Ram Sampath (born 25 July 1977) is an Indian composer, music producer and musician, who started his career composing advertising jingles for
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
-based advertising industry, subsequently he started composing for pop albums like ''Tanha Dil'' (2000) by
Shaan, before composing for films like ''
Khakee'', ''
Delhi Belly'' (2011), ''
Talaash'' (2012), ''
Raees'' etc.
He has composed music for advertising jingles for brands like
Airtel,
Docomo,
Thums Up,
Pepsi
Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...
and the
Times of India
''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
.
Early life and background
Born to a
Tamilian father and
Kannadiga mother, Sampath grew up in
Chembur, Mumbai where he did his schooling from
OLPS High School. Both his parents were musically inclined, while his grandfather TV Ramanujam, was one of the founders of Shanmukhananda Hall, a cultural centre in
Sion, Mumbai
Sion ( /ˈsaːjən/; IAST: ''Śīv'' �iːʋ is a neighbourhood of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. In the 17th century the village formed the boundary between Mumbai and Salsette Island. It marks the boundary between the city and its suburbs and ...
, established in 1952.
Thus his ancestral house, was frequented by leading musicians and singers of
Carnatic music
Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha.
It is o ...
. Later on, he too learnt Carnatic music for eight years. After his schooling he studied commerce at
Podar College, Mumbai, where he played keyboard in a rock band.
Career
Non-film music

Over the years, he has composed advertising jingles for brands like Airtel, Docomo, Thums Up, Pepsi and the Times of India, for which he composed the theme song for the "I Lead India" campaign in 2013.
In 2008, he collaborated with the Australian rock band
INXS
INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...
to record Indian version of their songs, ''
God's Top Ten'', ''
Devil's Party'', and ''
Afterglow''. Also in 2008, the
Bombay High Court ruled that two songs from the film, ''
Krazzy 4'', including the title track "Krazzy4" and "Break-free" plagiarised the "
hook
A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...
-phrase" from an advertisement previously composed by Sampath for
Sony Ericsson. The court ordered a stay on film's release with the two songs. Subsequently, the case was settled out-of-court after producers paid Sampath , and film was released along with the songs. However the judgment was seen by "landmark decision" by legal commentators, as it set a new precedent in the Indian film industry, often plagued with plagiarism. In 2012, he composed the highly popular title track "Tera Rang Aisa" of the debut talkshow ''
Satyamev Jayate'' hosted by
Aamir Khan, it had lyrics by
Prasoon Joshi.
He was also part of the 2013 season of the popular television music series ''
Coke Studio''.
Film music
Sampath got his first break as a film score composer with ''
Let's Talk'' (2002) directed by
Ram Madhvani. Thereafter, he composed for several films like ''
Khakee'' (2004) and ''
Family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
'' (2006) by ''
Rajkumar Santoshi'', besides ''
Jumbo'' (2008), ''
Aagey Se Right'' (2009) and ''
Luv Ka The End'' (2011). However, he first received popular acclaim with ''
Delhi Belly'' (2011) produced by
Aamir Khan. Most notably hit track "Bhaag DK Bose Aandhi Aayi" with -rock beat, became an internet sensation ahead of the release of the film. Later he received a
Filmfare Award
The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Time ...
nomination for the film. His next film, ''
Talaash'' (2012) was a joint production between
Farhan Akhtar's
Excel Entertainment and Aamir Khan Productions also starring Aamir Khan as the lead. The music received positive reviews, including ''Indiaglitz'', which noted, "Once again Ram Sampath has an unmatched compilation of tracks here. Along with
Javed Akhtar's fantastic lyrics they have created a masterpiece here." Thereafter, Akhtar signed him again for his next production, ''
Fukrey'', directed by Mrigdeep Singh Lamba. Fukrey was a sleeper hit and opened to good music reviews, especially for the song "Ambarsariya", an adaptation of a traditional Punjabi folk song, performed by
Sona Mohapatra, his wife and regular collaborator.
Television
In 2009, he appeared as a judge of singing reality series, ''
MTV Rock On'' (Season 1) on
MTV India, along with singer
Kailash Kher and MTV VJ
Nikhil Chinapa.
Personal life
Ram Sampath is married to
Sona Mohapatra, a singer, who is his frequent collaborator and business partner in their music production house OmGrown Music. The couple resides in Mumbai. The couple met in 2002, while she was still working as a brand manager with
Marico. They were introduced by director
Ram Madhvani, with whom Sampath was working for ''
Let's Talk'' (2002); they married in 2005.
Discography
Films
Albums
Television
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Ram Sampath Website*
Ram Sampathat
Last.fm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampath, Ram
1977 births
Living people
Indian film score composers
Indian male playback singers
Indian record producers
Indian male singer-songwriters
Indian singer-songwriters
Singers from Mumbai
Tamil musicians
University of Mumbai alumni
Television composers
Jingle composers
Indian male film score composers