2011–2012: Debut and early success Anirudh Ravichander made his debut as a music composer in his cousin
Aishwarya Rajinikanth's directorial debut
3, starring
Dhanush. While pursuing his degree at Loyola College, he had done background scores for the short films made by Aishwarya and his work on short films convinced her to have him work on her first commercial venture. In early November 2011, a leaked version of a song from the film
Why This Kolaveri Di!, circulated online and the film's team decided to subsequently release it officially. It instantly became popular on social networking sites for its quirky
Tanglish lyrics. Soon, the song became the most searched YouTube video in India and
internet phenomenon across Asia. The song revolves around the film's main actor being dumped by his girlfriend; the song is sung by the character in a drunken state, with many of the lines nonsensical. According to the composer,
3s director
Aishwarya Rajinikanth wanted a light-hearted song about failed love. Anirudh quickly composed the tune in about 10 minutes. The remaining songs of the album were released in December and also received very positive reviews from critics. A reviewer from Behindwoods noted, "Such a promising debut by a composer hasn't been seen in recent Tamil cinema history", while Rediff.com's reviewer noted that "all the songs in
3 are good and come with appealing instrumental arrangements", concluding that it was "an intriguing collection." Anirudh also received praise for his background score in the film. He consequently went on to gain recognition for the film through accolades, notably the Vijay Award for Best Find of the Year as well as nominations at the
South Indian International Movie Awards and the
60th Filmfare Awards South. He also worked on the Telugu dubbed version of the film. Anirudh teamed up with Dhanush soon after to produce a Kolaveri-inspired track titled "Sachin anthem" commemorating
Sachin Tendulkar in association with the health drink, Boost.
2013–2015: Continued success , Anirudh Ravichander and
Dhanush at
60th Filmfare Awards South in 2013|250x250px Next, he sang and composed a single for
David – a multi-starrer directed by
Bejoy Nambiar; "Kanave Kanave" in Tamil and "Yu Hi Re" in Hindi. The album also opened to very positive reviews, with a critic noting: Anirudh's song was "the pick of the album". His next album was
Ethir Neechal, starring
Sivakarthikeyan. Anirudh introduced rappers
Yo Yo Honey Singh and
Hiphop Tamizha in the album. Moreover, Sony Music India released the complete background score of
Ethir Neechal via YouTube owing to its popularity. His next soundtrack,
Vanakkam Chennai released in July 2013. For the song "Oh Penne", he roped in Vishal Dadlani for the first time in Tamil music. Another promotional song, "Chennai City Gangster", saw him collaborate again with Hiphop Tamizha and British Indian rapper
Hard Kaur, with the trio also featuring in a music video for the film. In September 2013, he was signed on to compose the
background score for
Selvaraghavan's fantasy film
Irandam Ulagam, after
Harris Jayaraj had opted out. Anirudh noted his happiness at working with Selvaraghavan early in his career, despite being called up as a replacement and subsequently recorded for the film in
Budapest. Anirudh's next release
Velaiyilla Pattathari, featured a song by veteran singer
S. Janaki. while adding "in all, the album is soulful, lively and truly Anirudh". The film subsequently became a blockbuster at the box office, with Anirudh receiving the Filmfare award for best music director. His next film was
Maan Karate, starring
Sivakarthikeyan.
A.R. Murugadoss then signed him on to compose music for
Kaththi, starring
Vijay, becoming Anirudh's highest profile album at the time. The album and especially the background score received positive reviews from critics and topped the
iTunes India Charts. Next, Anirudh again collaborated with
Sivakarthikeyan for the film
Kaaki Sattai, produced by
Dhanush under his production company. Then, Anirudh scored music for
Maari, with
Dhanush. The music received positive reviews, with the song "Don'u Don'u Don'u" becoming exceptionally popular. He also received critical acclaim for his work in the
Vijay Sethupathi starrer
Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, leading him to receive many accolades for his achievement in the film. He released a single from the movie
Aakko on Valentine's Day in 2015 of the name "Ennakenna Yaarum Illaiye". He also scored his first
Ajith Kumar film in
Vedalam, directed by
Siva. Anirudh's music received mixed reviews, however, the song "Aaluma Doluma", became a hit. Anirudh concluded the year with
Thangamagan, starring
Dhanush. In February 2016, for Valentine's Day, he released a single titled "Avalukena", under Sony Music. After a short break, Anirudh released a single from
Rum in April 2016; "Hola Amigo". In May 2016, Anirudh signed a deal with
Sony Music India for his independent albums and live concerts. Anirudh again teamed up with
Sivakarthikeyan For
Remo. In late 2017, for the film
Vivegam, Anirudh launched the first single "Surviva" and became fastest Tamil song to get 1 million streams, this track saw
Yogi B performing in a Tamil film after a long hiatus. He again teamed up with Sivakarthikeyan for the fifth time with
Velaikkaaran, for which he won a Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. A Hindi pop music video
Bewajah, composed and sung by Anirudh, Irene and Srinidhi Venkatesh was released by
Sony Music India. The song became an instant hit etching several million views.
