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Sandeep Chowta: The Bangalore-Raised Composer Behind Satya's Score

Ghana, Nigeria, then Bangalore, his father's jazz records, and a background score that changed Bollywood in 1998.

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  • Sandeep Chowta is a film composer who grew up partly in Bangalore after early years in Ghana and Nigeria.
  • He made his name with the background score for Ram Gopal Varma's Satya (1998) and composed Mast, Jungle and Pyar Tune Kya Kiya.
  • His father D K Chowta was general secretary of the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath.
Tariq Sallam, founder of The City 24/7 Tariq Sallam September 24, 2026 • 3 min read • Updated October 17, 2026
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A film-scoring studio at night with a mixing console, keyboard, guitars, sheet music and a large screen showing a rain-soaked noir street, with the city lights outside

Sandeep Chowta grew up partly in Bangalore.

“He took keen interest in jazz in school, after stumbling on his father's collection.”

• Last.fm biography of Sandeep Chowta

Sandeep Chowta is an Indian film composer who was born in Ghana around 1967, grew up in Nigeria and then Bangalore, and made his name with the background score for Ram Gopal Varma's Satya in 1998. He went on to compose Mast, Jungle and Pyar Tune Kya Kiya, has scored Telugu films, and heads Columbia Records in India.

His father D K Chowta, a Tulu writer and businessman, was a long-time figure at Bangalore's Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath. The Bangalore thread runs through the family. Here is the record.

Quick Information

He found jazz in his father's record collection, and Bollywood found out what a background score could do.

Born
About 1967, Ghana
Raised
Nigeria and Bangalore
Father
D K Chowta, Tulu writer; Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath
Sister
Prajna Chowta, elephant researcher and filmmaker
Breakthrough
Satya background score, 1998
Hits
Mast (1999); Jungle; Pyar Tune Kya Kiya
Also
AO Music core member
Now
Head of Columbia Records India

Who Is Sandeep Chowta?

Sandeep Chowta is a composer who works mainly in Hindi and Telugu cinema and is best known for his collaborations with Ram Gopal Varma from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s.

What Is Sandeep Chowta's Bangalore Connection?

He grew up partly in Bangalore after early years in Ghana and Nigeria. His father, D K Chowta, was general secretary of the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath and died in Bengaluru in 2019.

Why Was the Satya Score Important?

Satya, a low budget film about Mumbai's underworld, came with a new, in-your-face style of background score that announced him in 1998. He followed it with Kaun, a thriller with no songs, where his score carried the mood.

  • 1998 Satya, background score
  • 1999 Kaun; Mast
  • 2000 Jungle
  • 2001 Pyar Tune Kya Kiya

What Is AO Music?

AO Music is a world and new age group he joined after inviting its founders to his Mumbai studio in 2004. Its albums crediting him have charted in the international top five.

A LESSER-KNOWN FACT

His first Hindi collaboration with Sowmya Raoh, Aiyyo Aiyyo Rama in Jungle, came after the two had worked together in Bangalore.

Why Does Sandeep Chowta Belong in People of Bangalore?

THEIR BANGALORE CONNECTION

He was raised partly in Bangalore, where his family was rooted in the city's art world.

FAQs

Who is Sandeep Chowta?

A film composer known for Satya, Mast and Jungle, and head of Columbia Records in India.

Where did Sandeep Chowta grow up?

In Nigeria and Bangalore, after being born in Ghana.

Who is Sandeep Chowta's father?

D K Chowta, a Tulu writer and businessman associated with the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath.

Remember Mast?

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Tariq Sallam, founder of The City 24/7

Tariq Sallam

FOUNDER, THE CITY 24/7

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