Anirudh Ravichander

Anirudh Ravichander (born 16 October 1990), also known mononymously as Anirudh, is an Indian film scorer music composer music producer singer and instrumentalist who primarily works in Tamil films. He is the son of actor Ravi Raghavendra. He has won two Filmfare Awards, nine 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 300 million views on YouTube. In 2017, he was described by ''Times of India'' as the Most Desirable Man in Chennai. In 2018, he again bagged the title, becoming the first musician to achieve this title two times in a row.

A.R. Murugadoss signed him to compose music for ''Kaththi'' (2014) starring Vijay, 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".

Early life and family

Anirudh Ravichander is the son of actor Ravi Raghavendra and classical dancer Lakshmi Ravichander and nephew of Latha Rajinikanth. Thus, making Aishwarya, Soundarya and Hrishikesh his cousins. His maternal grandfather S. V. Ramanan has made documentaries, commercials and music. Anirudh's great-grandfather was director Krishnaswami Subrahmanyam, a filmmaker in the 1930s. His great-grandmother Meenakshi was the first female music composer in Kollywood. He was part of a band in school called Zinx. At the age of 10, he started composing music and landed his first break with ' 3' at the age of 21.

He was the School Pupil Leader (SPL) at Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan, K.K. Nagar, Chennai. He graduated from the Loyola College, Chennai in 2011, which according to him was just a backup in case his music career did not take off. Anirudh learnt piano from Trinity College of Music, London and did his sound engineering diploma from soundtech-media (Chennai). He also was part of a fusion band. In his school days, Anirudh had entered a TV show that was judged by A. R. Rahman, and his band was one of the winners along with 5 other bands. Anirudh was awarded the Best Instrumentalist by his idol.

Career

2011–2012: Debut and early success

Anirudh Ravichander made his debut as a music composer in his cousin Aishwarya R. Dhanush's directorial debut '' 3'', starring Dhanush. While pursuing his degree at Loyola College, he had done background scores for the short films made by Aishwaryaa and his work on short films convinced her to have him work on her first commercial venture. In early November 2011, a leaked version of a song from the film ''Why This Kolaveri Di!'', circulated online and the film's team decided to subsequently release it officially on 16 November 2011. It instantly became popular on social networking sites for its quirky "Tanglish" (portmanteau and English) and foot-tapping kuthu beats. Soon, the song became the most searched YouTube video in India and internet phenomenon across Asia. Within a few weeks, YouTube honoured the video with a "Recently Most Popular" ''Gold Medal'' award and "Trending" ''silver medal'' award for receiving a large number of hits in a short time. The song was built around a South Indian folk rhythm. Its instrumentation consists of nadaswaram, shehnai, saxophone, urumee and thavil drums, acoustic guitar and keyboards mixed with electronic synths and scratches. The vocals utilize the singing style of Tamil folk culture. Lyrically, the song revolves around the film's main actor being dumped by his girlfriend; the song is sung by the character in a drunken state, with many of the lines nonsensical. According to the composer, ''3''s director Aishwarya R. Dhanush wanted a light-hearted song about failed love. Ravichander quickly composed the tune in about 10 minutes.

The remaining songs of the album were released in December 2011 and also won very positive reviews from critics. A reviewer from Behindwoods.com noted: "Anirudh Ravichander has delivered so much variety in his very first album. Such a promising debut by a composer hasn't been seen in recent Tamil cinema history", while Rediff.com's reviewer noted that "all the songs in ''3'' are good and come with appealing instrumental arrangements", concluding that it was "an intriguing collection." Anirudh also received praise for his background score in the film. He consequently went on to gain recognition for the film through accolades, notably the Vijay Award for Best Find of the Year as well as nominations at the South Indian International Movie Awards and the 60th Filmfare Awards South. He also worked on the Telugu dubbed version of the film. Anirudh teamed up with Dhanush soon after to produce a Kolaveri-inspired track titled "Sachin anthem" commemorating Sachin Tendulkar in association with the health drink, Boost.

