# Karthik (கார்த்திக்) (singer)
**Karthik** (கார்த்திக்) (born 1980) is an Indian playback singer and composer who works across South Indian film industries, known for a warm, romantic vocal style and for singing in more than 15 Indian languages.[1](https://epaper.indianchronicledaily.com/media/2025-10/11-ic.pdf) He began his professional career as a backing vocalist for the composer [A. R. Rahman](https://www.edgepedia.org/a-r-rahman) and rose to prominence in the 2000s with songs such as "Ale Ale" from *Boys* (2003), "Oru Maalai" from *Ghajini* (2005), and "Usure Pogudhey" and its Hindi version "Behene De" from *Raavanan* (2010).[2](https://music.apple.com/mt/artist/karthik/20090268)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Output | More than 8,000 songs across 15+ Indian languages, including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Bengali, Marathi, and Hindi[1](https://epaper.indianchronicledaily.com/media/2025-10/11-ic.pdf) |
| Break | Backing vocalist for A. R. Rahman; first solo song "Nendhukittaen" from the Tamil film *Star* (2001)[3](https://amp.scroll.in/article/866224/karthik-interview-nothing-else-could-give-me-the-joy-that-music-gave-me) |
| Signature hits | "Ale Ale" (*Boys*, 2003), "Oru Maalai" (*Ghajini*, 2005), "Behka" (*Ghajini* Hindi, 2008), "Usure Pogudhey"/"Behene De" (*Raavanan*, 2010)[2](https://music.apple.com/mt/artist/karthik/20090268) |
| Major awards | Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer – Tamil for "Oru Maalai"; CineMAA Best Singer – Male for *Happy Days* (2008) and *Baahubali: The Beginning* (2016)[4](https://notablepeopleproject.org/karthik_singer) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1220020/awards/) |
| Other work | Music director for *Aravaan*, *Tamilselvanum Thaniyar Anjalum*, and *Joshua Imai Pol Kaakha*; member of the fusion band Arka; judge on television singing competitions[4](https://notablepeopleproject.org/karthik_singer) • [6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/music/success-as-a-singer-never-made-me-complete-karthik/articleshow/49191704.cms) |
## Early life and start with A. R. Rahman
He has described himself as coming from a middle-class family with no music background, and he was preparing for a career as a chartered accountant before turning to singing.[7](https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/music/200616/an-obsession-with-live-music.html)
The turning point came through the playback singer Srinivas, a frequent collaborator of A. R. Rahman and a cousin of Karthik's close friend. Karthik has recalled that the *Pukar* song he recorded ultimately did not release, but the association continued.[8](https://rahmaniac.com/artist-reflections/just-wanted-see-atleast-karthik/) In interviews he has described the effect of that introduction: "If you get introduced by him, it is like an IIT or IIM stamp on you. You immediately reach a particular stature."[3](https://amp.scroll.in/article/866224/karthik-interview-nothing-else-could-give-me-the-joy-that-music-gave-me)
## Playback career
Karthik's early hits established him as a leading romantic voice of 2000s [Tamil cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/tamil-cinema). "Ale Ale" from Shankar's *Boys* (2003), composed by Rahman, and "Oru Maalai" from *Ghajini* (2005) were major successes, and the Tamil Filmibeat profile also credits his "Enakku Oru Girlfriend Venumada" from *Boys* among his popular songs.[2](https://music.apple.com/mt/artist/karthik/20090268) • [9](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/celebs/karthik.html) He worked repeatedly with the composer [Harris Jayaraj](https://www.edgepedia.org/harris-jayaraj), becoming one of the prominent romantic playback singers of the decade under that collaboration.[10](https://tamilpaatulyrics.com/articles/karthik-biography-singer/) His Tamil song catalog on TamilPaa lists 121 credited songs spanning from the mid-1990s listings to 2026, including "Karu Karu" from *[Pachaikili Muthucharam](https://www.edgepedia.org/pachaikili-muthucharam)* (2007) and recent numbers such as "Oru Manam" from *Dhruva Natchathiram* (2026).[11](https://www.tamilpaa.com/people/karthik/songs)
