Born in a family of musical legends, Hridaynath Mangeshkar is one of the most renowned music composers and vocalists in India. He is the brother of Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, both extremely reputed Indian vocalists. Hridaynath got his musical training at a very young age. He was instructed in several musical traditions by heavyweights such as Ustad Amir Khan, Pandit Ramprasad Sharma and Husnlal - Bhagatram .With a career spanning over six decades, he is best known for his immense contribution to Hindi and Marathi cinema. His most memorable compositions include ‘Yeh Aankhen Dekha Ka’ (Dhanwan, 1993), ‘Yaara Seeli Seeli’ and 'Suramaee Shaam Is Tarah Aaye' (Lekin, 1990). His work was also greatly influenced by the folk songs such as Koli geet as well as mythological songs influenced by the Bhakti and the Sufi traditions.

Mangeshkar has been very selective in his work and his oeuvre of films only includes twelve Marathi films, the first of which was released in 1955. His collaborations with exemplary Marathi poets like Veer Savarkar, Suresh Bhat and Shelake also assisted in developing his signature style of using complex meters with popular music traditions. Hridaynath also released two albums titled Chala Vahi Des and Meera Bhajans that feature mystic poets Surdas, Meerabai and Kabir. His other non-film masterpiece is Ghalib, a music album featuring the ghazals of Mirza Ghalib and sung by legendary singer and Hridyanath's sister Lata Mangeshwar.

For his contribution to Indian cinema, Hridaynath was conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri in 2009, by the Government of India. Besides this, he is the recipient of the National Award for Best Music Direction for Lekin (1990). He remains an active figure in the Indian music scene, and worked on Ek Krantiveer: Vasudev Balwant Phadke (2007) in recent times.