A.R. Rahman

His is hardly a name that requires a preamble, especially in light of his more recent international success (he bagged oscars for his scoring of Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire and has been jet-setting between an L.A. studio and Mumbai ever since). He is the pride and joy of the Indian nation, musically and otherwise, thanks to his feat of having redefined contemporary Indian music in the most magnificent way possible.

For someone who was given a lucky opportunity by Mani Ratnam back in the '90s for whom he composed Roja's legendary Tamizha Tamizha, Rahman has come a long, long way since. His strength lies in an impeccable sense of melody, rhythm, cultural nuances topped with an immaculate understanding of sound engineering. It's an unbeatable combination which has rendered him as not only one of the top music composers in India, but the world too!

-Picture courtesy Indiatimes gallery-