Artists like R.D. Burman

Kishore Kumar was an Indian playback singer, musician and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. Kumar was one of the most popular singers in the Indian subcontinent, notable for his yodelling and ability to sing songs in different voices. He used to sing in different genres but some of his rare compositions, considered classics, were lost in time. In 2013, Kumar was voted "The Most Popular Male Playback Singer" in a poll conducted by the Filmfare magazine.

Bappi Aparesh Lahiri, also known as Bappi Da, was an Indian singer, composer and record producer. He popularised the use of synthesised disco music in Indian music industry and sang some of his own compositions. He was popular in the 1980s and 1990s with filmi soundtracks. He delivered major box office successes primarily in Hindi, Telugu, and Bengali films. His music was well received into the 21st century.

Jatin–Lalit is an Indian music director duo consisting of brothers Jatin Pandit and Lalit Pandit. They are widely known for their contributions to Hindi cinema during the 1990s and early 2000s. The duo is known for their melodious compositions and has been associated with several hit films. Some of their most famous works include Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Mohabbatein, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, and Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha.

Nadeem–Shravan is an Indian composer duo in the Bollywood film industry of India. They derive their name from the first names of Nadeem Akhtar Saifi and Shravan Kumar Rathod.

Kunal Ganjawala is an Indian playback singer whose songs are mostly featured in Hindi and Kannada films. He has also sung in other official languages of India. Kunal began his career by singing jingles. He came to limelight in Hindi cinema with the song "Bheege Honth Tere" from the film Murder in 2004. It was his first big hit. The song earned him Zee Cine Award as Best Playback Singer in 2005. He came to limelight in Kannada cinema with the song "Neene Neene" from the film Aakash in 2005.

Mohammed Rafi was an Indian playback singer. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and range of voice; his songs varied from fast, peppy numbers to patriotic songs, sad numbers to highly romantic songs, qawwalis to ghazals and bhajans to classical songs. He was known for his ability to mould his voice to the persona and style of the actor lip-syncing the song on screen in the movie. He received six Filmfare Awards and one National Film Award in India. In 1967, the Government of India honored him with the fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri. In 2001, Rafi was honoured with the "Best Singer of the Millennium" title by Hero Honda and Stardust magazine. In 2013, Rafi was voted for the Greatest Voice in Hindi Cinema in a CNN-IBN poll.

Kalyanji–Anandji were an Indian composer duo, consisting of Kalyanji Virji Shah and his brother Anandji Virji Shah. In a career spanning over forty years, they composed music for about 250 films, working with many well-known filmmakers and singers.

Rahul Dev Burman was an Indian music director and singer, who is considered to be one of the greatest and most successful music directors of the Hindi film music industry. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films, bringing a new level of music ensemble with his compositions. Burman did his major work with legendary singers Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi. He also worked extensively with lyricists like Majrooh Sultanpuri, Anand Bakshi and Gulzar, with whom he created some of the most memorable numbers in his career. Nicknamed Pancham, he was the only son of the composer Sachin Dev Burman and his Bengali lyricist wife Meera Dev Burman.

Amit Kumar is an Indian playback singer, music composer and actor. Kumar launched his own music production company, named Kumar Brothers Music. He has predominantly worked in Bollywood and regional film songs since the 1970s, including 150 Hindi and Bengali compositions by R. D. Burman and Bappi Lahiri. After Burman's death in 1994, citing a lack of quality music composition, Kumar withdrew from playback singing and concentrated on live orchestra shows. In addition to singing in Hindi, has also performed in Bengali, Bhojpuri, Odia, Assamese, Marathi and Konkani. He is the eldest son of singer-actor Kishore Kumar.

Alka Yagnik is an Indian playback singer who worked predominantly in Hindi cinema from 1980s to mid 2010s. One of the most prominent singers of 1990s era Bollywood, she has received several accolades including two National Film Awards, two Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards and seven Filmfare Awards for Best Female Playback Singer from thirty-seven nominations. She was honoured with Padma Bhushan by the Government of India for her contribution to Indian music and playback singing in 2026. Alka is cited as 'Voice Of A Generation' and is known as 'Melody Queen' of Indian cinema. Yagnik has sung maximum female solo songs in her Bollywood career along with Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. Several of her soundtracks were included in the BBC "Top 40 Bollywood soundtracks of all time".

Sadhana Sargam is an Indian singer known for her playback career in Indian cinema predominantly in Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, Nepali, Tamil and Telugu language films. She is a recipient of the National Film Award and two Filmfare Awards South, She has also won three Maharashtra State Film Awards, four Gujarat State Film Awards and one Orissa State Film Award. She has recorded songs in more than 35 languages.

Usha Iyer Uthup is an Indian singer known for her deep contralto voice and her versatility across genres and languages. A prominent figure in Indian music since the 1970s, she has received a Filmfare Award, and was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Shri in 2011 and the Padma Bhushan in 2024 for her contribution in the field of arts.

Prabodh Chandra Dey, known professionally as Manna Dey, was an Indian playback singer, music director, and musician. With a strong foundation in classical music, he is widely regarded as one of the most versatile and celebrated vocalists in the Indian film industry. He is also credited with bringing Indian classical music into mainstream Hindi cinema.

Sachin Dev Burman was an Indian music director and singer. He was a member of the Tripura royal family. He started his career with Bengali films in 1937. He later began composing for Hindi movies and became one of the most successful and influential Indian film music composers. Burman composed the soundtracks for over 100 movies, including Bengali films and Hindi.

Allah Rakha Rahman, also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in international cinema. He is a recipient of seven National Film Awards, two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, seven Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, fifteen Filmfare Awards, and eighteen Filmfare Awards South. In 2010, the Government of India conferred him with the Padma Bhushan, the nation's third-highest civilian award.

Tanishk Bagchi is an Indian music producer, composer, singer and lyricist in Hindi films. He is known for tracks like "Vaaste", "Bolna", "Ve Maahi", "Aankh Maarey" (recreated), "Dilbar" (recreated), "Jehda Nasha" (recreated) and "Lut Gaye" (recreated).

Ashutosh Ganguly, better known by his stage name Ash King, is a British singer, songwriter and composer. He made his playback singing debut in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Delhi-6. He is a relative of prominent Indian singer Kishore Kumar. He has also sung the song "Carbon Copy" in the film Drishyam.

Talat Mahmood was an Indian playback singer who is considered one of the greatest and most popular Indian male film song and ghazal singers. Although he tried his luck as a film actor, he did not succeed a great deal in acting.