2013–2015: Continued success

Next, he sang and composed a single for ''David'' – a multi-starrer directed by Bejoy Nambiar; "Kanave Kanave" in Tamil and "Yu Hi Re" in Hindi. The album also opened to very positive reviews, with a critic noting: Anirudh's song was "the pick of the album". His next album was '' Ethir Neechal'', which won positive reviews. Behindwoods.com noted "the album does well to consolidate Anirudh's sensational debut". Anirudh introduced rappers Yo Yo Honey Singh and Adhi of Hiphop Tamizha into Tamil film music. Similarly, the background music of the film was praised with a reviewer noting that Anirudh "certainly proved his mettle yet again with his exceptional music." Moreover, Sony Music India released the complete background score of ''Ethir Neechal'' via YouTube owing to its popularity. His next soundtrack, ''Vanakkam Chennai'' released in July 2013, and reached top spot in iTunes India Top Album category within a few days of its release. Prior to release, Anirudh had revealed that it was his "best work til date", and the composer featured as a vocalist in six of the seven songs in the film. For the song "Oh Penne", he roped in Vishal Dadlani for the first time in Tamil music, while a promotional international version was also recorded featuring British singer Arjun. Another promotional song, "Chennai City Gangster", saw him collaborate again with Adhi of Hiphop Tamizha and British Indian rapper Hard Kaur, with the trio also featuring in a music video for the film. A critic from Behindwoods noted: "Anirudh exploded onto the Tamil music scene with a hat-trick". His background music for the film was well received by reviewers. In September 2013, he was signed on to compose the background score for Selvaraghavan's fantasy film ''Irandam Ulagam'', after Harris Jayaraj had opted out. Anirudh noted his happiness at working with Selvaraghavan early in his career, despite being called up as a replacement and subsequently recorded for the film in Budapest. The film opened to mixed reviews and became a box office disaster, but Anirudh's work received a positive response.

Anirudh's next release ''Velaiyilla Pattathari'', featured veteran singer S. Janaki, Dhanush and Anirudh, and won positive reviews upon release in February 2014. while adding "in all, the album is soulful, lively and truly Anirudh". The film subsequently became a blockbuster at the box office, with Anirudh's work in re-recording also receiving critical acclaim and won the Filmfare award for best music director; Rediff.com stated he "has created magic once again", while Behindwoods.com noted his "BGM lifts all manner of scenes".
His next film was ''Maan Karate'', starring one of his close friends, Sivakarthikeyan. This album topped the iTunes chart within a few days of release. This album is a perfect mix of different genres, be it a lovely breezy ‘Un Vizhigalil’ song or ‘Royapuram Peter Kuthu’ vibe, its truly a treat. '' Maan Karate''s soundtrack released shortly after and also won favourable reviews from critics. The film opened to mixed reviews, but became a box office success, with a critic from Rediff.com praising that "Anirudh has proved once again that he understands the pulse of the youngsters. In fact, the BGM and sound tracks in the film, make the film appear more exciting than it actually is."

A.R. Murugadoss then signed him on to compose music for ''Kaththi'', starring Vijay, becoming Anirudh's highest profile album until he was signed to compose music for Superstar Rajinikanth's Petta in 2018. He composed the film's theme music within four days of signing, and also went on to collaborate again on songs with Adhi of Hip Hop Tamizha and Vishal Dadlani. Moreover, Anirudh recorded songs with veteran singers K. J. Yesudas and Vijay for the first time in his career, while he also created a "love kuthu" song "Selfie Pulla" to be sung by the film's lead actor Vijay and Sunidhi Chauhan, which became a big hit. The album received positive reviews from critics and topped the iTunes India Charts. Durgesh Haridas of ''The Indian Express'' stated: "The OST is arguably the best for a Vijay movie in recent times and Anirudh's variety and experimentation is helping him establishing himself as one of Kollywood's top music makers.", and labelled "Selfie Pulla" as "a number that even kids will be humming." adding that the song "doesn't disappoint". His work for re-recording also won acclaim, with a critic noting: "Anirudh's music and BGM reaches a new level", while the film went on to become one of the highest grossers in Tamil films history and he won several accolades for his work in the album Kaththi.

For the third time, Anirudh collaborated with his close friend Sivakarthikeyan for the film ''Kaaki Sattai'', produced by ''Dhanush'' under his production company. The album received mostly positive reviews and boosted the streak of Anirudh. In early 2013, it was announced that Anirudh would make his acting debut in Vignesh Shivan's ''Naanum Rowdydhaan'', after selecting it from twenty other scripts he had heard. However, production work stalled, with Anirudh noting that he will give priority to a career in music composing and agreed to work on the soundtrack for the film, now featuring Vijay Sethupathi. Furthermore, he signed on to compose music for a film made by and featuring newcomers; ''Aakko'', with initial publicity posters for the film featuring solely on Anirudh's status as the movie's composer. Anirudh scored music for '' Maari'', which was another project with Dhanush. The music received positive reviews, with the song "Don'u Don'u Don'u" becoming exceptionally popular. He also received critical acclaim for his work in the Vijay Sethupathi starrer ''Naanum Rowdydhaan'', leading him to receive many accolades for his achievement in the film. He released a single from the movie ''Aakko'' on Valentine's Day in 2015 of the name "Ennakenna Yaarum Illaiye". He also scored his first Ajith Kumar film in Vedalam, directed by Siva. Anirudh's music received mixed reviews, however, the song "Aaluma Doluma", which uses North Madras slang, became very popular Anirudh concluded the year with ''Thangamagan'', starring Dhanush which also received positive reviews for his music.

