Mahesh Tinaikar, Indus Creed founding guitarist and Indian rock pioneer, dies at 63

Mahesh Tinaikar, the lead guitarist who founded the Mumbai band Rock Machine in 1984 and stayed with it as it became Indus Creed, one of the best-known names in Indian rock, died in Mumbai on Thursday, 15 October 2026. He was 63. His death was confirmed by fellow musicians, and band members said he died after a suspected heart attack, although some accounts said the exact cause had not been made public. Musicians including Vishal Dadlani and Farhan Akhtar paid tribute to him on social media, with Dadlani writing that "India lost a true LEGEND today."

Rock Machine began, like many Indian rock groups of its time, as a covers band heavily influenced by American and British rock acts. What set it apart was the decision to write and record its own material. Rock 'N' Roll Renegade, released in 1988, became a reference point for a generation of Indian musicians who wanted to play original songs rather than copy others.

The band's timing also mattered. As satellite television and music channels arrived in India in the early 1990s, Rock Machine's videos gave Indian rock a visibility it had never had. When the band became Indus Creed in 1993, it was one of the few homegrown rock groups that a mainstream audience could name. Tinaikar's guitar work was central to that sound, and for many younger players he was proof that an Indian guitarist could build a career on original rock music.

The band's later history mirrors the ups and downs of the Indian independent scene. Indus Creed split in 1997. It came back in 2010 with a new line-up, and its 2012 album Evolve showed a band willing to mix rock with Indian classical colours. In his later years Tinaikar also taught music, passing on the craft to students.

Short-term: Tributes from musicians across Bollywood and the independent music world are likely to continue, and fans are already sharing the band's old videos and recordings. Indus Creed's remaining members have not announced any plans for the band's future.

Long-term: Tinaikar's death is a moment for the Indian music industry to recognise the first wave of original rock bands, whose recordings are often hard to find and poorly archived. His work, and that of his bandmates, is part of the foundation on which today's independent scene was built.

Who is affected: Tinaikar's family and bandmates; the musicians he played with and taught; and several generations of Indian rock fans for whom Rock Machine and Indus Creed were their first homegrown rock band.

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