Ram Sampath (born 25 July 1977) is an Indian composer, music producer and musician, who started his career composing advertising jingles for

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

-based advertising industry, subsequently he started composing for pop albums like ''Tanha Dil'' (2000) by Shaan, before composing for films like ''

Khakee ''Khakee'' (English translation: The Uniform) is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language neo-noir action thriller film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and written by Santoshi and Sridhar Raghavan. The story revolves around an Indian police team on a missi ...

'', '' Delhi Belly'' (2011), '' Talaash'' (2012), '' Raees'' etc. He has composed music for advertising jingles for brands like

Airtel Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as (d/b/a) Airtel, is an Indian multinational telecommunications services company based in New Delhi. It operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa, as well as the Channel Islands. Current ...

, Docomo,

Thums Up Thums Up is an Indian multinational brand of cola in India. It was introduced in 1977 to offset the withdrawal of The Coca-Cola Company from India. The brand was later bought by Coca-Cola who re-launched it in order to fight against Pepsi to c ...

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi wa ...

and the

Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest se ...

Early life and background

Born to a

Tamilian The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...

father and

Kannadiga The Kannada people or Kannadigaru IAST">nowiki/>IAST:_Kannadadavaru_or_Kannadigas_(English_term).html" ;"title="IAST.html" ;"title="nowiki/>IAST">nowiki/>IAST: Kannadadavaru or Kannadigas (English term)">IAST.html" ;"title="nowiki/>IAST">nowik ...

mother, Sampath grew up in

Chembur Chembur (pronunciation: ͡ʃembuːɾ is an upmarket large suburb in central Mumbai, India. History Before reclamation, Chembur lay on the north-western corner of Trombay Island. It is suggested that Chembur is the same place referred to as S ...

, Bombay where he did his schooling from OLPS High School. Both his parents were musically inclined, while his grandfather TV Ramanujam, was one of the founder of Shanmukhananda Hall, a cultural centre in

Sion, Mumbai Sion ( /ˈsaːjən/; IAST: ''Śīv'' �iːʋ is a neighbourhood of Mumbai. In the 17th century the village formed the boundary between Mumbai and Salsette Island. The British named it marking the end of the city. The name remained even after M ...

, established in 1952. Thus his ancestral house, was frequented by leading musicians and singers of

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It ...

. Later on, he too learnt Carnatic music for eight years. After his schooling he studied commerce at

Podar College Rāmniranjan Ānandilāl Podār College of Commerce and Economics (Autonomous), popularly known as R.A Podar College is affiliated with the University of Mumbai, situated in Matunga, Mumbai, India. It is run by the Shikshan Prasarak Mandali, a ...

, Mumbai, where he played keyboard in a rock band.

Career

Non-film music

Over the years, he has composed advertising jingles for brands like Airtel, Docomo, Thums Up, Pepsi and the Times of India, for which he composed the theme song for the "I Lead India" campaign in 2013. In 2008, he collaborated with the Australian rock band

INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss ...

to record Indian version of their songs, ''

God's Top Ten "God's Top Ten" is a song by Australian band INXS, which was released as the fifth single from their eleventh studio album, ''Switch'' (November 2005). The album was the first with new lead singer, J.D. Fortune, winner of the '' Rock Star: INXS' ...

'', ''

Devil's Party "Devil's Party" is a song by Australian band INXS. It was released in May 2006 as the third single from their eleventh studio album ''Switch'', which was also the first with new lead singer J.D. Fortune Jason Dean Bennison (born September 1, ...

'', and ''

Afterglow An afterglow in meteorology consists of several atmospheric optical phenomena, with a general definition as a broad arch of whitish or pinkish sunlight in the twilight sky, consisting of the bright segment and the purple light. Purple light mai ...

''. Also in 2008, the

Bombay High Court The High Court of Bombay is the high court of the states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily at Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), and is one of the ...

ruled that two songs from the film, ''

Krazzy 4 ''Krazzy 4'' is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language comedy thriller film directed by Jaideep Sen and produced by Rakesh Roshan. The film stars Juhi Chawla, Arshad Warsi, Irrfan Khan, Rajpal Yadav and Suresh Menon in lead roles while Shahrukh Khan and H ...

'', including the title track "Krazzy4" and "Break-free" plagiarised the "

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

-phrase" from an advertisement previously composed by Sampath for

Sony Ericsson Sony Mobile Communications Inc. ( ja, ソニーモバイルコミュニケーションズ株式会社) was a multinational telecommunications company founded on October 1, 2001, as a joint venture between Sony Group Corporation and Ericsson. ...

. The court ordered a stay on film's release with the two songs. Subsequently, the case was settled out-of-court after producers paid Sampath , and film was released along with the songs. However the judgment was seen by "landmark decision" by legal commentators, as it set a new precedent in the Indian film industry, often plagued with plagiarism. In 2012, he composed the highly popular title track "Tera Rang Aisa" of the debut talkshow '' Satyamev Jayate'' hosted by

Aamir Khan Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi films. Through his career spanning over 30 years, Khan has established himself as one of the most notable actors of Indian ci ...

, it had lyrics by

Prasoon Joshi Prasoon Joshi (born 16 September 1971) is an Indian poet, writer, lyricist, screenwriter, and communication specialist and marketer. He is the CEO of McCann World group India and Chairman APAC (Asia Pacific), a subsidiary of the global mar ...

