Sean RoldanTamil Music Director – Song Lyrics & Movies

Roldan was born as Raghavendra Raja Rao to the mridangam player Kalaimamani Srimushnam V. Raja Rao and Padma, the daughter of novelist Sandilyan. He is married to Lalitha Sudha, a playback singer who works in the Indian film industry, primarily for films composed by him and has two children. He was drawn into film music by A.R. Rahman's debut album Roja.

Rao began a career in music composing and working on Carnatic tracks before venturing into independent Tamil music with his band Sean Roldan & Friends. Roldan was recommended by film producer C. V. Kumar to Varun Manian, the producer of the bilingual film Vaayai Moodi Pesavum / Samsaaram Aarogyathinu Haanikaram, who was looking for a composer after the director's original choice, Anirudh Ravichander, had opted out. He subsequently signed the film and chose to continue to credit himself as Sean Roldan for a career in the Tamil film industry. He produced eight tracks for the film, singing two, while including one inspired by the single track "Mayakkura Poo Vaasam" composed for his band. That same year, he composed music for the films Sathuranga Vettai, Mundasupatti, and Aadama Jaichomada. All soundtracks were well received. 2015 saw him composing the songs for 144.

In 2016, Roldan composed music for the political satire film Joker. The songs were well received. 2017 saw him composing music for Pa. Pandi, the directorial debut of actor Dhanush, and Roldan received praise for his work in the film. Three more films were released that year featuring Roldan's music: Neruppu Da, Katha Nayagan, and Velaiilla Pattadhari 2, the last of which he collaborated with Dhanush, but as a lead actor. Roldan's only film composed in 2018 was Kathiruppor Pattiyal. He composed two films in 2019: Mehandi Circus and Raatchasi.

In 2020, Roldan composed one song from Dharala Prabhu, and in 2021, he composed one song from Kasada Thapara. 2021 also saw him composing the music for the critically-acclaimed legal drama Jai Bhim. The film was his first collaboration with Suriya, and the music received positive reviews.

In 2022, Roldan released a music video called Parai. The video is about a Parai artist and his daughter who are subject to torment by casteists. He also co-wrote the song's lyrics.

Roldan has established a reputation for collaborating with debutant directors in Tamil cinema. His notable recent works with debutant directors include Good Night (2023; Vinayak Chandrasekaran), Lover (2024; Prabhuram Vyas), Lubber Pandhu (2024; Tamizharasan Pachamuthu), and Tourist Family (2025; Abishan Jeevinth). All films received positive reviews.

Roldan has mainly sang songs for his own films but has frequently worked with composers Pradeep Kumar and Santhosh Narayanan. He has also worked with the likes of Anirudh Ravichander, D. Imman, and Yuvan Shankar Raja. Roldan's music draws heavy inspiration from Tamil composer Ilaiyaraaja. His greater aim is to represent Indian music internationally.