His reach extended well beyond Tamil. In [Telugu cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/telugu-cinema), songs from the youth films *Happy Days* (2007) and *Kotha Bangaru Lokam* (2008) brought large success and multiple awards, and he has said that "some of my best songs are in Telugu," calling [Hyderabad](https://www.edgepedia.org/hyderabad) his second home.[4](https://notablepeopleproject.org/karthik_singer) • [7](https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/music/200616/an-obsession-with-live-music.html) Pan-Indian recognition came with the Hindi track "Behene De," the Hindi version of "Usure Pogudhey" from [Mani Ratnam](https://www.edgepedia.org/mani-ratnam)'s *Raavanan* (2010), and with "Behka" from the Hindi *Ghajini* (2008).[4](https://notablepeopleproject.org/karthik_singer) • [2](https://music.apple.com/mt/artist/karthik/20090268) His Rahman collaborations cataloged on AR Rahmanian include "Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa" (2010), "Aye Sinamika" from *OK Kanmani* (2015), and the Hindi "Sheher Mein" (2011).[12](https://arrahmanian.com/artists/karthik) In Telugu, his song "Pacha Bottesina" from *Baahubali: The Beginning* (2015) won the CineMAA Award for Best Singer – Male in 2016.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1220020/awards/)
## Composer and other work
Karthik moved into composition with *Aravaan* (2012), an album he has described as mainly folk and experimental, followed by *Tamilselvanum Thaniyar Anjalum*, his second film as composer, produced by Gautham Menon.[6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/music/success-as-a-singer-never-made-me-complete-karthik/articleshow/49191704.cms) He later composed the original score for *Joshua Imai Pol Kaakha* (2024).[4](https://notablepeopleproject.org/karthik_singer) • [2](https://music.apple.com/mt/artist/karthik/20090268) Outside film, he is part of the contemporary fusion band Arka, which collaborates with instrumentalists to broaden the reach of Indian fusion music, and he has served as a judge and mentor on television singing reality shows.[4](https://notablepeopleproject.org/karthik_singer)
## Live performances
Live performance is a substantial part of his career; in a 2016 interview he spoke of an obsession with performing live and of the bands he maintains alongside playback work.[7](https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/music/200616/an-obsession-with-live-music.html) In 2025 a ten-city "Karthik Live" tour across India was announced, described in press coverage as marking his return to the stage with his chart-topping hits.[1](https://epaper.indianchronicledaily.com/media/2025-10/11-ic.pdf) His official Linktree lists further dates including QFR Live featuring Karthik in London (12 September 2026) and Karthik Live in Tirupati (31 October 2026).[13](https://linktr.ee/karthikmusicexp)
## Personal life
He has credited the singers Mano and Srinivas as people he owes his career to, saying that he "met the right kind of people at the right time."[7](https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/music/200616/an-obsession-with-live-music.html)
## References
1. [Indian Chronicle e-paper, 11 October 2025 (Karthik Live tour profile)](https://epaper.indianchronicledaily.com/media/2025-10/11-ic.pdf)
2. [Karthik artist page, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/mt/artist/karthik/20090268)
3. [Karthik interview: 'Nothing else could give me the joy that music gave me', Scroll.in](https://amp.scroll.in/article/866224/karthik-interview-nothing-else-could-give-me-the-joy-that-music-gave-me)
4. [Karthik (singer), Notable People Project](https://notablepeopleproject.org/karthik_singer)
5. [Karthik – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1220020/awards/)
6. [Success as a singer never made me complete: Karthik, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/music/success-as-a-singer-never-made-me-complete-karthik/articleshow/49191704.cms)
7. [An obsession with live music, Deccan Chronicle](https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/music/200616/an-obsession-with-live-music.html)
8. [The unforgettable night that launched my career with A.R. Rahman – Karthik, Rahmaniac.com](https://rahmaniac.com/artist-reflections/just-wanted-see-atleast-karthik/)
9. [கார்த்திக் (Karthik) profile, Filmibeat Tamil](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/celebs/karthik.html)
10. [The Breezy Romantic: How Karthik's Warm Vocals Captured the Modern Love Song, TamilPaatuLyrics](https://tamilpaatulyrics.com/articles/karthik-biography-singer/)
11. [Karthik Songs List, TamilPaa](https://www.tamilpaa.com/people/karthik/songs)
12. [A. R. Rahman & Karthik, AR Rahmanian](https://arrahmanian.com/artists/karthik)
13. [Karthik official Linktree (karthikmusicexp)](https://linktr.ee/karthikmusicexp)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › World, regional traditional, and non-Western popular musicians › South Asian classical, folk, and playback musicians*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license