The Most Famous
COMPOSERS from India
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Indian Composers of all time. This list of famous Indian Composers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Indian Composers.
1. R. D. Burman (1939 - 1994)
With an HPI of 63.44, R. D. Burman is the most famous Indian Composer. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages on wikipedia.
Rahul Dev Burman (; 27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director and singer, who is considered to be one of the greatest and most successful music directors of the Hindi film music industry. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films, bringing a new level of music ensemble with his compositions. Burman did his major work with legendary singers Mukesh, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi. He also worked extensively with lyricist Gulzar, with whom he has some of the most memorable numbers in his career. Nicknamed Pancham, he was the only son of the composer Sachin Dev Burman and his Bengali lyricist wife Meera Dev Burman. He was mainly active in the Hindi film industry as a composer, and also provided vocals for a few compositions. He served as an influence to the next generation of Indian music directors, and his songs continue to be popular in India and overseas. Many years after his death, his songs continued to be inspiration for new singers and composers.
2. Zakir Hussain (1951 - 2024)
With an HPI of 59.03, Zakir Hussain is the 2nd most famous Indian Composer. His biography has been translated into 39 different languages.
Zakir Hussain Qureshi (9 March 1951 – 15 December 2024) was an Indian tabla player, composer, arranger, percussionist, music producer and film actor. The eldest son of esteemed tabla player Alla Rakha, Hussain was widely regarded as the greatest tabla player of his generation and one of its finest percussionists. He produced music across multiple genres and contributed to popularizing Indian classical music to a global audience. Often prefixed by the honorific title of 'Ustad', Hussain was awarded the United States National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship, the highest award given to traditional artists and musicians. He was also given the Government of India's Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1990 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, Ratna Sadsya, in 2018. Hussain received seven Grammy Award nominations, winning four times, including three in 2024. He was described as the most recognizable exponent of the tabla by The Guardian. The New York Times marveled that the "blur of his fingers rivals the beat of a hummingbird's wings."
3. Tyagaraja (1767 - 1847)
With an HPI of 58.65, Tyagaraja is the 3rd most famous Indian Composer. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.
Sadguru Tyagaraja Swami (Telugu: సద్గురు త్యాగరాజ స్వామి; 4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847), also known as Tyagayya, and in full as Kakarla Tyagabrahmam (Telugu: కాకర్ల త్యాగబ్రహ్మం), was a Hindu saint and composer of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music. Tyagaraja and his contemporaries, Shyama Shastri and Muthuswami Dikshitar, are regarded as the Trinity of Carnatic music. Tyagaraja composed hundreds of devotional compositions, most in Telugu and in praise of Rama, many of which remain popular today. Of special mention are five of his compositions called the Pancharatna Kritis (transl. "five gems"), which are often sung in programs in his honour. Tyagaraja composed Utsava Sampradaya Krithis (transl. Festive ritual compositions), which are often sung to accompany temple rituals and Divya Nama Sankeertanas (transl. Divine name compositions) which are sung as a part of concerts and in daily life. Tyagaraja lived through the reigns of four kings of the Maratha dynasty – Thuljaji (1763–1787), Amarasimha (1787–1798), Serfoji II (1798–1832) and Shivaji II (1832–1855), although he served none of them.
4. Pritam (b. 1971)
With an HPI of 51.77, Pritam is the 4th most famous Indian Composer. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Pritam Chakraborty (born 14 June 1971), also popularly known mononymously as Pritam, is a National Award winning Indian composer, instrumentalist, music producer and singer. Graduating from FTII in Sound Engineering, he worked as an ad jingle composer, sound designer & theme music composer for TV Serials, later debuted as a co-composer alongside Jeet Gannguli in the 2001 Hindi film Tere Liye. He debuted as a solo composer with the 2003 film Stumped. However, it was the soundtrack of Dhoom (2004), most notably the title track, which earned him his first big break in the industry and helped him win the Zee Cine Award for Best Track of the Year & vast acknowledgements. In a career spanning over two decades, he has composed music for more than 125 Bollywood films and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a National Film Award in 70th National Film Awards in 2022 and nine Filmfare Awards. While he initially worked only on soundtracks and had multiple early collaborations with Vishesh Films and Yash Raj Films, the romantic drama Barfi! with Anurag Basu marked his first venture as a background score composer, and he later diversified his repertoire through collaborations with Dharma Productions , T-Series (company) and Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment. Pritam founded JAM8 in 2016, which is an A&R Music Production platform. JAM8 studio, which is located in Mumbai, is one of the most advanced music production facility & studio in India. JAM8 is also working as Music Director in various Bollywood films with its in house composers.
