Indukuri Ramakrishnam Raju (31 August 1934 – 14 August 1994), commonly known by his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Rajasri, was an Indian lyricist, screenwriter, film director, and music composer in

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to the production of Film, motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Based in Film N ...

. He worked on nearly 1000 films, with a significant portion being dubbed films. Rajasri was especially known for writing Telugu lyrics for many films dubbed from Tamil during the 1980s and early 1990s. Due to his contributions to dubbed films, he earned the title "Anuvaada Brahma" ().

Early life

Rajasri was born as Indukuri Ramakrishnam Raju to Indukuri Appalaraju and Narayanamma on 31 August 1934 in

Vizianagaram Vizianagaram, also known as Vijayanagaram, is a city and the headquarters of the Vizianagaram district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in the Eastern Ghats, about west of the Bay of Bengal and north-northeast of Visakhapa ...

. Right from early childhood he started writing stories and metrical poetry. He completed his B.Sc (Physics) from Maharajah's College in

. He learned typewriting. He worked as a typist-cum-personal-assistant in Srikakulam District Board.

Career

Rajasri resigned his job and moved to

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

. He started assisting writer Pinisetty Sriramamurthy. The first film he worked for as a lyricist was '' Aada Pettanam'' (1954), produced by

Kadaru Nagabhushanam Kadaru Nagabhushanam or K. B. Nagabhushanam (1902 – 18 October 1976) was an Indian film director and producer in the 1940s to 1960s, working in Telugu and Tamil cinema. He was the husband of P. Kannamba. They established Rajarajeshwari F ...

and Kannamba. He also worked as an assistant director for Kadaru Nagabhusnam for the films like ''Aada Pettanam'', ''Anna-Thammudu'', ''Paruvu-Pratishta'', ''Santha'', ''Nithya Kalyanam Paccha Thoranam'', ''Veera Bhaskarudu'', and ''Sri Krishna Maaya''. Rajasri worked with

L. V. Prasad Akkineni Laxmi Vara Prasada Rao (17 January 1907 – 22 June 1994), known professionally as L. V. Prasad, was an Indian film director, producer, actor, and businessman. He was one of the pioneers of Indian cinema and is the recipient of the Da ...

in the story department of Prasad Productions for the films like '' Sasural'' (1961), '' Khilona'' (1970), ''Thayilla Pillai'' etc. He wrote lyrics for films like ''Rama Sundari''. He worked with Chalam for some memorable films like '' Sambarala Rambabu'' (1970), ''Bullemma Bullodu'', ''Devudamma'', ''Thulaabhaaram'' (1974), ''Ramude Devudu'', ''Ooriki Upakaari'' etc. He also wrote some memorable songs in these films. Rajasri has worked with director

Mani Ratnam Gopalaratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. H ...

for films like ''

Mouna Ragam ''Mouna Ragam'' ( ) is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Mani Ratnam, and produced by G. Venkateswaran. The film stars Mohan and Revathi, with Karthik in a guest appearance. V. K. Ramasamy, Ra. Sank ...

'' (1986), '' Naayakudu'' (1987), ''

Gharshana ''Gharshana'' () is a 2004 Indian Telugu-language action thriller film produced by G. Sivaraju, C. Venkatraju, and Kalaipuli S. Thanu. It is directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, in his Telugu debut. It is the remake of the 2003 Tamil film, ...

'' (1988), '' Anjali'' (1990), '' Dalapathi'' (1991), '' Roja'' (1992), and '' Donga Donga'' (1993). Mani Ratnam got the dialogues written by Rajasri for his straight Telugu film '' Geethanjali'' (1989). Rajasri has also composed music for a few films like ''Mama Kodalu'' (1993) and ''Venkanna Babu'' (1992) directed by

Dasari Narayana Rao Dasari Narayana Rao (4 May 1942 – 30 May 2017) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, lyricist, and politician, primarily known for his work in Telugu cinema. Over his four decade career, he directed more than 150 feature ...

Death

He died in his sleep while working for the film '' Premikudu'' on 14 August 1994, in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

. His son Rajasri Sudhakar is also a dialogue writer and lyricist. Sudhakar has penned dialogues and songs for films like ''

Krrish ''Krrish'' () is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language superhero action thriller film directed and produced by Rakesh Roshan. The film stars Hrithik Roshan in a dual role, alongside Priyanka Chopra, Naseeruddin Shah, Rekha, Sharat Saxena and Man ...

'', ''Jodha Akbar'', ''

Krrish 3 ''Krrish 3'' is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language superhero action thriller film written, produced and directed by Rakesh Roshan, who wrote the screenplay with Honey Irani and Robin Bhatt. It is the third film in the ''Krrish'' series, following ...

'', ''

Dhoom 2 ''Dhoom 2'' (transl. ''Blast 2''), also known as ''Dhoom 2: Back in Action'', is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language caper action thriller film directed by Sanjay Gadhvi and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films. Written by Vijay Krishna A ...

'', '' Dangal'', ''

Dabangg 3 ''Dabangg 3'' () is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language action drama film directed by Prabhu Deva and jointly produced by Salman Khan Films, Arbaaz Khan Productions and Saffron Broadcast & Media Limited. The third installment in the ''Dabangg'' fi ...

'' and Vikranth Rona that were dubbed into Telugu.

Discography

As lyricist for straight films

As lyricist for dubbed films

As music director

Filmography

As writer

As director

Awards

* He won Nandi Award for Second Best Story Writer for

Bangaru Gaajulu ''Bangaru Gaajulu'' () is a 1968 Indian Telugu language, Telugu-language Drama (film and television), drama film directed by C. S. Rao from a story written by Rajasri (writer), Rajasri. Produced by Tammareddy Krishna Murthy, it stars Akkineni N ...

(1968)(in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

)

Notes

References

External links

*
List of songs penned by Rajasri at Chimata Music.com
{{authority control Telugu writers Indian lyricists 1934 births 1994 deaths