2018–present: Widespread recognition and work in other languages In 2018, he made his Telugu debut with
Agnyaathavaasi which was received well. Next, he composed for
Suriya's
Thaanaa Serndha Koottam, a remake of
Special 26. After that, he composed for Nayanthara's
Kolamavu Kokila, which was well received and was praised for being unique. His next big project came with
Petta, directed by
Karthik Subbaraj and starring his uncle
Rajinikanth. On 10 December, the full album for Rajinikanth's
Petta was released by Anirudh. His next project was
Nani's Telugu film
Jersey, which is directed by
Gowtam Tinnanuri. He later composed for
Gang Leader which was directed by Vikram K Kumar. This marked his second collaboration with Nani. After that was
Darbar, directed by
AR Murugadoss. He then composed one of the songs of the soundtrack for
Dharala Prabhu, the title track, which garnered success. In 2021, he collaborated with
Vijay for the 2nd time in
Master, directed by
Lokesh Kanagaraj. The first single, "
Kutti Story", sung by Vijay himself, received great praise and became popular around the world for its Tanglish lyrics. The second single sung by Gana Balachander, "
Vaathi Coming", became an instant viral hit universally. He also came to work on the soundtrack of
Doctor, directed by
Nelson Dilipkumar. The first single "Chellamma" was promoted towards youth, and collected over 100 million views on YouTube. In 2022, he worked with Vijay for the 3rd time in
Beast directed by Nelson, whom he also worked with for the 3rd consecutive time. The first single "Arabic Kuthu", was a fusion featuring Arabic phrases and rhyming verses in Tamil. The song set the record for the most-viewed and liked South Indian song within 24 hours, and is currently his most-viewed single with over 700 million views. His work in
Vikram marked his first release with
Kamal Haasan, although the duo first collaborated on
Indian 2 (released in 2024). The first single of
Vikram titled "
Pathala Pathala" received several million views from fans. He also composed for Sivakarthikeyan's
Don and Vijay Sethupathi's
Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal. After a hiatus, he returned to compose for
Dhanush with
Thiruchitrambalam. The first single of
Thiruchitrambalam titled "Thaai Kelavi" was released on 24 June 2022 and its lyrics proved controversial. A social activist lodged a complaint against the makers of the film asking them to change the lyrics of the song, citing disrespect to elderly people. After
A. R. Rahman turned down an offer by
Atlee to compose for his Hindi film
Jawan with
Shah Rukh Khan, Anirudh was chosen to compose for the film. An announcement teaser featuring Anirudh's score was released in June 2022.
Jawan marks the first full-fledged debut for Anirudh in
Hindi cinema as a composer as his previous Hindi films
David and
Jersey featured just a single and reused film from the original, respectively. He then composed the soundtrack for
Leo, in his fourth collaboration with
Vijay after
Kaththi (2014),
Master and
Beast; and third collaboration with Lokesh after
Master and
Vikram (2022). The track "Bloody Sweet" that was featured in the two-minute promo video for the movie was released on 3 February 2023, the same date as the promo. It has gathered 83 million views so far on YouTube, his highest. He also composed music for
Rajinikanth’s 169th film, titled
Jailer and directed by
Nelson. The film marks Anirudh's third collaboration with Rajini after
Petta and
Darbar and fourth with Nelson after
Kolamaavu Kokila,
Doctor and
Beast. In 2024, he composed music for
N. T. Rama Rao Jr.'s
Telugu film
Devara, which is directed by
Koratala Siva. He has collaborated with
Ajith Kumar for his 62nd film
Vidaamuyarchi directed by
Magizh Thirumeni which marked his third collaboration with Ajith after
Vedalam and
Vivegam. The soundtrack of
The Ba***ds of Bollywood is composed by Anirudh, working with
Aryan Khan for the first time; this would also mark his debut as a composer in a television series. The music rights were taken by
T-Series. In February 2026, Anirudh opened his own record label, Albuquerque Records.
Hukum World Tour (2024) In 2024, Anirudh embarked on the
Hukum World Tour, performing at major international arenas. The tour included a show at
The O2 Arena in London on 1 April 2024, the
Hallenstadion in Zurich on 6 April 2024,
John Cain Arena in Melbourne on 9 May 2024, and
Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on 11 May 2024. == Discography ==