World Music Day 2024: 10 Most Decorated & Celebrated Entities in the Indian Music Industry

As the Indian Subcontinent is known for its diverse cultural heritage, there is one art form which will continue to shine is Indian music. In today’s auspicious day of the World Music Day - 2024, let’s look into some of the most respectable figures in the realm of Indian Music. 

Since ages, musicians in India have carved out a niche for themselves and are admired by millions for their expertise. As music has always been an important part in an Indian’s life, it is said that Indian music is as old as the civilization itself. Also, if we look into the Vedas, there are notable references to various strings, wind instruments, drums, and symbals.

Still today, the mesmerizing lyrics of Surdas, Tulsidas, and most particularly Kabir and Mirabai continue to be greatly popular. India is today home to millions of talented musicians who have made their presence known not only in the domestic level but have made their presence felt on the international front as well; taking the rich art and culture of India beyond our geographical limitations.

Due to this, some of these individuals have hit big in their career and have accumulated loads of fame and stardom. Let’s look it from a regional perspective:

Bollywood

Music Director: AR Rahman

Allah Rakha Rahman was born in 1967 is undoubtedly the most sought-after Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist and philanthropist.  He is known widely for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in international cinema. He is a winner of six National Film Awards, two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, fifteen Filmfare Awards and seventeen Filmfare Awards South.

Did you know, AR Rahman was born as A. S. Dileep Kumar in Madras, Tamil Nadu. His father, RK Shekhar from a Mudaliar family was a film-score composer and conductor for Malayalam and Tamil Films. Rahman started learning piano from the age of four and also assisted his father in the studio while playing the keyboard.

When Rahman was nine years old, his father suddenly passed away. Since then, he was raised by his mother, wherein, the rental of his father's musical equipment provided his family's income. Today, the world regards him as one of the best of talents in the musical industry to set foot on earth. His prolific work has indeed made our country proud.

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar

Back in 1929, a legend in the Indian music industry was born in the name of Lata Mangeshkar. She is arguably the most motivating and influential playback singer in India. Throughout her incredible eight-decade career, she made huge contributions to the Indian music industry, earning her titles like "Queen of Melody," and "Voice of Millennium." In addition, she has received several accolades and recognitions, including three National Film accolades, fifteen Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards, and four Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Awards. Furthermore, Guinness World Records placed her as the most recorded performer in history before her sister, Asha Bhosle, took her.

Lata Mangeshkar was brought up in a Brahmin family  in the city of Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Back then, it was the capital of the princely state of Indore which was also the part of the Central India Agency in the British raj. If we speak of her father Deenanath Mangeshkar, he was a Marathi and Konkani classical singer and theater actor. Lata made her move to Mumbai in 1945 when Master Vinayak's company moved its headquarters there. There, she started taking lessons in Hindustani classical music from Ustad Aman Ali Khan of Bhindibazaar Gharana. If we talk about some of the earliest songs of Lata Mangeshkar, it included ‘Paa Lagoon Kar Jori’ and ‘Maata Tere Charnon Mein.’

Sandalwood

Music Director: Arjun Janya

Arjun Janya is a Kannada film composer, vocalist, and music director who has written music for promising films like Kempegowda (2011), Sanchari (2010), and Birugaali (2009). Janya won his first Filmfare Award for Best Music Director in 2013 for the Kannada film Bajrangi. He has also won many SIIMA Awards for Best Music Director (Kannada). Arjun, who was born in Bengaluru, began his career in film by working as a composer's assistant for composers like V. Manohar and K. Kalyan. During his early career, he even contributed to over 30 films as a keyboard musician.

Arjun started his career by assisting composers such as K. Kalyan and V. Manohar. He had also worked as a keyboard player in around thirty films. If we speak of his first release as a music director, it was Autograph Please in the year 2006 which starred Sanjjanaa and Dilip Raj. Since then, there was no looking back. His real break came in the year 2010 by scoring for the film Sanchari in 2010.

