The ’10s saw a series of viral Tamil hits win legions of fans across India. Chennai’s greatest asset, filmi powerhouse A. R. Rahman, reached new romantic highs with the swooning, ’90s-laced soundtrack to Kaatru Veliyidai (2017), earning him a National Film Award for Best Music Direction. But the decade was also marked by young film composer Anirudh Ravichander’s meteoric rise. He debuted with a bang—the soundtrack to 3 (2011) included the folk-fuelled Tanglish smash “Why This Kolaveri Di”—and he followed up with a barrage of rap, rock and koothu-powered bangers featuring the likes of Dhanush.