Rajesh Roshan is an Indian film music composer who has worked predominantly in Hindi cinema since the mid-1970s. A member of the Roshan family, he is the younger son of composer Roshan and the brother of filmmaker and actor Rakesh Roshan. He is widely associated with the music of films produced under the Filmkraft banner, and won the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for his debut film Julie (1975).
| Full name | Rajesh Roshan |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Music composer |
| Industry | Hindi cinema (Bollywood) |
| Years active | 1974 onwards |
| Father | Roshan (composer) |
| Mother | Ira Roshan |
| Brother | Rakesh Roshan |
| Nephew | Hrithik Roshan |
| Debut film | Kunwara Baap (1974) |
| Notable award | Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, Julie (1975) |
Rajesh Roshan was born into a family with deep roots in Hindi film music. His father, Roshan Lal Nagrath, professionally known simply as Roshan, was a leading composer of the 1950s and 1960s known for films such as Barsaat Ki Raat and Taj Mahal. After his father's death in 1967, Rajesh trained in music and assisted senior composers before launching an independent career. His elder brother Rakesh Roshan moved from acting into production and direction, and the two have collaborated on most of the films produced by Rakesh's company Filmkraft Productions.
Rajesh Roshan's first released film as an independent composer was Mehmood's Kunwara Baap (1974). The following year, his score for Julie (1975), directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan, brought him wide recognition; the song "Dil Kya Kare" sung by Kishore Kumar and "My Heart is Beating" rendered by Preeti Sagar became particularly popular, and the soundtrack won him the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. He went on to score several successful films of the late 1970s, including Des Pardes (1978), Mr. Natwarlal (1979), Swarg Narak (1978) and Yaarana (1981, released at the start of the next decade).
During the 1980s he worked on a wide range of mainstream films, among them Khoobsurat (1980), Kaamchor (1982), Lootmaar (1980), Jaag Utha Insan (1984) and Kala Bazaar. The decade also saw the beginning of his close professional association with his brother Rakesh Roshan as a producer-director, including the soundtrack of Khudgarz (1987) and Khoon Bhari Maang (1988).
From the 1990s onwards Rajesh Roshan composed almost exclusively for Filmkraft productions directed by Rakesh Roshan. These include King Uncle (1993), Karan Arjun (1995), Koyla (1997), Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000), Koi... Mil Gaya (2003) and the Krrish series. The soundtrack of Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, which launched his nephew Hrithik Roshan, was a major commercial success and won him the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for a second time.
He composed the music for Koi... Mil Gaya (2003), Krrish (2006) and Krrish 3 (2013), all directed by Rakesh Roshan and starring Hrithik Roshan. He also worked on films outside the Filmkraft banner such as Kites (2010, with songs by him alongside background score by Salim–Sulaiman) and Kaabil (2017), produced by Filmkraft.
Rajesh Roshan is known for melodic compositions rooted in Hindi film tradition, with frequent use of soft orchestration, prominent vocal melodies and incorporation of Western pop and disco influences during the late 1970s and 1980s. He has worked with most leading playback singers across his career, including Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Mohammed Rafi, Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik and Sonu Nigam.
As part of the Roshan family of Hindi cinema, Rajesh Roshan represents a continuity between the classical melodic style of his father's era and the post-1970s era of mainstream Hindi film music. His long collaboration with Rakesh Roshan has made him a defining musical voice of the Filmkraft banner and the films associated with Hrithik Roshan's career.