Ram Sampath

Early life and background

Born to a Tamilian father and Kannadiga mother, Sampath grew up in Chembur, Mumbai where he did his schooling from OLPS High School. Both his parents were musically inclined, while his grandfather TV Ramanujam, was one of the founders of Shanmukhananda Hall, a cultural centre in Sion, Mumbai, established in 1952. Thus his ancestral house, was frequented by leading musicians and singers of Carnatic music. Later on, he too learnt Carnatic music for eight years. After his schooling he studied commerce at Podar College, 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 to record Indian version of their songs, God's Top Ten, Devil's Party, and Afterglow. Also in 2008, the Bombay High Court ruled that two songs from the film, Krazzy 4, including the title track "Krazzy4" and "Break-free" plagiarised the "hook-phrase" from an advertisement previously composed by Sampath for Sony 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, it had lyrics by Prasoon Joshi.

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

Film music

Sampath got his first break as a film score composer with Let's Talk (2002) directed by Ram Madhvani. Thereafter, he composed for several films like Khakee (2004) and Family (2006) by Rajkumar Santoshi, besides Jumbo (2008), Aagey Se Right (2009) and Luv Ka The End (2011). However, he first received popular acclaim with Delhi Belly (2011) produced by Aamir Khan. 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 nomination for the film. His next film, Talaash (2012) was a joint production between Farhan Akhtar's Excel Entertainment 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's fantastic lyrics they have created a masterpiece here." Thereafter, Akhtar signed him again for his next production, Fukrey, 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, his wife and regular collaborator.

Television

In 2009, he appeared as a judge of singing reality series, MTV Rock On (Season 1) on MTV India, along with singer Kailash Kher and MTV VJ Nikhil Chinapa.

Personal life

Ram Sampath is married to Sona Mohapatra, 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. They were introduced by director Ram Madhvani, with whom Sampath was working for Let's Talk (2002); they married in 2005.

Discography

Films

Albums

Television

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. "Profile:The Trinity of Institution Builders". Sri Shanmukhananda website.
2. (12 June 2013). "Aamir almost entirely ignores reputation: Ram Sampath". [[The Times of India]].
3. (22 May 2013). "Change yourself and you change the world, Ram Sampath says". The Times of India.
4. (17 July 2008). "Ram Sampath to re-do INXS numbers".
5. (10 April 2008). "Two Krazzy4 songs a copy: Bombay HC". The Hindu.
6. (11 April 2008). "Judge says Krazzy 4 tracks are copied, case settled out-of-court". Indian Express.
7. Lawrence Liang. (16 April 2008). "Copyright vs the right to copy". Indian Express.
8. Alisha Coelho. (3 January 2010). "Copyrights mired in grey". Mid-Day.
9. (14 April 2012). "Won't compromise with people's emotions: Aamir Khan". [[The Times of India]].
10. (1 July 2013). "Indie musicians on national TV". Hindustan Times.
11. (6 October 2011). "Ram Sampath refuses 11 films, chooses Ektas project". [[The Times of India]].
12. "Hit song 'DK Bose' twists name into expletive". CNN-IBN.
13. Shama Bhagat. "Talaash: The Answer Lies Within - Music Review". Indiaglitz.
14. Atta Khan. "Talaash: The Answer Lies Within (New)". Planet Bollywood.
15. (25 June 2013). "New filmmaker-music composer combos in Bollywood". [[The Times of India]].
16. (6 June 2013). "Fukrey - Times of India Music Review". [[The Times of India]].
17. (14 Jun 2013). "I'm desi all the way, and am proud to be one: Sona Mohapatra". [[The Times of India]].
18. (3 July 2009). "MTV and Kurkure go 'desi' with Rock On". afaqs.
19. (30 June 2012). "Sona Mohapatra". The Telegraph.
20. "Music's in the air: The Inside Story of Ram Sampath and Sona Mohapatra". Economy Decoded.
21. (28 July 2011). "Ram Sampath: Delhi Belly is behind me". Rediff.com Movies.
22. Hungama, Bollywood. (2012-01-11). "Nominations for 57th Idea Filmfare Awards 2011 - Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama.
23. (12 October 2025). "Winners of the 70th Hyundai Filmfare Awards 2025 With Gujarat Tourism: Full List Out". Filmfare.
24. "Winners - Mirchi Music Awards 2011".
25. "Nominations - Mirchi Music Award Hindi 2012".
26. "Winners - Mirchi Music Award Hindi 2012".