Arjun Janya
Indian music composer
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Arjun Janya (born Lokesh Kumar on 13 May 1980) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer, playback singer and director who works primarily in Kannada cinema. He made his debut as a music director with Autograph Please (2006), and rose to prominence with Birugaali (2009), followed by breakthrough success with Sanchari (2010) and Kempegowda (2011).[1] He has composed for successful films including Varadanayaka (2012), Victory (2013), Vajrakaya (2015), Mukunda Murari (2016) and The Villain (2018); his 100th film as a music director was 99 (2019).[citation needed]
May 13, 1980
singer
Director
- Vocals
- guitar
- Keyboard
Arjun Janya | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lokesh Kumar May 13, 1980 Bengaluru, Karnataka, India |
| Genres | Film score, soundtrack |
| Occupations | Composer singer Director |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Website | arjunjanya |
Janya is a recipient of the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Music Director (Alemaari, 2012), SIIMA Award for Best Music Director (Romeo, 2012; Vajrakaya, 2016; Roberrt, 2022), and two Filmfare Awards South (Bhajarangi, 2013 & Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi, 2024).[2][3]
Early life
Arjun Janya was born Lokesh Kumar in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on 13 May 1980.[1] Before becoming an independent composer, he apprenticed under Kannada composers V. Manohar and K. Kalyan, and worked as a keyboard player on approximately 30 films, a period he credits with learning the technical grammar of film music.[4]
Career
Film score
Arjun's first release as a music director was Autograph Please (2006) starring Sanjjanaa and Dilip Raj. Since then, he composed for various films but with little success until he scored the music for the film Birugaali in 2009. All the songs of this film were noticed and appreciated. Following this, he tasted success by scoring for the film Sanchari in 2010.
His mainstream breakthrough came with Kempe Gowda (2011), a remake of the Tamil blockbuster Singam, which was a star-led commercial success. Around this time, he adopted the professional name Arjun Janya, reportedly on an astrologer's suggestion and with actor Sudeepa’s encouragement.[5] Some articles report that a meeting between Arjun and Oscar-winning composer A. R. Rahman changed his fortunes in the music industry.[6]
In 2012, Janya's work on Romeo won SIIMA Best Music Director, while his score for Alemaari received the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Music Director. The period also saw Victory (2013) yield the widely circulated song “Khaali Quarter”. The song became popular and was on top of the charts for many weeks.[7]
Janya remained active across genres with albums for Dil Rangeela, Super Ranga, and Vajrakaya (2015), the latter marking his 50th film composition and winning SIIMA Best Music Director in 2016.[8] Between 2017 and 2019 he scored for Hebbuli, Chakravarthy, The Villain, and 99 (his 100th film as music director). During promotions for 99, he emphasized “nostalgia with freshness” in the album's approach.[9]
In the early 2020s, Janya released albums including Love 360 (2022), Gaalipata 2 (2022), Baanadariyalli (2023), and Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi (2024), while expanding multilingual releases across streaming platforms.[10][11]
Film direction
Janya's directorial debut, 45, features Shivarajkumar, Upendra, and Raj B. Shetty in lead roles. Pre-release coverage highlighted its extensive use of visual effects (with Canadian studio MARZ's involvement) and an unusual production workflow in which a complete animated previsualization of the film was created prior to principal photography.[12][13] Janya has described 45 as a commercial film with motifs drawn from Sanatana Dharma and stated that the full-animation previsualization took around 18 months, with the live-action shoot completed in 106 days.[14][15]
Television shows
Arjun is currently judging the Kannada version of the reality singing show, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in Zee Kannada channel along with singer Vijay Prakash and music composer Hamsalekha.[16]
Personal life
Janya is married to Geetha, and the couple has a daughter.[1] In television, he has served as a judge on the Kannada edition of the reality singing show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Kannada on Zee Kannada.[3]
Discography
As a composer
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
As a singer
| Year | Film | Song | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Romeo | Belagageddu Coffee | |
| Smile Vasi | |||
| Romeo Romeo | |||
| Lucky | Gowramma Baramma | ||
| Naan Yen Madli | |||
| Rambo | Manethanka Baare | ||
| 2013 | Varadanayaka | Baite Baite | |
| Ondhsari | |||
| 2014 | Mrugashira | Oota Madro Dayavittu | |
| Super Ranga | Ninade Nenapu | ||
| 2017 | Kataka | Kataka Title Track | |
- Television
- Weekend with Ramesh season 3