Top 10 Music Directors of 2013

2013 is a special year for Tamil music industry as competition intensified from new talents. Last year saw re-entry of AR Rahman to Tamil after a gap of 2 years (since Endhiran). Anirudh joined the elite list of very few music directors in Tamil who can drive up the marketability of the movies that he is associated with. After many years, Harris Jayaraj's much envied top position has been shaky with intense competition coming from Anirudh, Yuvan, GV Prakash and Imman. 

1. AR Rahman

AR Rahman's Kadal and Mariyaan did not fare well at the box office even though the songs turned out to be chart busters. Every single song in Kadal and Mariyaan songs are treasured by music fans all over the world. His hit numbers "Nenje Ezhu", "Moongil Thottam", "Nenjukulle" were hot on iTunes.

2. Anirudh

Anirudh showed that he has got the pulse of the youngsters with Ethirneechal and Vanakkam Chennai.  Anirudh's "Boomi ennai" was played the maximum number of times on FM Radio stations last year. Most of his songs climbed up the charts and helped his movies get a good opening on the day of release. Anirudh's melodious single for David topped the charts even though the movie sank without a trace. Only blip in a great year for Anirudh was his background score for Irandam Ulagam drew a lot of flak.

3. Yuvan Shankar Raja

What a comeback year for the hugely talented Yuvan who completed his 100th movie through Biriyani. Yuvan delivered arguably his best album in 2013 through "Moondru Per Moondru Kadhal". Yuvan met the high expectations that comes with big commercial movies (Arrambam, Biriyani). His BGM and re-recordings in Aadhalal Kadhal Seiveer and Thangameengal served as the backbone of these movies. He had forgettable album in Aadhi Bhagavan and his rehashed Thillu Mullu. Samar and Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga had a few chart toppers to its credit.

4. G.V. Prakash

G.V.Prakash delivered a superbly crafted breezy album through "Raja Rani". Every song in the album turned out to be a major hit and helped set the right mood for the movie. GV Prakash's "Vangana Vanakangna" in Thalaivaa and "Yaaro Ivan" in Udhayam NH4 stayed on top of the charts. GV Prakash's Paradesi was commended for good background score. Annakodi was his only let-down in otherwise great year for this youngster who changed his marital status.

5. Harris Jayaraj

Harris Jayaraj made a late comeback this year with a hit album "Endrendrum Punnagai". Many of Harris' strongest critics greatly appreciated "Irandam Ulagam". However, the sources reported that the Irandam Ulagam's reach was not as good as his previous albums. Hope Harris is gearing up for a strong comeback in 2014 as many big directors and big budget production houses starting to move to to other music directors.

6. D. Imman

Imman strong resurgence continued from last couple of years. The quality of movies and his choice of movies have improved tremendously. After Ilayaraja, he is the only music director among the current crop who seems to be genuinely comfortable with composing rural tracks as proven in Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam and Pandiyanadu. Imman melodious tracks (Paarkathe and Yaeley Maruthu) and folkish numbers (Oodha Color Ribbon, Othakada) rocked the charts in 2013.

Others

Santhosh Narayanan's Soodhu Kavvum topped the charts. The music director has a great sense of background score which has helped crank up the pace of his movies. His quirky "Kaasu Panam" became a runaway hit.

Ghibran is a great talent with a great sense of sounds and rich orchestration. Ghibran's music has not yet fully reached out to the masses yet. Serious music fans are betting on a huge break-through for this talented composer. Hopefully, it will happen in 2014 through his Vishwaroopam-2. 

Shankar Ehsaan Loy 's mix of hindustani, western and southern music in songs and background score helped Vishwaroopam reach across regional boundaries and helped movie's success.

Thaman and Devi Sri Prasad are extremely successful in Telugu movie industries. However, apart from delivering some hit numbers here and there, they are unable to deliver some true chart busters so far. It is difficult not to wonder why the songs these two composers deliver for Telugu industry have better variety and richness.