| Filmfare Award for Best Music Director | |
|---|---|
 2025 reciepentRam Sampath | |
| Awarded for | Best Performance by a Music Director |
| Country | India |
| Presented by | Filmfare |
| First award | Naushad Ali, Baiju Bawra "Tu Ganga Ki Mauj" (1954) |
| Currently held by | Ram Sampath Laapataa Ladies (2025) |
| Website | Filmfare Awards |
TheFilmfare Award for Best Music Director is given by theFilmfare magazine as part of its annualFilmfare Awards forHindi films, to the best composer/arranger of a soundtrack.Filmfare award is the most prestigious award in India for theMusic Director's apart from the National Award. This category was first presented in 1954.Naushad Ali was the first recipient of this award for his song "Tu Ganga Ki Mauj" from the filmBaiju Bawra. For the first two years, it was awarded to the composer for a particular song and not the entire album. From 1956 onwards, awards in this category have been given for the entire soundtrack. From 2017, the name of this was category changed from best music direction to music album.
| Category | Name | Superlative | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Awards | A. R. Rahman | 10 awards | Awards resulted from 19 nominations |
| Most Nominations | Pritam | 26 nominations | Nominations resulted in 6 awards |
| Most Nominations in a single year | Pritam | 4 nominations | Nominations resulted in 1 award |
| Most Nominations In 10 Years (2008–2018) | Pritam | 14 nominations | Nominations resulted in 5 awards |
| Most Nominations without a Win | Jatin–Lalit Vishal-Shekhar | 12 nominations 11 Nominations | 0 Win |
| Winner | Number of wins | Number of nominations | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. R. Rahman | 10 | 19 | 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 |
| Shankar–Jaikishan | 9 | 20 | 1957, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973 |
| Laxmikant–Pyarelal | 7 | 25 | 1965, 1968, 1970, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981 |
| Pritam | 6 | 26 | 2013, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024 |
| Nadeem–Shravan | 4 | 10 | 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997 |
| R. D. Burman | 3 | 17 | 1983, 1984, 1995 |
| Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy | 14 | 2004, 2006, 2015 | |
| S. D. Burman | 2 | 8 | 1955, 1974 |
| Amaal Malik | 9 | 2016, 2020 | |
| Khayyam | 6 | 1977, 1982 | |
| Mithoon | 6 | 2014, 2020 | |
| Ankit Tiwari | 5 | 2014, 2016 | |
| Anu Malik | 2 | 1994, 2005 | |
| Vishal Mishra | 3 | 2020, 2024 | |
| Jaani | 2 | 2022, 2024 |
Multiple music directors (or duo/trio) have received multiple Best Music Director nominations.
| Artist | Number of Nominations | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Pritam | 26 | 6 |
| Laxmikant–Pyarelal | 25 | 7 |
| Shankar–Jaikishan | 20 | 9 |
| A. R. Rahman | 19 | 10 |
| R. D. Burman | 17 | 3 |
| Anu Malik | 14 | 2 |
| Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy | 13 | 3 |
| Jatin–Lalit | 12 | 0 |
| Vishal - Shekhar | 11 | 0 |
| Nadeem–Shravan | 10 | 4 |
| Rajesh Roshan | 2 |
In the list below, the winner of the award for each year is shown first, followed by the other nominees. The films are listed by the years when the award was presented. The announcing of nominations became regular after 1956.
| ‡ | Indicates the winner |
|---|
| Year | Photos of winners | Music Director | Film |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 (1st) |  | Naushad Ali ‡ | Baiju Bawra (for the song "Tu Ganga Ki Mauj") |
| 1955 (2nd) |  | S. D. Burman ‡ | Taxi Driver (for the song "Jaaye To Jaaye Kahan") |
| 1956 (3rd) |  | Hemant Kumar ‡ | Nagin |
| C. Ramchandra | Azaad | ||
| Naushad Ali | Uran Khatola | ||
| 1957 (4th) |  | Shankar–Jaikishan ‡ | Chori Chori |
| O. P. Nayyar | C.I.D. | ||
| 1958 (5th) |  | O. P. Nayyar ‡ | Naya Daur |
| C. Ramchandra | Asha | ||
| 1959 (6th) |  | Salil Chowdhury ‡ | Madhumati |
| O. P. Nayyar | Phagun | ||
| Shankar–Jaikishan | Yahudi |
| Merit awards | |
|---|---|
| Critics' awards | |
| Technical awards | |
| Special awards | |
| Award ceremonies | |
