Top 10 Best Telugu Music Directors of All Time

Top 10 Best Telugu Music Directors of All Time – A film, no matter how well made, won’t have any music to speak of if the music director does not properly assess and match the needs of the project with their composition style and skill set. There have been numerous great composers who have worked on South Indian films, but only a handful that actually stand out above the rest. In this list we will look at some of the most talented composers in Telugu Cinema History, along with examples of their work so you can make your own decision as to whether or not they deserve to be on this list!

1- K. V. Mahadevan

K. V. Mahadevan was a top telugu music director, best known for his work in the film Raja Rani and Mouna Ragam. He has also worked with singers like SP Balasubrahmanyam and P Susheela, to produce songs that were hugely popular during the 80s and 90s.

2- Pendyala Nageswara Rao

Pendyala Nageswara Rao is the best music director in Telugu language. He is one of the most famous music directors in India. His film Yemandoi Kanyaka mayuri has been on top of the list for years. It is a very popular film. People often use this song as their ringtone or as their WhatsApp status message to express love, sorrow and happiness with life’s ups and downs. Ravi Shankar is another great name among the top telugu music directors in India today.

3- Sathyam

Sathyam is one of the top telugu music directors in telugu cinema. He has composed music for more than 500 movies, including the famous songs like Aye nee amma, Mooga vareka, Yem kaadhal ennidum. His popular albums are: Padatha painkili from Super hit movie Mugguru magalu (1980), Kadhal kanava from blockbuster movie Kushi (1982) and Rythmic love song from blockbuster movie Mr. Pellikoduku (1983).

4- Chakravarthy

Chakravarthy is one of the most famous and top telugu music directors who have composed more than 1000 songs. His first song was with singer P. Susheela which was released in 1959. He was also a singer, writer and producer. He is considered as one of the best composers in India for his contributions to Indian cinema as well as to Tamil cinema, Malayalam cinema and Kannada cinema. The song Chandi Aaye Jaya Pata Chale sung by S.P Balasubrahmanyam is one of his evergreen songs in Telugu industry which is still played on many FM channels in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana today.

5- Raj-Koti

Raj-Koti is one of the top telugu music directors. They have a huge list of famous songs to their name. They are most well known for their work in the movies like Narasimha Naidu and Sivakasi.

6- Mani Sharma

Mani Sharma is considered as the best music director of all time in telugu. His popular movies are Malliswari, Gharshana, Arya, Vaali and so on. He is an Indian composer and a singer who has composed over 1000 songs in four languages-Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam. He has won six National Awards for his music composition in telugu movies.

7- M. M. Keeravani

M. M. Keeravani is one of the top telugu music directors of all time. He is also known for his collaborations with A. R. Rahman, a famous Indian film composer and record producer who has garnered international recognition for his compositions in film music and soundtracks, as well as his occasional songs in Tamil cinema and Hindi cinema (Bollywood). His notable works include Azhagarsaamiyin Kudumbam (1999), Lagaan (2001), Naa Illu India (2004), Okkadine (2013) and many others that have been successful at the box office, earning him several awards along the way.

8- Devi Sri Prasad

Devi Sri Prasad is a famous and one of the top telugu music directors. He was born in Vijayawada and studied at the Nagarjuna College. His father is a doctor, but he chose to become a musician. He started learning violin from his grandfather at age six, and then moved on to playing the keyboard. When he was only 11 years old, he played keyboards for Tollywood superstar Chiranjeevi for his album Sri Ramadasu. He also had a hand in composing background music for many movies such as Pokiri, Magadheera, Varudu , etc. In 2007, Aishwarya Rai called him to compose the background score for her Hollywood debut The White Countess and won her an Oscar nomination too!

9- Yuvan Shankar Raja

Yuvan Shankar Raja is one of the top telugu music directors in India. He has won three National Awards for his compositions in Kannathil Muthamittal, Anjali, and Mudhalvan. He is also known for his compositions for Hindi films like Kal Ho Naa Ho, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and more.

10- Harris Jayaraj

Harris Jayaraj is a top telugu music director. He has also composed and directed movies. His first movie as a composer was the Tamil film ‘Ullam Kollai Poguthae’ in 1998. In 2001, he debuted as an Indian film composer with the Tamil movie ‘Thiruda Thiruda’ starring Kamal Hassan and Jyothika.