Nainita Desai

Nainita Desai
Nainita Desai
Born	London, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Composer
Years active	1998–present
Website	https://nainitadesai.com/

Last updated July 28, 2025

Nainita Desai is a British composer of film, television and video game music.^[1]^[2]^[3] She is known for her scores for the films For Sama , The Reason I Jump and American Murder: The Family Next Door , and video game Telling Lies .^[4]^[5]^[6] In 2016, Nainita was named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit.^[7]

Life and career

Nainita was born and raised in London by her Indian parents. She holds a degree in mathematics and studied sound design at the National Film and Television School.^[8] She started her career as a sound designer on the films Little Buddha , Lessons of Darkness and Death Machine .^[9]

Filmography

Selected films

Little Terrorist (2004)
Forced Confessions (2012)
Molly (2014)
Checkpost (2014)
The Life After (2018)
Anemone (2018)
Untamed Romania (2018)
//_sleeper (2018)
Exit Eve (2019)
Lab Rat (2019)
Enemy Within (2019)
Darkness Visible (2019)
For Sama (2019)
The Reason I Jump (2020)^[10]
American Murder: The Family Next Door (2020)
14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible (2021)

Selected televisions

The Confessions of Thomas Quick (2015)
Treasures of the Indus (2015)
Kolkata with Sue Perkins (2015)
Cameraman to the Queen (2015)
Mumbai High: The Musical (2015)
African River Wild (2016)
The Day Hitler Died (2016)
Burma's Secret Jungle War with Joe Simpson (2016)
The Murder of Sadie Hartley (2016)
The Big Food Rescue (2016)
Down the Mighty River with Steve Backshall (2017)
Morocco to Timbuktu: An Arabian Adventure (2017)
Cops UK: Bodycam Squad (2016-2017)
First Ladies Revealed (2017)
Inside London Fire Brigade (2017)
My Family, Partition and Me: India 1947 (2017)
Diana: The Day Britain Cried (2017)
Tribes, Predators & Me (2016-2017)
The Ganges with Sue Perkins (2017)
Raped: My Story (2017)
Extreme Wives with Kate Humble (2017)
Wild Africa: Rivers of Life (2018)
Earth's Natural Wonders (2018)

My Dad, the Peace Deal and Me (2018)
Catching a Killer (2017-2018)
The Royal Wedding: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (2018)
Neighbourhood Blues (2011-2018)
Trevor McDonald: Return to South Africa (2018)
The Detectives: Inside the Major Crimes Team (2018)
Extraordinary Rituals (2018)
Am I a Murderer? (2018)
Defenders UK (2018)
David Jason: Planes, Trains & Automobiles (2019)
Equator from the Air (2019)
The 1900 Island (2019)
The Day We Walked On The Moon (2019)
My Grandparents' War (2019)
My Family, the Holocaust and me (2020)
Hometown (2019-2020)
Fierce Queens (2020)
Unprecedented: Real Time Theatre from a State of Isolation (2020)
The School That Tried to End Racism (2020)
Bad Boy Billionaires: India (2020)
American Murder: The Family Next Door (2020)
Enslaved (2020)
Anton Ferdinand: Football, Racism and Me (2020)

Video game

Telling Lies (2019)
Immortality (2022)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Season 3) (2023)^[11]
Tales of Kenzera: Zau (2024)^[12]

Awards and nominations

Year	Result	Award	Category	Work	Ref.
2019	Nominated	British Independent Film Awards	Best Music	For Sama	^[13]
	Won	NaturVision Film Festival	Best Score	Untamed Romania	^[14]
	Won	International Film Music Critics Association	Breakthrough Composer of the Year		^[15]
	Nominated	International Film Music Critics Association	Best Documentary Score	Untamed Romania
2020	Won	Royal Television Society	Best Music - Original Score	For Sama
2020	Nominated	Ivor Novello Awards	Best Original Film Score	For Sama	^[16]
2021	Nominated	British Independent Film Awards	Best Music	The Reason I Jump	^[17]
	Nominated	Cinema Eye Honors	Outstanding Original Score	The Reason I Jump	^[18]
	Nominated	Hollywood Music in Media Awards	Best Original Score in a Documentary	14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible	^[19]
2025	Won	ASCAP Composers' Choice Awards	Best Video Game Score	Tales of Kenzera: Zau	^[20]

