Arjuna Harjai is an Indian composer,[1] singer and record producer based in the United Kingdom, working across Bollywood, independent music and advertising. Early in his career he composed "O Soniye" for the film Titoo MBA, featuring Arijit Singh in one of his early collaborations. A recipient of the Creative ABBY Awards Gold for original background score,[2] he is known for his longstanding association with director Nikkhil Advani, his viral "The One Minute Composer" series, and collaborative work with international artists including Machel Montano, Rashmeet Kaur and Natasha Noorani. His work has been featured in Rolling Stone India, NDTV, The Times of India and BBC Asian Network, where "Zikar Hai" marked his debut as Introducing Artist of the Week in 2024. His singles "Kaajal" (2025) and "Ludhiyane Waleya" (2026) were subsequently featured on BBC Asian Network. He holds the UK Global Talent Visa under the Exceptional Talent category, endorsed by Arts Council England, recognising his contribution to the South Asian music scene in the United Kingdom.[3]
Harjai was born in Delhi and began learning Hindustani classical music from his parents at a young age, gaining early exposure to a wide range of musical styles. He moved to Mumbai in 2006 to study further under playback singer Suresh Wadkar. He studied piano as his primary instrument, completing Grade 8 in western classical and jazz piano at the Delhi School of Music. In 2008 he graduated from SAE Institute, Mumbai, as the highest scorer in Audio Engineering. In 2009 he studied jazz and counterpoint composition under various music exchange programmes in Delhi and Mumbai.[4]
Career
Early career
While composing advertising jingles for major brands, Harjai assisted music composer Lalit Pandit on projects including Besharam and Dabangg. He began composing for cinema when Punjabi producer Rajan Batra sought a new composer for his feature film Titoo MBA. Harjai composed the entire soundtrack,[5] including "O Soniye", which featured Arijit Singh and Vibha Saraf. By 2022 he had composed over 500 advertising jingles and music for more than a dozen feature films. Over the course of his career in advertising and films, Harjai has worked alongside renowned lyricists including Gulzar and Irshad Kamil.
In 2021 Harjai relocated to the United Kingdom, initially on a dependent visa while his wife pursued a postgraduate degree. During this period he founded Aart Sense Records, an independent record label based in the UK, and continued composing remotely for Indian film and television while expanding his output as an independent artist. In 2023 he collaborated with Sounds of Isha, the music wing of Sadhguru's Isha Foundation, alongside international artists including Machel Montano, Marge Blackman and Sandeep Narayan, to create the Save Soil and Come Awake anthems in support of the Save Soil environmental movement.[10]
Harjai manages several YouTube channels. "Arjuna Harjai" serves as his official artist channel, attached to his profile as a musician, a role it has held since 2022 when he moved his personal vlog content to a separate channel, "Arjuna & Divya Vlogs", which he runs alongside his wife and has accumulated over 160,000 subscribers.[11]
The One Minute Composer (2024)
In 2024 Harjai launched a creative project titled "The One Minute Composer",[12] in which he composed and released tracks based on random prompts, each produced within a minute. The series included "Winter Ayun Waliye", "Mangoge Na" and "Zikar Hai", with all three reaching Spotify's Viral 50 charts.[13] "Zikar Hai" was a collaboration with international artist Natasha Noorani, recorded remotely between Harjai in the UK and Noorani in Lahore.[14] The song marked Harjai's debut on BBC Asian Network, where he was named Introducing Artist of the Week in 2024.[15]
In February 2025 Harjai released "Kaajal",[17] which was featured on BBC Asian Network. Later that year he released "Karigar" with Surabhi Dashputra in October, followed in November by "Only You"[18] featuring Neha Karode and in December by "Only You (Her)"[19] featuring Arunima Sharma. In January 2026 he released "Tu Hi Hai Channa"[20] with Surabhi Dashputra, followed in February 2026 by "Ludhiyane Waleya",[21] also with Surabhi Dashputra, with lyrics by Geet Sagar. "Ludhiyane Waleya" was featured on BBC Asian Network in March 2026.
Global Talent Visa
In a significant milestone for his international career, Harjai was granted the UK Global Talent Visa under the Exceptional Talent category, endorsed by Arts Council England. The visa is awarded to individuals recognised as leaders or emerging leaders in the cultural and creative sectors, and represents formal acknowledgement by the UK government of Harjai's contribution to the international music industry.
Harjai spoke about the achievement in an interview with BBC Asian Network presenter Preeti Kullar,[22] reflecting on his journey from Delhi to becoming an established artist and record label founder based in the UK. The recognition places him among a select group of South Asian artists to have received the designation.
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