminary of the Senia gharana.

S.D. Burman was an Indian singer and music director. One of the most influential and successful film music composers in the history of Bollywood, Burman composed the music for more than 100 movies. During his career, he won many prestigious awards like Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Filmfare Awards, and National Film Awards. In 1969, he was awarded the Padma Shri.

Rajesh Roshan is an Indian music director who works in Hindi films. Over the years, he has composed music for many popular Hindi films like Kaabil, Krrish, Koi... Mil Gaya, and Karan Arjun. He has received a couple of Filmfare Awards for Best Music Director for his work in films like Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai and Julie.

Immanuel Vasanth Dinakaran, or D. Imman, is a renowned Tamil music composer. Known for his work for the soundtracks of films such as Viswasam and Rummy, he has also won a National Film Award. He had begun his musical career at 15, as an apprentice to composers such as Adithyan.

Abhijeet Bhattacharya is an Indian playback singer who predominantly works in Bollywood. He is credited with recording over six thousand songs in more than 1000 films. Over the years, Abhijeet Bhattacharya has won several prestigious awards, such as Filmfare Awards, Uttar Pradesh Gaurav Samman, Sangeet Maha Samman, and MTV Award for Best Singer Asia.

Aadesh Shrivastava began his career as a drummer and later rose to be one of the most well-known music directors of Indian film music. He had hit scores in movies such as Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... and Chalte Chalte in his kitty but eventually died of cancer.

Anoushka Shankar is a British-Indian music composer and sitar player. Over the years, she has been nominated for several Grammy Awards and has won many prestigious awards, such as Songlines Music Award. In 2004, she was named in the 20 Asian Heroes list published by Time. Anoushka Shankar is also known for her activism and is a supporter of animal rights.  

Born to a playback singer mother, Anuradha Sriram began performing on radio and TV shows since age 12. The renowned singer from Tamil Nadu is a Carnatic music specialist and has performed in more than 1000 concerts. As a child artist, she had also appeared in a Rajinikanth movie.

Known as Mellisai Mannar, or The King of Light Music, Tamil composer M. S. Viswanathan had a troubled childhood, selling food at movie theaters and learning music to sustain himself and his family. Of the many awards he had won is the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South.

Gurdas Maan, the only Punjabi singer to win a National Award for his playback singing, soared to fame with his track Dil Da Mamla Hai in the 1980s. The folk and bhangra singer was initially gearing up to be a sports coach and had won several athletics contents.

Nicknamed Swara Brahma, Telugu composer Mani Sharma is known for his collaborations with stars such as Chiranjeevi and Mahesh Babu. He was initially a freelance music programmer and has also experimented by blending Carnatic and modern music. He has two Nandi Awards and three Filmfare Awards South to his credit.

Jeet Gannguli is a score composer and music director active in Hindi film industry. He is trained in Indian classical music and is also well-versed in western classical music, jazz, and rock. He began his career in the early 2000s and has been scoring music for TV commercials, jingles, TV serials, and Hindi and Bengali films. 

Born to an AIR musician in Andhra Pradesh, Mano grew up to be a renowned singer and voice-over artist. Originally named Nagur Babu, he was renamed Mano by legendary composer Ilayaraja, for whom he recorded over 2,000 songs. He has also won prestigious awards such as the Kalaimaamani Award.

Legendary sarod player Ustad Amjad Ali Khan was born to a court musician in Gwalior and performed his first recital at age 6. He later took the sarod to the international stage, with performances in the US and other countries. The Padma Vibhushan winner’s two sons, too, are classical musicians.