5. Anu Malik (b. 1960)
With an HPI of 44.69, Anu Malik is the 5th most famous Indian Composer. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.
Anwar Sardar "Anu" Malik (born 2 November 1960) is an Indian music composer, singer, music arranger and score composer. He is the recipient of a National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards, who primarily composes music for the Hindi film industry. He is the son of Sardar Malik. As a music director, he has composed music for various genres of films, and has created several commercially successful songs for the Hindi (Bollywood) film music industry. Malik is also known for the use of the tabla in some of his songs, including "Taal Pe Jab" and "Mere Humsafar" from the film Refugee, "Tumse Milke Dilka Jo Haal" from Main Hoon Na, "Eli Re Eli" from Yaadein and "Baazigar O Baazigar" from the film Baazigar. Malik's song "Chamma Chamma" from China Gate was used in the Hollywood film Moulin Rouge! starring Nicole Kidman. Malik was a judge on Indian Idol from its first season in 2004 until 2018 when he left after "Me Too" allegation. He returned as a judge for the show's 11th season in 2019, but left after three weeks, and he was one of the judges for part of the 12th season. He also was a judge for the children's reality singing show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs 2022.
6. Bombay Jayashri (b. 1950)
With an HPI of 44.51, Bombay Jayashri is the 6th most famous Indian Composer. Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
"Bombay" Jayashri Ramnath is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, singer, and musician. She has sung songs in multiple languages, including for Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and English movies. Born into a family of musicians, Jayashri represents the fourth generation of music practitioners in her family. Trained by Lalgudi Jayaraman and T.R. Balamani, She was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 2021. In December 2023, she was awarded the most prestigious award in the Carnatic music field, the Sangeetha Kalanidhi, by the Madras Music Academy. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song (Oscar) for Pi's Lullaby from Life of Pi movie. She is one of the most sought-after Carnatic musicians today.
7. Anirudh Ravichander (b. 1990)
With an HPI of 43.65, Anirudh Ravichander is the 7th most famous Indian Composer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Anirudh Ravichander (born 16 October 1990), also credited mononymously as Anirudh, is an Indian composer and playback singer who works primarily in Tamil cinema, in addition to Telugu and Hindi films. He has won two Filmfare Awards South, ten SIIMA Awards, six Edison Awards and five Vijay awards. His debut song "Why This Kolaveri Di", composed for the 2012 film 3, went viral across the globe and has achieved over 450 million views on YouTube. A.R. Murugadoss signed him to compose music for Kaththi (2014) starring Vijay & Samantha which included the viral hit "Selfie Pulla". The soundtrack for the film became Anirudh's highest profile soundtrack until he was signed to compose music for Rajinikanth's Petta in 2019. In 2016, he signed a record deal with Sony Music, which publishes his independent albums and live concerts. In the same year, he featured with Diplo on the remix of Major Lazer's hit single "Cold Water".
