The credit of Indian films being melodiously musical is for the music directors of the films. The Indian movie music directors are the best-known musicians of the nation. Music directors are typically both composers and arrangers. Cassettes or CDs of a film`s music are often released before the movie itself - this is the evidence of their importance in the film industry. Favorite songs are remembered long after the movie is forgotten.

Kalyanji and Anandji have been time after time successful in their career. Their approach to music was more like a hobby than just a profession. Both the personalities were very down to earth and seldom self-centred or egoistic. They acquired success all along their career and offered the industry some of their brilliant compositions.

Laxmikant-Pyarelal assisted Kalyanji-Anandji before they independently took on as music directors. Their first break came along with the film Parasmani. Naushad is one of the jewels among the music directors of India. He was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema in 1982. He is one of the most talented and popular music composers in Indian cinema. He introduced the famous Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi to Hindi playback singing. Naushad`s professional training in Hindustani music made him malleable of the Hindustani ragas to Bollywood music.

Sachin Dev Burman is an unforgettable name in the world of music directors and was born on October 10, 1906 to Nabadwip Chandra Dev Burman in Tripura. His father himself was a sitarist and superb Dhrupad singer. Sachin Dev Burman was trained by his father and later by Ustad Badal Khan and Bhishmadev Chattopadhyay. For quite a while Shankar-Jaikishan, S.D. Burman, R.D. Burman, and Kalyanji-Anandji were the pioneer names in the world of Hindi film music. But towards the late sixties, Laxmikant-Pyarelal started to pick up the popularity inconspicuously. Steadily they became the foremost name in the list. Nadeem Shravan has easily been the most tumultuous journey of music directors in the Hindi film industry. They have experienced all the phases of life and finally evolved like a phoenix-like triumph. Nadeem and Shravan have remained a force in the industry and their compositions have retained the essence of quality music.

Ismail Darbar hails from a family of four-generation musicians. He was born to noted clarinet and saxophone player Husain; his father initially trained him. Ismail Darbar also learnt how to play violin and later learnt music from Pandit Ramprasad Sharma, the late father of composer Pyarelal. The name A.R.Rahman needs no introduction in the field of Indian movie music directors. He redefined contemporary Indian music and is an idol for millions all over the world.

Bappi Lahiri is another name in the musical world of Bollywood. He was born in Calcutta, in a family with a very rich tradition in classical music. His father Aparesh Lahiri was also famous singer and mother Bansari Lahiri, a musician and singer. His relatives from his mother`s side include singer Kishore Kumar and the S. Mukerji descent. Initially he was trained by his own parents after which he got his first music direction opportunity in a Bengali film Daadu in 1972. Some more Indian music directors are as follows -