Harris Jayaraj

Harris Jayaraj is an award-winning film composer best known for his musical contributions to the Bollywood industry. He was born on January 8, 1975, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. His father, S. M. Jayakumar, was a well-known guitarist in the Indian film community, and Harris Jayaraj began playing guitar at 12 years old. After becoming a songwriter, programmer, and multi-instrumentalist during his teenage years, he made his Bollywood debut as the film composer of Gautham Menon's Minnale in 2001. "Vaseegara," a highlight from the movie's accompanying soundtrack, became a popular single in India, and Jayaraj received the Filmfare Award for "Best Music Director – Tamil" for his work on the film later that year. He won the same award with 2003's Kaakha Kaakha, 2005's Anniyan, 2008's Vaaranam Aayiram, and 2009's Ayan. Meanwhile, he also scored national hits with songs like "Sutum Vizhi" (from 2005's Ghajini), "Ava Enna" (from 2008's Vaaranam Aayiram), "Nangaai" (from 2010's Engeyum Kaadhal), and "Enamo Aedho" (from 2011's Ko). Harris Jayaraj briefly toured in 2011 and 2012 with an ensemble production called Harris: On The Edge, joined by many of the playback singers who appeared on his Bollywood hits. He remained active during the remainder of the decade with titles like 2012's Thuppakki and 2015's Yennai Arindhaal, then celebrated his fiftieth film score with Vanamagan.