8. Yo Yo Honey Singh (b. 1983)
With an HPI of 42.16, Yo Yo Honey Singh is the 8th most famous Indian Composer. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Hirdesh Singh (born 15 March 1983), known professionally as Yo Yo Honey Singh, is an Indian singer, rapper and record producer. Regarded as one of the most popular and influential artist / rap artist emerging from India, he is credited with popularizing hip-hop & rap with the mainstream Indian audience, taking the art pan-India. While much of his transgressive work during the late 2000s, early 2010s made him a controversial figure, he came to be a representation of voice of the Indian youth. Singh commenced his career as a hip-hop music producer with his underground album titled Desi By Nature (2003), subsequently working as a session and recording artist within the underground music scene for other artists until the release of his debut studio album, International Villager (2011). In 2012, after the huge success of I.V. and his mainstream breakout, he set the record for the highest paid Indian artist, let alone a rap artist, by charging a whopping fee of 75 lakh INR for a track in Bollywood. Currently, he is also the richest and the most successful Indian rapper. He continued releasing several chartbuster singles and subsequently, released his second studio album Desi Kalakaar (2014). Following its release, Singh took an 18-month hiatus due in part to struggles with bipolar disorder. After a brief recovery in 2016 followed by a relapse, he returned to the music industry with the release of his single "Makhna" (2018) with huge acclaim. He released his albums Honey 3.0 (2023) followed by Glory (2024), with the latter breaking multiple streaming records accompanied by the lead single "Millionaire" which became a chartbuster upon its release crossing over 300 million views on YouTube under 7 months, with over 150 million Spotify streams. Hirdesh's nickname growing up was "Honey". However, the origin of "Yo Yo" came from Singh picking up the slang from his African-American friends who too were hip-hop heads, which when translated, means "aapka apna" in Hindi or "your very own" in English. Singh added "Yo Yo" to his name professionally after winning an award in Punjab during his early career. This interpretation of the slang gave him a unique identity of "aapka apna Honey Singh" or "your very own Honey Singh". Singh stated that the idea behind the inclusion of the term was "to establish an even deeper bond with his fans not only through his music and artistry, but also through the preface of his stage name indicating that at the end of the day, he also is one amongst the people and is the people's artist".
9. Kailash Kher (b. 1973)
With an HPI of 38.70, Kailash Kher is the 9th most famous Indian Composer. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Kailash Kher (born 7 July 1973) is an Indian playback singer, live performer, and composer. He sings songs with a music style influenced by Indian folk music and Sufi music. He was inspired by the classical musicians Kumar Gandharva, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Bhimsen Joshi, and the Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Kailash Kher received the Padma Shri award in 2017 from the Indian government. He has also received two Filmfare Awards; Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the Hindi film Fanaa (2006) and Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer – Telugu for the Telugu film Mirchi (2013), along with several other nominations. He received the Sur Jyotsna National Music Award 2021 for his contribution to Indian music
10. Aadesh Shrivastava (1964 - 2015)
With an HPI of 37.30, Aadesh Shrivastava is the 10th most famous Indian Composer. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Aadesh Shrivastava (4 September 1964 – 5 September 2015) was a music composer and playback singer who worked in Indian films. Initially, he had worked as a drummer to music composers including R. D. Burman, Rajesh Roshan before working independently as a music director. Over the course of his career, he had composed music for over 100 Hindi films. Just a day after he turned 51, he died of cancer in Kokilaben Hospital.
People
Pantheon has 10 people classified as Indian composers born between 1767 and 1990. Of these 10, 6 (60.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Indian composers include Pritam, Anu Malik, and Bombay Jayashri. The most famous deceased Indian composers include R. D. Burman, Zakir Hussain, and Tyagaraja. As of April 2024, 10 new Indian composers have been added to Pantheon including R. D. Burman, Zakir Hussain, and Tyagaraja.
Living Indian Composers
Go to all Rankings
Pritam
1971 - Present
HPI: 51.77
Anu Malik
1960 - Present
HPI: 44.69
Bombay Jayashri
1950 - Present
HPI: 44.51
Anirudh Ravichander
1990 - Present
HPI: 43.65
Yo Yo Honey Singh
1983 - Present
HPI: 42.16
Kailash Kher
1973 - Present
HPI: 38.70
Deceased Indian Composers
Go to all RankingsR. D. Burman
1939 - 1994
HPI: 63.44
Zakir Hussain
1951 - 2024
HPI: 59.03
Tyagaraja
1767 - 1847
HPI: 58.65
Aadesh Shrivastava
1964 - 2015
HPI: 37.30
Newly Added Indian Composers (2024)
Go to all RankingsR. D. Burman
1939 - 1994
HPI: 63.44
Zakir Hussain
1951 - 2024
HPI: 59.03
Tyagaraja
1767 - 1847
HPI: 58.65
Pritam
1971 - Present
HPI: 51.77
Anu Malik
1960 - Present
HPI: 44.69
Bombay Jayashri
1950 - Present
HPI: 44.51
Anirudh Ravichander
1990 - Present
HPI: 43.65
Yo Yo Honey Singh
1983 - Present
HPI: 42.16
Kailash Kher
1973 - Present
HPI: 38.70
Aadesh Shrivastava
1964 - 2015
HPI: 37.30
Overlapping Lives
Which Composers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 4 most globally memorable Composers since 1700.
