Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar, was half of the famous Bollywood music director duo Laxmikant - Pyarelal who composed music for over 635 films during their time. Laxmikant has also tried his hand at playback singing in Bollywood.

Laxmikant came from a very poor family and learnt the mandolin as a way out of poverty. He was discovered by Lata Mangeshkar at the age of 10 and he met Pyarelal at Sureel Kala Kendra, an academy run by Lata’s family.