Anirudh Ravichander

Who is Anirudh Ravichander?

Anirudh Ravichander (born 16 October 1990 in Chennai) is an Indian film composer and playback singer who works primarily in Tamil cinema, as well as Telugu and Hindi films. Widely nicknamed the "Rockstar" of South Indian music, he is one of the most popular, bankable and culturally influential composers in the country, with a sound that fuses electronic production, rock energy and stadium-sized hooks.

Early life and training

He was born into a film family — son of actor Ravi Raghavendra and classical dancer Lakshmi Ravichander, and a relative of actress Trisha. He studied at Loyola College, Chennai and trained in piano at the Trinity College of Music, London, giving his work a strong technical grounding beneath its mass appeal.

Breakthrough: "Why This Kolaveri Di"

His debut song, "Why This Kolaveri Di" for the 2012 film 3, became a global viral phenomenon — one of the first Indian songs to break out worldwide on social media — and remains one of YouTube's most-watched Indian tracks. Overnight, a young composer became a household name.

A blockbuster career

He went on to score many of South cinema's biggest films, building a reputation for electric, youth-driven soundtracks and explosive hero-introduction numbers:

• Kaththi (with the viral "Selfie Pulla")
• Petta and Jailer with Rajinikanth
• Vikram and Leo
• Jawan with Shah Rukh Khan, whose songs "Zinda Banda" and "Not Ramaiya Vastavaiya" set streaming records

Recognition

Anirudh has won multiple Filmfare Awards South, along with a large haul of SIIMA, Edison and Vijay Awards, and his concerts have become major live events in their own right. Few composers can claim his combination of critical respect, commercial dominance and genuine pop stardom.

Recent work

In 2026 he composed Aaya Sher, the high-octane first single from Nani's Telugu film The Paradise.