2016–2017

On Valentine's eve in 2016, he released a single dedicated to lovers, a song titled "Avalukena", under the banner of Sony Music. After a short break, Anirudh released a single from ''Rum'' in April 2016; "Hola Amigo". In May 2016, Anirudh signed a deal with Sony Music India. As per the deal, from here on, the independent albums and live concerts of Anirudh will be published and promoted by the global giant. Music giant Sony music presented a multi-platinum disc plaque for his successful collaborations with Sony Anirudh again teamed up with Sivakarthikeyan For ''Remo''. The album featured 8 tracks, with ''Behindwoods'' and ''Indiaglitz'' crediting "Remo's music is definitely a cupid's arrow from Anirudh" and "Some beats, a little melody, and a whole lot of fun, Remo is soulful jukebox", it became one of his album topping the iTunes charts. Then, on 12 November 2016, he launched the audio of his cousin Hrishikesh's horror flick ''Rum''. In late 2017, for the film Vivegam, Anirudh launched the first single "Surviva" and became fastest Tamil song to get 1 million streams, this track saw the comeback of Yogi B back to the Tamil music. Anirudh launched the next single, "Thalai Viduthalai". It was written by director Siva and sung by Anirudh and Harish Swaminathan. Anirudh used the "Death Metal" first time in kollywood for this track. This song was also considered a tribute to the ultimate star Ajith Kumar, who had completed 25 years in the Tamil film industry. After a HipHop and Death Metal, the third single was a romantic classical fusion; "Kadhalaada", featuring Pradeep Kumar and Sasha Tripathi. Anirudh launched the complete album with 4 other tracks. The English song "Never Give Up" featuring Raja Kumari. The album was topping iTunes, Saavn and other digital platforms, its completely an international album. He again teamed up with Sivakarthikeyan for Velaikkaaran, it was their 5th collaboration. He has experimented with genre and given variety in the album. It has a kuthu vibe Karuthavanlaam Galeejam expressing about colour and caste, sung by Anirudh himself. A romantic melody track Iraiva which features Anirudh and Jonita Gandhi, the track breaks into two genres it starts as a soft melody expressing love, then suddenly enter into a metal genre. Another melody Idhayane by Neeti Mohan and Anirudh. Vaa Velaikkara song sung by Shakthishree Gopalan, Bjorn Surrao is offbeat, and an introduction to trance-psychedelic music. It has a motivational track Ezhu Velaikkara sung by Siddharth Mahadevan. It's overall a catchy emotional album'
A Hindi pop music video Bewajah, composed by Anirudh and sung by Anirudh, Irene and Srinidhi Venkatesh, which is also India's first ever vertical video was released by Sony Music India. The video features a love-torn duo whose romance is narrated through animated movie posters. The song became an instant hit etching several million views.

2018–present

In 2018, he made his Telugu debut with ''Agnyaathavaasi'', which has 6 tracks, a fast-paced massy introductory track Dhaga Dhagamaney sung by Anirudh himself, a sweet melody Baitikochi Chuste song ruled by the guitar chords and enchanting flute, It was an instant hit among youngsters with its quirky lyrics and a catchy foot-tapping tune, Gaali Vaaluga sung by Anirudh was also instant hit among music lovers. Niranjana Raman has sung a beautiful classical number, Swagatham Krishna, the inclusion of the guitars and synths gives an enchanting experience throughout the track. Nakash Aziz has crooned peppy number AB Yevaro Nee Baby and Pawan Kalyan has sung a folk number Kodakaa Koteswar Rao. The whole album has been received well. His BGM received praises for his fresh sound. Next, he composed for Suriya's ''Thaanaa Serndha Koottam'', which was a remake of ''Special 26''. The song "Sodakku" was an instant hit among the masses. After that, he composed for Nayanthara's ''Kolamavu Kokila'', which was well received and was praised for being unique. The song "Gun Kadhal" became popular among Anirudh fans. The first single of '' Petta'' titled " Marana Mass" was an instant hit. On 10 December, the full album for Rajinikanth's '' Petta'' was released by Anirudh. His next project was Nani's Telugu film ''Jersey'', which is directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri. He later appeared in ''Gang Leader'' which was directed by Vikram K Kumar. This marked his second collaboration with Nani. After that he appeared in '' Darbar'', which was directed by AR Murugadoss. The song " Chumma Kizhi" sung by legendary singer SPB was a hit, and rapper Yogi B was roped in for "Thani Vazhi". He then composed one of the songs of the soundtrack for ''Dharala Prabhu'', the title track, which garnered success. In 2020, he collaborated with Vijay for the 2nd time in ''Master'', directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. The first single, " Kutti Story", sung by Vijay himself, received great praise and became popular around the world for its Tanglish lyrics. The second single sung by Gana Balachander, " Vaathi Coming", became an instant viral hit universally, with the kuthu song collecting 400 million views on YouTube, breaking many records rapidly from the get-go. This is the second most viewed song composed by Anirudh. He also came to work on the soundtrack of ''Doctor'', directed by Nelson Dilipkumar. The first single "Chellamma" was a hit among the youth with the fun and romantic lyrics, collecting over 100 million views on YouTube. In 2021, he worked with Vijay for the 3rd time in '' Beast'' directed by Nelson, whom he also worked with for the 3rd consecutive time. The first single "Arabic Kuthu", is a fusion featuring Arabic phrases and rhyming verses in Tamil. The song set the record for the most-viewed and liked South Indian song within 24 hours, and is currently his most-viewed single with over 490 million views.

