Ajay-Atul

Biography

Ajay-Atul is an Indian music composer duo comprising brothers Ajay Ashok Gogavale and Atul Ashok Gogavale. Known for their works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Marathi and Hindi films. They are recipient of a National Film Award, four Filmfare Awards Marathi, three Maharashtra State Film Awards, twelve Mirchi Music Awards, and two Zee Cine Awards. They made their debut in the 2015 Forbes India Celebrity 100 List securing a position of 82 and were placed 22nd in 2019.
They began their career with the devotional album Vishwa Vinayak, which combined traditional Ganpati mantras with symphonic music. Over the years, they have worked on notable films such as Natarang, Sairat, Agneepath, Dhadak, and Tumbbad. Their compositions often feature live instruments and draw from a mix of traditional and contemporary styles. In recent years, their work in Marathi films like Chandramukhi and Ved has received critical recognition and awards. They remain active in the music industry, consistently exploring new projects.

Early life

Ajay and Atul were born to Ashok Gogavale, a Revenue Department officer of Alandi, Pune. They spent their childhood in several villages of western Maharashtra, such as Rajgurunagar, Junnar, Shirur, Manchar and Ghodegaon as their father had a transferable job. Atul, the elder of the brothers, was born on 11 September 1974 and Ajay, the younger of the brothers, was born on 21 August 1976.
Throughout their childhood, they were not much interested in academics. But their interest in music developed while they were still in school. Around this time, they started experimenting with music. In an NCC competition, Ajay played an existing composition differently, and they won the prize for their experiment.
They did not have a musical background. Although they were not supported by their family directly for music, they were never denied any assistance. As their family could not afford the instruments for their musical endeavors, they started their musical ventures through their school, temples, local bands, etc. Despite not getting direct training, they learned a lot from these ventures. They would befriend people who owned instruments like harmoniums, mridangam, dhol, etc., since they could not afford them on their own. Later, while at college, they started working with local bands as arrangers. Their father bought them a keyboard on their mother's insistence. This proved to be one of their greatest gifts. Their father said, "You have not been given any toys during childhood, now this is your toy". This inspired them and they started experimenting.

Career as music composers

In the early days of their career, They created a devotional album called Vishwa Vinayak. At that time, devotional music was heavily influenced by film tunes and repetitive loops, which they felt affected its sanctity. Inspired by their devotion to Lord Ganesh, they decided to compose the album by blending traditional aartis and mantras with symphonic music, drawing inspiration from Western composers like Bach and Beethoven, even though they had little knowledge of symphonies. They spent about a year and a half researching and working on the album to ensure the religious chants were accurate and respectful. Despite their excitement about the project, Vishwa Vinayak did not bring them instant success. For the next two and a half years, they struggled to find opportunities in music. During this period they also worked one devotional music -" Teri Sharan" a Christian devotional album by singer Dhiraj James Thapa, recorded in MOM studio by the finest sound engineer Peter Gaikward, which went on to become a hit. Looking back, they saw this phase as a time of learning and preparation for bigger achievements.
However, their fortunes changed when they received a call from a music enthusiast in Baroda, who praised the album and went out of his way to contact them. This marked the beginning of growing recognition for Vishwa Vinayak, as they started receiving appreciation from listeners worldwide.
Gradually, their work in Vishwa Vinayak caught the attention of filmmakers. Ram Gopal Varma approached them for the film Gayab, while Mahesh Manjrekar and Amitabh Bachchan collaborated with them on Viruddh. Their success in Marathi cinema also began during this time, with projects like Savarkhed Ek Gaon, Aga Bai Arrecha! and Jatra. They credit Vishwa Vinayak as the breakthrough that brought them widespread recognition and launched their successful career in music composition. They worked on many commercial jingles, ballets, and advertisements to strengthen their profile.
Man Udhān Vāryāche (मन उधाण वाऱ्याचे), Malhāravārī (मल्हारवारी), Kombdī Paḷalī (कोंबडी पळाली ) are some of their notable compositions. Ajay-Atul composed the songs and background score for the Marathi film Naṭarang (नटरंग) (2010). Their composition for Naṭarang was influenced by traditional Marathi folk music forms like Lavani (लावणी), Phaṭakā (फटका) and Tamāśā (तमाशा). They composed music for the Hindi films Singham & Bol Bachchan starring Ajay Devgan directed by Rohit Shetty and Agneepath & Brothers produced by Karan Johar directed by Karan Malhotra. They have also contributed music to the Aamir Khan starrer PK. In 2016, they worked in Nagraj Manjule's film Sairat which is the only Marathi film to gross over 1 billion. They also composed for Manasu Mallige, the film's Kannada remake and Dhadak, the Hindi remake. They produced the Marathi film Jaundya Na Balasaheb directed by Girish Kulkarni. They composed for Tumbbad, Thugs of Hindostan, Mauli and Zero. Their first song from Zero, "Mere Naam Tu", garnered 18 million views in 24 hours on YouTube.
They were awarded as 'Composer of the Decade' in Mirchi Music Awards (Hindi) 2021 for Agneepath and Mirchi Music Awards (Marathi) 2021 for Sairat.
Almost all of their songs and albums are recorded using live instruments, the most notable of them being Agneepath, Sairat and Dhadak.
They continued to compose music for several Hindi and Marathi films. In Bollywood, they worked on Super 30, Panipat, Tanhaji (one song), Jhund (one song) and Ram Setu (one song). In 2022, they delivered chartbuster songs for the Marathi films Chandramukhi and Ved. Their work in Chandramukhi earned them multiple awards, including the Filmfare Marathi Award for Best Music Director, Maharashtracha Favourite Kon, Zee Chitra Gaurav Puraskar, and Fakt Marathi Cine Sanman. Songs like "Sukh Kalale" and "Ved Lavlay" from Ved also became highly popular.
In 2023, they composed songs for Jaggu Ani Juliet, but the music did not gain much attention. However, their work in Maharashtra Shahir brought them success again, with the song "Baharla Ha Madhumas" becoming a hit and earning a Filmfare Marathi Award for Best Music Director. Later that year, their composition "Jai Shri Ram" from the film Adipurush was widely praised for its unique style.
In 2024, the song Baby Bring It On from the film Madgaon Express was released but received negative reviews as it was a remake. Currently, They are working on a song for the upcoming film Yek Number.