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). 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).
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).
Early life Arjun Janya was born Lokesh Kumar in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on 13 May 1980. 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.
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. Some articles report that a meeting between Arjun and Oscar-winning composer A. R. Rahman changed his fortunes in the music industry.
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.
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. 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.
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.
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. 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.
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.
Personal life Janya is married to Geetha, and the couple has a daughter. 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.
Discography As a composer + List of Arjun Janya film credits as composer Year Title Notes 2006 Autograph Please 2007 Aathmarpane Background score onlyDadagiri Bhaktha Yuga 2008 Slum Bala Patre Loves Padma Dheemaku Baba 2009 Machcha Birugaali —South Scope Award for Best Music Director2010 Nayaka Gubbi Nam Areal Ond Dina Sanchari —Suvarna Award for Best SongJugaari 2011 Jarasandha Rajadhani Kempegowda 2012 Rambo 18th Cross Romeo —SIIMA Award for Best Music DirectorDandupalya Alemaari —Karnataka State Film Award for Best Music Director —Filmfare Award for Best Music Director – KannadaLucky Cameo appearance Tuglak 2013 Guest House Bhajarangi Cameo appearance;—Filmfare Award for Best Music Director – KannadaChaddi Dosth Sweety Nanna Jodi Dilwala Barfi Victory Jayammana Maga Case No. 18/9 Auto Raja Chathrigalu Saar Chathrigalu Rajanikantha Varadanayaka —SIIMA Award for Best Male Playback Singer2014 Abhimanyu Also made in Tamil and Telugu as Jai Hind 2Neenade Naa Simhadri Super Ranga Paramashiva Tirupathi Express Adyaksha —Filmfare Award for Best Music Director – KannadaParu Wife of Devadas Maanikya Dil Rangeela Shivajinagara Background score onlyDarling Also producerAngaaraka 2015 Ganga Dove Arjuna Om Namaha RX Soori Bullet Basya Vajrakaya 50th film as a composerGoa DK Raja Rajendra Jackson 2016 Mukunda Murari —SIIMA Award for Best Music Director (Kannada)Mungaru Male 2 —Filmfare Award for Best Music Director – KannadaKalpana 2 Lakshmana JigarthandaStyle King Jai Maruthi 800 Mareyalaare Ricky Kathe Chitrakathe Nirdeshana Puttanna John Jani Janardhan 2017 Chowka Only for 2 songs ("Appa I Love You" and "Vande Mataram")Chakravarthy Hebbuli Raaga Pataki Sarkari Kelasa Devara Kelasa TigerDandupalya 2 Raj Vishnu Tarak Satya Harishchandra College Kumar 2018 Dandupalya 3 Raambo 2 Kannadakkaagi Ondannu Otti Kicchu Ayogya —SIIMA Award for Best Music Director -KannadaVictory 2 Ambi Ning Vayassaytho The Villain 2019 Kavacha Premier Padmini 99 100th film Amar Gimmick Pailwaan Ellidde Illi TanakaBharaate Odeya 2020 India vs England 2021 Roberrt Kotigobba 3 [email protected] Rider Bhajarangi 22022 Ek Love YaLocal TrainAvatara Purusha Window SeatGaalipata 2 Kaneyadavara Bagge Prakatane Love 360 Shiva 143 Trivikrama DilpasandRaymo VedhaOnce Upon a Time in Jamaligudda125th Film as a Music Composer Padavi Poorva 2023 Love BirdsKousalya Supraja Rama Kick Tamil film Baanadariyalli Raja Marthanda Ghost Mayanagari WoW: World of WindowsArdhambardha Prema Kathe2024 Upadhyaksha Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi —Filmfare Award for Best Music Director – Kannada Karki Nanu BA, LLB Murphy Aaraam Arvind Swamy 2025BratBad45 Debut as Director 2026CultRakkasapuradholKD: The DevilAyogya 2
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
References
External links
Notes Arjun Janya hits 25 Tunes 'Gods Gift' – Arjun Janya