Anirudh Ravichander facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Anirudh Ravichander
Background information
Born	(1990-10-16) 16 October 1990 (age 34) Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Genres	Film score independent music
Occupations	Composer Playback singer Instrumentalist Music producer
Instruments	Vocals keyboards
Years active	2011–present
Labels	Sony Music India Aditya T-Series Lahari Wunderbar Eros Divo Zee Sun Pictures

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 Hindi and Telugu 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".

Biography

Anirudh Ravichander was born as the son of Indian actor Ravi Raghavendra and classical dancer Lakshmi Ravichander. He is the nephew of Latha Rajinikanth, thus making Aishwarya, Soundarya and Hrishikesh his cousins and Rajinikanth his uncle. Anirudh's great-grandfather was the director K. Subramanyam, a filmmaker in the 1930s.

He graduated from the Loyola College at 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. He also was part of a fusion band. Anirudh has also pursued a diploma in sound engineering from Soundtech Media Audio Engineering Institute at Chennai. In his school days, Anirudh and his band has participated in a reality television show judged by the famous musician A. R. Rahman, and his band was one of the winners along with five other bands in the show.

Career

2011–2012: Debut and early success

Anirudh at an event

Anirudh 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 word of Tamil 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

Catherine Tresa, Anirudh and Dhanush at 60th Filmfare Awards South in 2013

Next, he sang and composed a single for David – a multi-starrer directed by Bejoy Nambiar; "Kanave Kanave" in Tamil. 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.

2018–present: Widespread recognition and work in other languages

In 2018, he made his Telugu debut with Agnyaathavaasi which was received well. Next, he composed for Suriya's Thaanaa Serndha Koottam, a remake of Special 26. After that, he composed for Nayanthara's Kolamavu Kokila, which was well received and was praised for being unique.

His next big project came with Petta, directed by Karthik Subbaraj and starring his uncle Rajinikanth. 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 composed for Gang Leader which was directed by Vikram K Kumar. This marked his second collaboration with Nani. After that was Darbar, directed by AR Murugadoss. 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. 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", was 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 500 million views.

Anirudh at Velaikkaran Audio Launch

His work in Vikram marked his first release with Kamal Haasan, although the duo collaborated first on Indian 2 which wasn't released at that time (released on 2024). The first single of Vikram titled "Pathala Pathala" received several million views from fans. He also composed for Sivakarthikeyan's Don and Vijay Sethupathi's Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal. After a hiatus, he returned to compose for Dhanush with Thiruchitrambalam. The first single of Thiruchitrambalam titled "Thaai Kelavi" was released on 24 June 2022 and its lyrics proved controversial. A social activist lodged a complaint against the makers of the film asking them to change the lyrics of the song, citing disrespect to elderly people.

After A. R. Rahman turned down an offer by Atlee to compose for his Hindi film Jawan with Shah Rukh Khan, Anirudh was chosen to compose for the film. An announcement teaser featuring Anirudh's score was released in June 2022. Jawan marks the first full-fledged debut for Anirudh in Hindi cinema as a composer as his previous Hindi films David and Jersey featured just a single and reused film from the original, respectively. He then composed the soundtrack for Leo, in his fourth collaboration with Vijay after Kaththi (2014), Master and Beast; third collaboration with Lokesh after Master and Vikram (2022). The track "Bloody Sweet" that was featured in the two-minute promo video for the movie was released on 3 February 2023, the same date as the promo. It has gathered 76 million views so far on YouTube, his highest. He also composed music for Rajinikanth’s 169th film titled Jailer directed by Nelson. The film marks Anirudh’s third collaboration with Rajini after Petta and Darbar and fourth with Nelson after Kolamaavu Kokila, Doctor and Beast.

In 2024, he composed music for N. T. Rama Rao Jr.'s Telugu film Devara, which is directed by Koratala Siva. He is also set to collaborate with Ajith Kumar for his 62nd film Vidaamuyarchi directed by Magizh Thirumeni which marks his third collaboration with Ajith after Vedalam and Vivegam.

Discography

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Other honors