From Hamsalekha to Raghu Dixit: A look at the top music directors of Sandalwood

Music is one of the best forms of art which brings everyone together and also describes every human emotion in the best way possible. Be it through words or the melody, songs have always formed a pivotal element of any film industry. And so, music directors have been the backbone of every film industry. Sandalwood music directors are as rich in their talent as any other industry and have produced some of the best songs in the history of Indian cinema. From Hamsalekha to Raghu Dixit, here are some talented music directors of Sandalwood.

Hamsalekha is popularly known as Nadha Brahma in Sandalwood. He is one of the most popular composers and lyricists and has worked for more than 300 movies since 1980. Hamsalekha started his career with his Balakrishna Orchestra Group. The musician made his debut from the movie ‘Triveni’ in 1973 as a lyricist. In 1986 he became a music director for the movie ‘Henne Ninagenu Bandhana’. Later in the years Hamsalekha associated with Ravichandran and produced music for the movie ‘Premaloka’ which was a musically super hit film. Hamsalekha has produced movies from different genres like western, pop, hip-hop, classical, folk, ghazals and Sufi. He has composed music for many famous songs like ‘Kaayi Kaayi Nuggekaayi Mahimege’, ‘Huttidhare Kannada Nadalli Hutta Bekku’ and many others. Hamsalekha has won many state and Filmfare awards. He also became the mentor for many music directors like V. Harikrishna, V. Manohar among others.

V Harikrishna is a well-known music director in Sandalwood, for producing melodious music. He started playing music at the young age of eight. Later, after some years, he quit music and was working as a mechanic. Sadhu Kokila brought Harikrishna back to the music industry in 1994 and Harikrishna worked under many music directors as an assistant. Harikrishna made his debut as a full-fledged music director with the movie ‘Jothe Jotheyalli’ in 2006. Harikrishna was one of the trademarks of Darshan’s movies as he has produced music for many of Darshan’s films. Harkrishan gave music for many famous movies like ‘Gaalipata’, ‘Super’, ‘Hudugaru’, ‘Chowka’ among others. V Harkrishan is not only a music director but also a playback singer and a film producer.

Guru Kiran Shetty is a known music director from Mangalore. He is also a singer and an actor. After completion of his graduation, he joined an orchestra as a singer and a keyboard artist. Later, he started his career in movies as an assistant under V Manohar. He made his industry debut from the movie ‘A’ in 1998, directed by Upendra. He has also acted in 'Nishkarsha', 'Upendra' and other movies. Guru Kiran is not only an actor and music director but also a singer. He was also one of the highest-paid music directors in Sandalwood and has won many awards like Srigandha Awards, Karnataka State Film Awards and others. Guru Kiran has worked in famous movies like ‘Apthamitra’ and ‘Jogi’. Apart from this, he is also known for his work in Tollywood.

Sadhu Kokila is well known as a comedian in the Kannada film industry. But many are unaware that he is also a music director, director and a lyricist. Sadhu Kokila is India's fastest keyboard player, who trained under musician Kasturi Shankar. He belongs to a musical family where his father was a violinist and his mother was a playback singer. Before Sadhu started his acting career, he was a music director. He made his debut as a music director with the movie ‘Shhhh!’ directed by Upendra. He has won many awards like Karnataka State Film Award, South Indian International Movie Award and others for his works. He has worked on famous movies like ‘Shhh!’, ‘Majestic’, ‘H2O’, ‘Deadly Soma’ ‘Masti Gudi’ and many more.

Arjun Janya is a music director and singer who started his career under the assistance of V Manohar and K Kalyan as a keyboard player. He made his debut as a music director with the film ‘Autograph Please’ in 2006. Later, he composed music for movies like ‘Kempegowda’, ‘Lucky’, ‘Victory’, ‘Dandupalya’, ‘Ambi Ning Vayassaytho’, ‘The Villain’ and many other super hits. Arjun Janya has won Filmfare award, Kannada international Music Awards, Sandalwood Star Awards, and South Indian International Movie Awards.

Raghu Dixit is one of the most creative music directors of Sandalwood. He has the talent of mixing Indian music with the other music from all over the world. Raghu Dixit is a music director and producer. He has composed music for movies like ‘Psycho’ and ‘Just Math Mathalli’. Raghu produces folk and fusion music. He has won many awards from across the world and is a lead singer in the ‘Antaragni’ band.