MUMBAI: Movies are the lifeblood of most Indians. What draws cinema goers to multiplexes, and cinema halls is the actors who decorate the billboard promotions for the film and the hype surrounding it. But what plays a large part in luring movie buffs is the music of a Bollywood film. And the magicians who weave all the different sounds into an audio spectacle are Bollywood’s music composers.

Whether it is the ditties from a Barfi or the angst of youth in a Ishaqzaade, Cocktail, Ekk Deewana Tha or the fun songs of Dabangg 2, 2012 was a super-duper year for Sajid-Wajid and Pritam Chakraborty who churned out music as if from an assembly line for a number of films. Then there were others who were not as prolific in their scoring for films; but they had remarkable and memorable tunes which regaled us through the year. Radioandmusic.com gives its readers a countdown of who we think were the big daddies of music composition in 2012. Read on:

10. Jeet Gannguli:

Popularly known as Jeet, he got his first break with Sanjay Gadhvia’s Tere Liye. He later on paired with his buddy Pritam and scored music for YRF’s Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai in 2002 which also directed by Gadhvi.  The two have since parted ways and Jeet is slowly but surely making his mark as a soloist, composing for Hindi, Bengali films and for TV series and jingles.

His Bollywood roster for 2012 included Raaz 3D, Blood Money and Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi. Raaz 3’s music and songs caught on with the masses, while the others didn’t. Jeet makes the grade for 2012 Top 10 for the oodles of work he did for Bengali films during the year.

9. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy:

The prolific trio had a rather sedate year in 2012 with Chittagong and Delhi Safari being two films under their belt. However, they made their presence felt courtesy their TV commercials and appearances in them and the slew of live performances and concerts they had through the year. They even had Parliamentarians swaying to their songs in the Parliament.

8. Ajay-Atul:

Their family name is Gogavale, but they are better known by their handle Ajay-Atul.  With a national award in 2008 for the film Jogwa under their belt, the duo played to the gallery with their foot-tapping music during the year. Their music compositions for Agneepath (remember the remake of the Marathi song Kombdi Palali - Chikni Chameli and Bol Bachchan had audiences dancing in the aisles and on the streets during every celebration. Clearly, Ajay-Atul are emerging as a force to reckon with in Bollywood, and helping them to a large extent is their regular association with Ajay Devgan (they were the composers for his 2011 hit Singham too).

7. Salim-Sulaiman:

The brothers Merchant composed music for three films in 2012: Jodi Breakers, Heroine and Chakravyuh. Their two item numbers Halkat Jawani and --- in Heroine, became hits. The year also saw them touring the US and Canada, building their fanbase there. The duo has indeed come a long way since they were picked by film director Sanjay Gupta to compose and record the theme for his film Hameshaa in 1997.

6. Amit Trivedi:

This little dynamo exploded on the music scene with his compositions for the film Dev D which was meant to be his debut as a music director but was preceded by Aamir due to production delays. His music for DevD got him recognitions galore, among which was a National Award too.

2012 saw five films for which he had composed the music being released: Ishaqzaade, English Vinglish, Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu and Aiyyaa. Ishaqzaade was the stunner of the year with its blend of electronic dance music and twangy lyrics.

5. Vishal-Shekhar:

This music directing duo rose to fame with Jhankaar Beats, but over the years they have given more successful songs for films like Om Shanti Om, Dus, Bluffmaster, Tashan, Bachna Ae Haseeno, Dostana, Anjaana Anjaani, Ra.One, and so on. They have not limited themselves to Bollywood alone; they are popular amongst Marathi film makers and TV producers having composed for TV series too.Â

In 2012, the fun-loving musicians composed Ekla Cholo... for Kahaani bagging Amitabh Bachchan to sing, which received lots of praise. Meanwhile, Dibakar Banerjee’s Shanghai had some serious spinning compositions from them, apart from the lighter, fluffier fare from the soundtrack of Karan Johar's youth flick Student Of The Year. They even composed music for an animation film Arjun: The Warrior Prince.

4. AR Rahman:

Rahman will probably rank amongst the greatest of greatest in Indian music. Apart from winning global accolades in the last four years for Slumdog Millionaire, the musical genius has become a beacon of sorts for Indian music. 2011 began impactfully for him and for lovers of rock with his solid rock renditions for Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar. The music and the film attained cult status just like Rock On did a few years earlier. His versatility was evident in Ekk Deewana Tha which had some wonderful romantic melodies composed by Rahman - as did the late Yash Chopra directed Jab Tak Hain Jaan. Apart from commercial music, Rahman went back to his experimental self in 2012, unleashing a single titled Infinite Love, almost 15 years after launching his private studio album Vande Mataram.

3. Himesh Reshammiya:

He had been lampooned by all for his nasal singing style and antiquated compositions. Written off by all, Himesh did not let the criticism get to him. He made a solid comeback in 2011 with his smash hit music for the Salman Khan starrer Bodyguard. 2012 saw him continuing his winning streak - he had five back-to-back hit films, the latest being Khiladi 786, which he also produced with Akshay Kumar. Other Bollywood movies he rendered include Son of Sardaar, Bol Bachchan, OMG (Oh My God) and Dangerous Ishhq. The message he has been sending out to one and all: I still have the music.

2. Pritam Chakraborty:

Even with all the controversy surrounding this music composer the number of films Pritam has composed music for 2012 has just shot up. He is placed second in the list, having composed music for films such as Barfi, Cocktail, Agent Vinod, Ferrari Ki Sawaari, Players and Rush. He received accolades for the music of Barfi which harked back to an era when melody and clean music ruled.

1. Sajid-Wajid:

This duo has emerged as the Dadas of Bollywood, giving music for some of the Big Box Office grossers in 2012. Amongst their prize winners for which they rendered music in 2012: Son of Sardar, Ajab Gazabb Love, Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal, Ek Tha Tiger, Teri Meri Kahaani, Rowdy Rathore, Housefull 2 and Tezz. Their style of popular, raunchy, bold, beat-filled music has caught on with music lovers, making them a darling of the film making community.