In 2022, Anirudh scored hits with films like, '' Beast'' and ''Vikram'', with the latter marking his first release with Kamal Haasan, although the duo collaborated for ''Indian 2'' first which is yet to be released. The first single of ''Vikram'' titled "Pathala Pathala" received several million views from Kamal Haasan’s fans and was the most viewed song on YouTube.
The song also received praise for Kamal Haasan’s dance performances which went viral. Despite facing controversies from the song, it became an instant hit. He also scored hits from films like '' Don'' and ''Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal''. The songs from the '' Don'' received several million views and was an instant hit. The first single of ''Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal'' titled "Two Two Two" was also a hit on YouTube. He is also composing music for Dhanush starrer ''Thiruchitrambalam'' which marks his fifth collaboration with the actor after '' 3'', ''Velaiyilla Pattathari, Maari'' and '' Thanga Magan''. The first single of ''Thiruchitrambalam'' titled "Thaai Kelavi" was released on 24 June 2022 and received several million views which also became very viral and also became a huge hit. Although the song faced some controversies. A social activist has lodged a complaint against the makers of the film asking them to change the lyrics of the song, as the lyrics of the song are shown to be disrespectful to the elders. The second single titled "Megham Karukkatha", was released on July 15, 2022 which also received positive reviews. The third and the fourth singles of ''Thiruchitrambalam'' titled "Life of Pazham" and "Thenmozhi" which was sung by Anirudh himself for the former song and Santhosh Narayanan for the latter were released on 27 July 2022 and 30 July 2022 respectively. The entire soundtrack of ''Thiruchitrambalam'' was released on 31 July 2022. While Academy Award-winner A. R. Rahman was reportedly approached by Atlee to compose for his Bollywood film with Shah Rukh Khan, Rahman subsequently turned down the offer and Anirudh was chosen to compose for the film titled '' Jawan''. An announcement teaser featuring Anirudh's score was released in June 2022. His previous Hindi films were ''David'' and ''Jersey'', the former featuring just a single song by him ''Yun Hi Re'' and the latter featuring film score by him, mostly reused from his score for '' the original Telugu film'' on which the 2022 film ''Jersey'' was based upon. Thus '' Jawan'' marks the first full-fledged debut for Anirudh in Bollywood as a song and score composer. He is also set to compose music for Rajinikanth’s 169th film titled ''Jailer'' which will be directed by Nelson. The film will also mark Anirudh’s third collaboration with Rajini after '' Petta'' and '' Darbar'' and also with Nelson after ''Kolamaavu Kokila'', ''Doctor'' and '' Beast''. He is also set to collaborate with Ajith for his 62nd film tentatively titled ''AK62'' directed by Vignesh Shivan which marks his third collaboration with Ajith after ''Vedalam'' and ''Vivegam''. He is also set to compose music for Jr.NTR’s untitled 30th Telugu film tentatively titled ''NTR30'' which is directed by Koratala Siva.

Discography

As a film composer

* The films are listed in order of music release, regardless of the dates of film release.
* The year next to the super of the indicated films indicates the release year of the either dubbed or remade version in the named language later than the original version.
* * Indicates original language release. Indicates simultaneous makes, if featuring in more languages
* indicates a guest composer of the film released

Upcoming films

Independent works and music videos

As a playback singer

Filmography

Appearances in songs

Awards

Other honors

References

External links

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Loyola College, Chennai alumni
Living people
Musicians from Chennai
1990 births
Tamil film score composers
Tamil playback singers
Indian folk-pop singers
21st-century Indian composers
21st-century Indian singers
Singers from Tamil Nadu
Indian male film score composers
21st-century Indian male singers