The duo scored music for about 375 films, over 200 of them in Kannada and the remainder in other languages like Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Tulu, Hindi and Sinhala.

He took his brother along with him and they got an opportunity to learn the music trade under the aegis of H. R. Padmanabha Shastri, who was known for producing talkie movies at that time.

They had a successful stint in Kannada film industry from early 50s till late 90s, but they started shining from 1973 with Gandhada Gudi songs becoming popular throughout Karnataka and dimmed in early 90s, when new generation music took over thus covering a span of two decades of lilting melodies that has been hugely popular to date in Karnataka and other states of South India.

In the 80s, they made the music for some Telugu films, including Maa Intayana Katha, Puli Bebbuli and Vayyari Bhamalu Vagalamari Bharathulu.

Further, they kept scoring consistently good music through the 90s and in the course, produced for movies like Mathe Haditu Kogile, Marali Goodige and Suprabhaata.

Rajan–Nagendra also did a series of films starring Anant Nag, and Lakshmi, notable among them being Naa Ninna Bidalaare, Benkiya Bale and Chandanada Gombe.

Their team was exceptionally good at composing cheerful love duets, although they did come up with a couple of sombre numbers like Baadi hoda balliyinda (P. B. Srinivas, Eradu Kanasu).

The lyricists who wrote unforgettable lyrics for them are late Hunasur Krishna Murthy, Uday Shankar, Vijiya Narasimha, Geetha Priya, Dodda Range Gowda, Vyasa Rao and many more.

The popular female vocalists are Bala Saraswati, Soolamangalam sisters, P. Leela, S. Janaki, Vani Jairam, Rani, L. R. Easwari, P. Susheela, Jikki, Chitra and many more.

He also sang Nammoora santheli in the Jai Jagadish-Lakshmi starrer Gaalimaatu and Neeliya baninda tareya oorinda from Tony.

Some unforgettable Rajan–Nagendra numbers: Rajan–Nagendra are in the same class as Hindi cinema's popular composing duo Shankar-Jaikishen, Laxmikanth Pyarelal and Kalyanji-Anandji.

[3] Their first award film in Kannada was Nagendra, the younger one of the duo, died of a stroke in Bowring & Lady Curzon Hospitals, Bangalore, on 4 November 2000.

[citation needed] They were also conducting music classes by name "Sapthaswaranjali" for vocal enthusiasts on voice culturing and film singing.