Filmi music soundtracks are music produced for India's mainstream motion picture industry and written and performed for Indian cinema. In cinema, music directors make up the main body of composers; the songs are performed by playback singers and the genre represents 72% of the music sales market in India.
Kerala music has a complex history distinct from Malayalam poetry, with which it is often associated. Though it is often driven by poetry, Kerala also has its roots in Carnatic music. Songs have always been a significant part of early Malayalam literature dating back to the 9th century CE. The significance of music in Kerala's culture can be deduced from the musical poetry that developed in the Malayalam language long before prose. As music evolved in the region, various branches emerged from it
Swarnalatha was an Indian playback singer. In a career spanning almost 22 years, she recorded over 10,000 songs in many Indian languages, including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Oriya, Punjabi, and Badaga. Her beautiful voice is the reason behind her title “Queen of Tones In India”.
Harini is an Indian film playback and classical singer born and raised in Chennai. She sings predominantly in Tamil films, besides other language films such as Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. She was first noticed by music director A. R. Rahman at a school competition where she was one among the winners. Eventually, she was signed in to record the song "Nila Kaigiradhu" for the film Indira (1995) when she was 15. The song went on to become one of the popular songs of the year and Harini began to get singing offers from other leading film composers.
Sujatha Mohan is an Indian playback singer who is popular for singing in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu movies. She has also sung for Kannada, Badaga, Hindi and Marathi and more languages movies. As of 2021, she had recorded more than 18,000 songs. She is celebrated as the Melody Queen of South India, she is known by various affectionate titles: Bhava Gayika in Kerala, and Innisai Kuyil in Tamil Nadu. She is also known for her extensive history of collaboration with music composers like A. R. Rahman, Ilaiyaraja, M. M. Keeravani, Koti, Vidyasagar, Mani Sharma, and with the playback singers K. J. Yesudas and S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, over the years. Her husky voice and versatile singing style have garnered her a massive fan base.
Chinmayi Sripada is an Indian singer and voice actress who predominantly works in Tamil and Telugu films. Noted for her wide vocal range and versatility, she is one of the most popular singer in south India .She rose to fame for her critically acclaimed song "Oru Deivam Thantha Poovae" from Kannathil Muthamittal, directed by Mani Ratnam and composed by A. R. Rahman. She was 15 years old when she made her singing debut in Kannathil Muthamittal. She debuted as a voice actress in Sillunu Oru Kaadhal rendering her voice for Bhumika Chawla, after being referred by one of A. R. Rahman's sound engineers. She debuted as a composer with a short lullaby titled Laali, which she also sang and released as part of Instagram's #1MinMusic.
"Bombay" Jayashri Ramnath is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, singer, and musician. She has sung songs in multiple languages, including for Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi movies. Born into a family of musicians, Jayashri represents the fourth generation of music practitioners in her family. Trained by Lalgudi Jayaraman and T.R. Balamani. She was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 2021. In December 2023, she was awarded the most prestigious award in the Carnatic music field, the Sangeetha Kalanidhi, by the Madras Music Academy. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song (Oscar) for Pi's Lullaby from Life of Pi movie. She has become one of the most sought-after Carnatic musicians today.
Anuradha Sriram is an Indian carnatic and playback singer and child actress who hails from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. She has sung more than 3500 songs in Tamil, Telugu, Sinhala, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali and Hindi films.
Nithyasree Mahadevan, also referred to as S. Nithyasree, is a Carnatic musician and playback singer for film songs in many Indian languages. Nithyashree has performed in all major sabhas in India. She has released more than 500 albums. She is best known for her rendition of the A. R. Rahman composition, "Kannodu Kaanbadhellam" - her playback debut song in the Tamil movie Jeans.
The Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer is given by the state government as part of its annual Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Tamil (Kollywood) films.
Airtel Super Singer is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language reality television singing competition, that was sponsored by KAG Tiles for the tenth season. The show is televised in India on Vijay TV, and worldwide through partner broadcasting networks. The show, together with its spin-off editions such as Airtel Super Singer Junior, are part of Vijay TV's Super Singer TV series.
Vidyasagar is an Indian composer, musician and singer who works predominantly in the Tamil, Malayalam, and Telugu film industries. After working with several composers as assistant and conductor, Vidyasagar made his debut as a film composer in the 1989 Tamil film Poo Manam and is nicknamed as "Melody King". Working for over 225 feature films, he is the recipient of one National Award, multiple State Awards and five Filmfare Awards. He is widely regarded as one of the finest and most acclaimed composers in the history of Indian cinema.
Shakthisree Gopalan is an Indian vocalist, composer, songwriter and performer, famous for her collaborations with the top south-Indian music composers like A.R. Rahman. Aside from the film music, she is a regular in the independent music scene, performing with various bands over the years dabbling in Pop, R'n'B, trip-hop and jazz.
Srimathumitha is an Indian playback and Carnatic singer who sings mainly in Tamil. She has also sung in Telugu, Hindi and Kannada songs. Some of her notable songs are "Azhage Azhage" from the movie Oru Kal Oru Kannadi, "Valayapatti Thavile" from the movie Azhagiya Tamil Magan, "Kanaa Kaanum Kalangal" from the movie 7G Rainbow Colony, and "Rathathin Rathame" from the movie Velayudham. She is one of the leading playback singers in today’s film music scenario. She has sung for leading music directors like Ilayaraja, Harris Jayaraj, Yuvan Shankar Raja, A. R. Rahman, Bharadwaj, Deva, S. A. Rajkumar, and Bharani. She emerged as the "Best Voice of 2002" in the TV Reality Show Rajageetham conducted by RAJ TV. She is the first playback singer to win the Vikadan Awards started in 2004, which was juried by late Sujatha. A. R. Rahman has featured her in two songs in the soundtrack of Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.
