Bharadwaj is an Indian music composer and singer-songwriter born Ramani Ramaswamy on July 3, 1960, in Ravanasamudram. Raised in Delhi, he trained in Western, Hindustani, and Carnatic music before becoming a chartered accountant. He moved to Chennai in 1986 to pursue music, debuting with the 1995 Telugu film Sogasu Chuda Taramaa?. Bharadwaj achieved his professional breakthrough with the 1998 Tamil film Kadhal Mannan. Throughout his career, he has composed scores for over fifty films, winning two Filmfare Awards for the albums Gemini and Autograph. His song “Ovvavaru Pookalume” from Autograph won National Awards for its singer and lyricist in 2004. In 2008, he received the Kalaimamani Award from the Tamil Nadu State Government. A major career highlight is his project Thirukkural Isai, in which he set all 1330 Thirukkural couplets to music, a 13-hour production involving hundreds of international participants.
