Tinaikar, a guitarist who helped establish Rock Machine — the band that later operated under the name Indus Creed — died in Mumbai on Thursday. He was 63 years of age at the time of his death.

Farhan Akhtar and Vishal Dadlani were among the industry figures who acknowledged Tinaikar's place in Indian music, with voices from across the field adding their own marks of respect.

Raised in Mumbai, Tinaikar took to the electric guitar from a young age. Among the acts that left the deepest mark on his musical development were Deep Purple, The Who, The Shadows, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. His work contributed to the growth of an independent rock scene in India, with his efforts rooted in a broader push to cultivate homegrown musical expression.

Rock Machine — a band assembled in the 1980s by musicians determined to bring rock to Indian audiences — stands as the chapter where Tinaikar's musical path took its most defining turn. Putting out their first record in 1988, the group released Rock 'n' Roll Renegade, a collection that featured cuts such as "Top of the Rock" and "The Enemy Within." Live performances and college concerts drove their profile upward, with the track Pretty Child — drawn from their 1990 release The Second Coming — becoming a particular draw for audiences.

The band underwent a reinvention, re-emerging as Indus Creed with a sound and persona rooted more explicitly in Indian cultural identity. A self-titled record released by the band in 1995 included material such as "Trapped" and "Sleep." Parikrama and Indus Creed were among the acts that carved out a foothold for rock music within India's broader entertainment landscape.

When Indus Creed stepped away from performing in the late 1990s, Tinaikar kept his musical pursuits alive. Two musical partnerships shaped part of his career — one alongside singer Gary Lawyer, the other through Whirling Kalapas, an acoustic venture built around vocalist Uday Benegal. Picking up activity around 2010, the group released Evolve two years on, in 2012.

At Mumbai's True School of Music, the workshops and sessions Tinaikar led became a practical resource for guitarists earlier in their careers.

News of Tinaikar's death from a cardiac episode on Thursday reached the public through a television news outlet. For a number of years, doctors had noted ongoing health concerns, and in the period preceding his death, abdominal pain had become a recurring complaint. No official medical documentation released to the public has yet verified those particulars.