Singer: Vijay Prakash

Born on 1976 in Mysuru, Karnataka, Vijay Prakash is another renowned Indian playback singer and music director. Over his illustrious career, Vijay has well established himself across Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu films. He has also received several awards for the songs Belageddu from Kirik Party and Gatiya Ilidu from the Kannada movie Ulidavaru Kandante. He has also won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Artist – Kannada as well as Best Playback Singer" for the song "Nammooralli Chaligaladalli”. His song "Jai Ho" won the 2008 Academy Award for Best Original Song, and is one of the four artists acknowledged for it. In addition, the song was recognized with a Grammy Award for "Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television, Or Other Visual Media." 

He further made his move to Mumbai in the year 1996, wherein, he became a student of Suresh Wadkar. Prakash was also a participant in the program Sa Re Ga Ma on Zee TV which was then hosted by Sonu Nigam. In this reality show, he made it to the mega-finals in the year 1999. And in 2002, he also got his first break in Hindi cinema with the film Baaz. Furthermore, if we look at his first song for A. R. Rahman, it  was in Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades. This was further followed by the same composer's Tamil title track for the movie New.

Tollywood

Music Director: M.M. Keeravani

Koduri Marakathamani Keeravaani was born on 1961, and went by the professional name M. M. Keeravani. He was a well-known Telugu film actor, writer, singer, record producer, and music composer. M.M. Keeravani has received numerous awards and accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a LAFCA Award, 11 Nandi achievements, 8 Filmfare Awards, two National Film Awards, and a Critics' Choice Movie Award. In 2023, the Indian government honored him with the Padma Shri in recognition of his contributions to Indian film.

Keeravaani was born in a Telugu family to a lyricist and screenwriter Koduri Siva Shakthi Datta, in Andhra Pradesh. His wife M. M. Srivalli works as a line producer in films while his elder son, Kaala Bhairava, is a singer and has also sung for his father's numerous compositions. If we talk about his younger son, Sri Simha, made his debut with Mathu Vadalara in the year 2019.And in the year in 1987, Keeravani started his career as an assistant music director along with Telugu composer K. Chakravarthy and Malayalam composer C. Rajamani.

Singer: SP Balasubramanyam

Born on 1946, Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam is an accomplished Indian playback singer, actor, presenter on television, composer of music, dubbing artist, and film producer. He has recorded songs across 16 languages, most notably Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi films. SP Balasubramanyam has also received the Padma Vibhushan, six National Film Awards, 25 state Nandi Awards, a Filmfare Award, and six Filmfare Awards South, among others. He was also the vocalist with the most songs recorded, according to Guinness World Records, with over 50,000 in 16 languages. For example, on February 8, 1981, he spent from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. recording 27 Kannada songs. Not happy with that, he recorded 16 Hindi songs and 19 Tamil songs in a single day. Absolutely mind boggling!

If we look at his early life, SP Balasubrahmanyam was born in Nellore, which is in the present-day Andhra Pradesh. Coming from a Telugu Brahmin family, his father, SP Sambamurthy, was a Harikatha artist and also used to act in plays. At an early age, Balasubrahmanyam developed a notable interest in music and started studying musical notations and became a self music tutor. He enrolled at the JNTU College of Engineering Anantapur as his only dream was to fulfill his father's ambition to see him as an engineer and get a government job.

During his engineering studies, Balasubrahmanyam continued to pursue music and won many awards at singing competitions. He was also the leader of a light music troupe composed of Anirutta on harmonium, Ilaiyaraaja on guitar and later on harmonium, Baskar on percussion and Gangai Amaran on guitar. While often visiting music composers seeking opportunities, his first audition song was "Nilave Ennidam Nerungadhe".

Mollywood

Music Director: Vidyasagar

Vidyasagar is an Indian vocalist, songwriter, and musician who was born on 1963. He mostly works in the Telugu, Malayalam, and Tamil cinema industries. After serving as a conductor and assistant to various composers, Vidyasagar - nicknamed Melody King - debuted as a film composer in the 1989 Tamil film Poo Manam. He has composed music for over 225 feature films, won 1 National Award, numerous State Awards, 5 Filmfare Awards, and frequently collaborated with actor Vijay on successful albums. He is considered as one of the best and most renowned composers in Indian cinema history.