References

↑ "'American Murder' Composer Nainita Desai Talks Utilizing Digital Sounds To Tell Shannan's Story". awardsdaily.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
↑ "COMPOSING BEYOND COVID WITH NAINITA DESAI". music.britishcouncil.org. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
↑ "'I like to be in total control of every note': Catching up with award-winning composer Nainita Desai". psneurope.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
↑ "Nainita Desai: scoring For Sama". broadcastnow.co.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
↑ "The Sound Design of 'The Reason I Jump'". mixonline.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
↑ "FILM SCORING MECCA - BAFTA breakthrough brit composer Nainita Desai". filmscoringtips.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
↑ "BAFTA and Burberry Reveal 2016 Breakthrough Brits in Film, Television and Games". bafta.org. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
↑ "Nainita Desai". prsformusic.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
↑ "The Confessions of Thomas Quick (Nainita Desai & Malcolm Laws)". moviescoremedia.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
↑ "The Reason I Jump". imdb.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
↑ "A look behind the scenes of the music of Season 03 with composer". Twitter. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
↑ Ramée, Jordan (1 February 2024). "Tales of Kenzera: Zau Tackles Grief As A Metroidvania With Dance-Like Combat And Incredible Music". GameSpot . Retrieved 20 February 2024.
↑ "BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM". bifa.film. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
↑ "Award Winners of the 18th NaturVision filmfestival 2019". filmfestivals.com. August 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
↑ "IFMCA Award Winners 2019". filmmusiccritics.org. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
↑ "2020 WINNERS AND NOMINATIONS". ivorsacademy.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
↑ "'Rocks' & 'His House' Win Big At British Independent Film Awards". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 23 September 2020.
↑ "'Time' Leads Influential Cinema Eye Honors Documentary Nominations". indiewire.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
↑ "2021 MUSIC IN VISUAL MEDIA NOMINATIONS". hmmawards.com. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
↑ "ASCAP Composers' Choice Awards Honorees Announced". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 1 May 2025.

External links

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[1] "'American Murder' Composer Nainita Desai Talks Utilizing Digital Sounds To Tell Shannan's Story". awardsdaily.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.

[2] "COMPOSING BEYOND COVID WITH NAINITA DESAI". music.britishcouncil.org. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.

[3] "'I like to be in total control of every note': Catching up with award-winning composer Nainita Desai". psneurope.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.

[4] "Nainita Desai: scoring For Sama". broadcastnow.co.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2020.

[5] "The Sound Design of 'The Reason I Jump'". mixonline.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.

[6] "FILM SCORING MECCA - BAFTA breakthrough brit composer Nainita Desai". filmscoringtips.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.

[7] "BAFTA and Burberry Reveal 2016 Breakthrough Brits in Film, Television and Games". bafta.org. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2020.

[8] "Nainita Desai". prsformusic.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.

[9] "The Confessions of Thomas Quick (Nainita Desai & Malcolm Laws)". moviescoremedia.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.

[10] "The Reason I Jump". imdb.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.

[11] "A look behind the scenes of the music of Season 03 with composer". Twitter. Retrieved 3 May 2023.

[12] Ramée, Jordan (1 February 2024). "Tales of Kenzera: Zau Tackles Grief As A Metroidvania With Dance-Like Combat And Incredible Music". GameSpot . Retrieved 20 February 2024.

[13] "BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM". bifa.film. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2020.

[14] "Award Winners of the 18th NaturVision filmfestival 2019". filmfestivals.com. August 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2020.

[15] "IFMCA Award Winners 2019". filmmusiccritics.org. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.

[16] "2020 WINNERS AND NOMINATIONS". ivorsacademy.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.

[17] "'Rocks' & 'His House' Win Big At British Independent Film Awards". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 23 September 2020.

[18] "'Time' Leads Influential Cinema Eye Honors Documentary Nominations". indiewire.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.

[19] "2021 MUSIC IN VISUAL MEDIA NOMINATIONS". hmmawards.com. Retrieved 10 December 2021.

[20] "ASCAP Composers' Choice Awards Honorees Announced". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 1 May 2025.

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v t e World Soundtrack Award for Discovery of the Year
2000s	Craig Armstrong – Moulin Rouge! (2001) Klaus Badelt – The Time Machine (2002) Antônio Pinto – Cidade de Deus (2003) Gustavo Santaolalla – 21 Grams (2004) Michael Giacchino – The Incredibles (2005) Evanthia Reboutsika – My Father and My Son (2006) Daniel Tarrab and Andres Goldstein – Inheritance and XXY (2007) Marc Streitenfeld – American Gangster (2008) Nico Muhly – The Reader (2009)
2010s	Abel Korzeniowski – A Single Man (2010) Alex Heffes – The First Grader (2011) Brian Byrne – Albert Nobbs (2012) Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild (2013) Daniel Pemberton – The Counselor and Cuban Fury (2014) Antonio Sánchez – Birdman (2015) Joe Kraemer – Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2016) Nicholas Britell – Moonlight (2017) Tamar-kali – Mudbound (2018) Michael Abels – Us (2019)
2020s	Bryce Dessner – The Two Popes (2020) Nainita Desai – The Reason I Jump (2021) Eiko Ishibashi – Drive My Car (2022) Simon Franglen – Avatar: The Way of Water (2023) Jerskin Fendrix – Poor Things (2024)