. He was also part of the 2013 season of the popular television music series ''

Coke Studio Coke Studio may refer to: * ''Coke Studio'' (Pakistan), a Pakistani television series featuring live music performances. * ''Coke Studio'' (India), an Indian television series featuring live music performances. * ''Coke Studio Bangla'', a Banglade ...

''.

Film music

Sampath got his first break as a film score composer with '' Let's Talk'' (2002) directed by

Ram Madhvani Ram Madhvani is an Indian film director and producer known for his award-winning works in Hindi cinema, in the OTT space and in advertising. He is a-partner, director, and producer at Equinox Films, Ram Madhvani Films, and Equinox Virtual in par ...

. Thereafter, he composed for several films like ''

'' (2004) and ''

Family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

'' (2006) by ''

Rajkumar Santoshi Rajkumar Santoshi is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter of Hindi films. Having received several accolades including three National Film Awards and six Filmfare Awards, he made his directorial debut with the crime film '' Ghayal' ...

'', besides ''

Jumbo Jumbo (about December 25, 1860 – September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris, and t ...

'' (2008), ''

Aagey Se Right ''Aagey Se Right'' () is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Indrajit Nattoji. It features Shreyas Talpade, Kay Kay Menon, Mahi Gill, Shenaz Treasurywala and Shiv Panditt in the lead roles. It was produced by Ronnie Screwvala ...

'' (2009) and ''

Luv Ka The End ''Luv Ka The End'' () is a 2011 Hindi comedy drama film directed by Bumpy, starring Shraddha Kapoor and Taaha Shah in the lead roles. The film was the first production of Y-Films, a subsidiary of Yash Raj Films and released to mostly positive ...

'' (2011). However, he first received popular acclaim with '' Delhi Belly'' (2011) produced by

. Most notably hit track "Bhaag DK Bose Aandhi Aayi" with -rock beat, became an internet sensation ahead of the release of the film. Later he received a

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

nomination for the film. His next film, '' Talaash'' (2012) was a joint production between

Farhan Akhtar Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, playback singer, producer, and television host who works in Hindi films. Born in Mumbai to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he grew up under the influe ...

Excel Entertainment Excel Entertainment is an Indian production company, founded by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar in 1999. Based in Mumbai, they mainly produce Hindi films. In 2017, they released India's first original series for Amazon Prime Video – I ...

and Aamir Khan Productions also starring Aamir Khan as the lead. The music received positive reviews, including ''Indiaglitz'', which noted, "Once again Ram Sampath has an unmatched compilation of tracks here. Along with

Javed Akhtar Javed Akhtar (born 17 January 1945) is an Indian poet, lyricist, screenwriter and political activist. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2 ...

's fantastic lyrics they have created a masterpiece here." Thereafter, Akhtar signed him again for his next production, ''

Fukrey ''Fukrey'' () is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language comedy film, directed by Mrighdeep Singh Lamba, produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, and starring Pulkit Samrat, Manjot Singh, Varun Sharma, Ali Fazal, Priya Anand, Vishakha Singh, Pa ...

'', directed by Mrigdeep Singh Lamba. Fukrey was a sleeper hit and opened to good music reviews, especially for the song "Ambarsariya", an adaptation of a traditional Punjabi folk song, performed by

Sona Mohapatra Sona Mohapatra (born 17 June 1976) is an Indian singer, music composer and lyricist. In addition to her own material, Mohapatra has recorded remixes of songs by David Bowie, with " Let's Dance", and INXS, with "Afterglow", with the latter provin ...

, his wife and regular collaborator.

Television

In 2009, he appeared as a judge of singing reality series, ''

MTV Rock On ''MTV Rock On'', or ''Rock On with MTV'', is a television show hosted on MTV India. This show is a platform for musicians in India. Hosts The first season was hosted by VJ's Ayushmann and Anusha Dandekar. and the second season by Lisa Haydon and ...

'' (Season 1) on

MTV India MTV India is an Indian pay television channel specialising in music, reality and youth culture programming. It was launched in 1996 as the Indian version of MTV and is owned by Viacom 18, a joint venture operation between MTV International ow ...

, along with singer

Kailash Kher Kailash Kher (born 7 July 1973) is an Indian music composer and singer. He sings songs with a music style influenced by Indian folk music and Sufi music. He was inspired by the classical musicians' Pandit Kumar Gandharva, Pandit Hridaynath Ma ...

and MTV VJ

Nikhil Chinapa Nikhil Chinapa is an Indian DJ, host and festival curator, often credited with popularizing EDM among the youth in India. He is also known as the Father of Indian Dance Music for his various contributions towards revolutionising the outlook of ...

Personal life

Ram Sampath is married to

, a singer, who is his frequent collaborator and business partner in their music production house OmGrown Music. The couple resides in Mumbai. The couple met in 2002, while she was still working as a brand manager with

Marico Marico Limited is an Indian multinational consumer goods company providing consumer products and services in the areas of health, beauty and wellness. With its headquarters in Mumbai, Marico is present in over 25 countries across Asia and Af ...

. They were introduced by director

, with whom Sampath was working for '' Let's Talk'' (2002); they married in 2005.

Discography

Films

Albums

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official Website of Ram Sampath
*
Ram Sampath
at

Last.fm Last.fm is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Using a music recommender system called "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste by recording details of the tracks the user listens to, e ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampath, Ram 1977 births Living people Indian film score composers Indian male playback singers Indian record producers Indian male singer-songwriters Indian singer-songwriters Singers from Mumbai Tamil musicians University of Mumbai alumni Television composers Jingle composers Indian male film score composers