Born in a Telugu family, Vidya Sagar is married and has daughters and a son. Susarla Pallavi, one of his daughters, is an Social media influencer and his other daughter Srivardhani is an playback singer. Also, his son Harsha Vardhan is pursuing his career as a musician and programmer in Tamil Cinema Industry. In the year 1989, Vidyasagar became an independent film composer with the song En Anbe in a Tamil movie Poomanam. In the year 1989, Vidyasagar became an independent film composer with the song En Anbe in a Tamil movie Poomanam. Vidyasagar started his music career in a Tamil film, wherein, he gained the needed recognition in the Tamil music industry at the later stage of his illustrious career. Furthemore, he also started composing for Telugu Films Telugu cinema from 1989

Singer: K. J. Yesudas

Indian playback singer and musician Kattassery Joseph Yesudas 1940 sings devotional, romantic, and classical Indian music. He is regarded by many as one of the best vocalists in Indian music history and a Keralan cultural icon. Over the course of a six-decade career, Yesudas is claimed to have recorded over 50,000 songs in a variety of Indian languages, including Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Tulu, Hindi, Odia, Bengali, and Marathi, in addition to Arabic, English, Latin, and Russian.

In addition to winning awards from the state governments of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and West Bengal, Yesudas has also won 8 National Awards for Best Male Playback Singer, 5 Filmfare Awards South, and 43 State Awards for Best Playback Singer. The Indian government honored him with the Padma Shri in 1975, the Padma Bhushan in 2002, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2017 for his services to the arts. The J. C. Daniel Award, which is the highest accolade bestowed by the Keralan government for achievements in the Malayalam film, was given to him in the year 2005. Furthermore, Yesudas received the CNN-IBN Outstanding Achievement Award in 2011 in recognition of his services to the music industry.

Kollywood

Music Director: Ilaiyaraaja

Born R. Gnanathesigan on June 3, 1943, Ilaiyaraaja is an Indian musician, conductor, arranger, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and singer.  Known for being one of the busiest composers, throughout the course of a career spanning more than 48 years, he has written music for more than 7,000 songs, composed the soundtracks for more than 1,000 films, and participated in over 20,000 performances. Also known as "Isaignani" (the musical sage), he was given the title "Maestro" by the London-based Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Ilaiyaraaja made history in 1986 as the first Indian composer to use a computer to make a soundtrack for the movie Vikram. The first Indian oratorio, Thiruvasagam in Symphony (2006), was also written by him.  He received 49 percent of the vote in a 2013 CNN-IBN poll honoring a century of Indian film; thereby making him the nation's best music composer. He was ranked 9th on the list of the top 25 film composers in cinema history by the American global film portal "Taste of Cinema" in 2014. Alongside Ennio Morricone, John Williams, and Jerry Goldsmith, he is the only Indian on the list. Throughout his career, Ilaiyaraaja won several accolades for his creative output. The Sangeet Natak Akademi Award was also granted to him in 2012 which is the greatest honor bestowed upon those in the performing arts in India. The Indian government has also awarded him with the Padma Bhushan in 2010 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2018. And on March 20, 2024, news of a biographical movie named "Ilaiyaraaja" based on his life has also released.

Singer: KS Chitra

Born on July 27, 1963, Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. Over the course of her four-decade career, she has recorded over 25,000 songs across diverse Indian languages coupled with Latin, English, French, Malay, Arabic, and Sinhalese. In 2001, the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London named her the "Golden Voice of India." And in 2016, The Times Group named her the "Melody Queen of Indian Cinema." Furthermore, the British Parliament of the United Kingdom bestowed upon her the title of "Greatest Indian Singer of All Time" in 2024.

Some of the awards and recognitions bestowed upon KS Chitra includes 6 National Film Awards, 9 Filmfare Awards South, and 36 state film awards. She also received the Padma Shri in 2005 and the Padma Bhushan in 2021. Additionally, she was honored by the Chinese government in 2009, the first Indian artist to do so, while she was on stage at the Qinghai International River Festival. With the exception of Lata Mangeshkar, she is still the only female Indian playback singer to have been in the esteemed Royal Albert Hall in London in 2001.