Ramesh Narayan (born 3 November 1959) is an Indian classical vocalist, composer and music producer who works predominantly in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

. Ramesh began his initial training in

Carnatic music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

and later mastered the classical Hindustani style under the renowned

Pandit Jasraj Pandit Jasraj (28 January 1930 – 17 August 2020) was an Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the ''Mewati gharana'' (musical apprenticeship lineage). His musical career spanned 75 years resulting in national and international fame, ...

. Ramesh began his career composing score music for documentaries, films and

Indian television The television industry in India is very diverse and produces thousands of programmes in many Indian languages. Nearly 87% of Indian households own a television. As of 2016, the country had over 900 channels of which 184 were Pay television, ...

programs in Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil. He composed and sung the national integration song ''Saur Mandal Mein Tim Tim'' in 1996, directed by

Jnanpith Award The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian ...

laureate

M.T. Vasudevan Nair Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Narayanan Nair (15 July 1933 – 25 December 2024) was an Indian author, lecturer, screenplay writer and film director. He was a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and was one of the mast ...

for Lok Seva Sanchar Parishad. Ramesh's film-scoring career began in the early 1990s with the Malayalam film Magrib. His notable works include Garshom, Meghamalhar, Saira,

Makalkku ''Makalkku'' () is a 2005 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Jayaraj and written by Madampu Kunjukuttan from a story by Rajan Poduval. It stars Suresh Gopi and Shobana. The film features songs composed by Ramesh Narayan and backg ...

Rathri Mazha ''Rathri Mazha'' () is a 2007 Indian Malayalam-language film by Lenin Rajendran starring Vineeth and Meera Jasmine in lead roles. Rathri Mazha was chosen as one of the Indian entries for the Asian, African and Latin American Competition segment o ...

Paradesi (2007 film) ''Paradeshi'' () is a 2007 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by P. T. Kunju Muhammed. It was produced by Antony Perumbavoor under the company Aashirvad Cinemas. Mohanlal plays Valiyakaththu Moosa, in three stages of his ...

Manjadikuru ''Manjadikuru'' () is a 2012 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by Anjali Menon. A shorter video version of the film was premiered at the 2008 International Film Festival of Kerala, and won the FIPRESCI Award for best Malayala ...

Adaminte Makan Abu ''Adaminte Makan Abu'' () is a 2011 Indian Malayalam-language social drama film written, directed and co-produced by Salim Ahamed. It stars Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab, with Mukesh, Kalabhavan Mani, Suraj Venjarammoodu, and Nedumudi Ve ...

Veettilekkulla Vazhi ''Veettilekkulla Vazhi'' () is a 2010 Indian Malayalam adventure drama film written and directed by Dr. Biju. The film is about terrorist organizations operating in India and how they recruit young Keralites. It stars Prithviraj, Indrajith an ...

, Makaramanju, Edavappathy,

Ennu Ninte Moideen ''Ennu Ninte Moideen'' () is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language biographical romantic drama film written and directed by R. S. Vimal, based on the real-life story of Kanchanamala and B. P. Moideen, which took place in the 1960s in Mukkam, Kozhi ...

, Suryakantha etc. Ramesh Narayan has earned

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

, four

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Cha ...

, two

Kerala Film Critics Association Awards The Kerala Film Critics Association Awards are presented annually by the Kerala Film Critics Association to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Malayalam language film industry of India. The awards were instit ...

. He has received the Indian Music Academy Award for popularizing

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

from the then

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. Ramesh became popular by performing a 36-hour vocal recital as part of celebrating the 100 years of

Indian Cinema The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...

at the

Film and Television Institute of India The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. ...

, Pune. This performance got him an entry to the

Limca Book of Records The ''Limca Book of Records'' is an annual reference book published in India documenting world records held by Indians. The records are further categorised into education, literature, agriculture, medical science, business, sports, nature, adve ...

2013 for completing the 24 hour

raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...

cycle. In 2023, he was honoured with Kerala Sree Award, third highest civilian award given by the

Government of Kerala The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...

Original scores

:*''All compositions in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

unless otherwise noted''

Awards and achievements

;

Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award is an award given by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Department of Cultu ...

2012 ;

: * 2005 – '' Best Background Score'' - Saira * 2006 – Best Music Director -

* 2014 – Best Music Director - White Boys * 2015 – Best Music Director - Edavapathy & ''

Controversy

On 17 July 2024, a video emerged following an incident with actor Asif Ali at the trailer launch of the then upcoming anthology film, ''

Manorathangal ''Manorathangal'' () is a 2024 Indian Malayalam-language anthology television series. The anthology features nine featurettes based on M. T. Vasudevan Nair's nine short stories: Aswathy V Nair, daughter of M.T. Vasudevan Nair, is the creative ...

''. At the event, Asif Ali was supposed to present a memento to Ramesh Narayan, which Ramesh Narayan snubbed.The video of it went viral, leading to widespread criticism and support waves for Asif Ali, and subjecting Ramesh Narayan to cyber trolls. The incident shows Ramesh got his hand to the award from Asif all the while seemingly ignoring the actor. Asif, visibly perplexed by the gesture, remained standing near the musician for a moment before returning to his seat. Ramesh then beckoned filmmaker

Jayaraj Jayarajan Rajasekharan Nair, professionally credited as Jayaraj (born 31 May 1960), is an Indian filmmaker, who predominantly works in the Malayalam cinema, Malayalam film industry. He has won many awards, including Crystal Bear at the Berli ...

to make Jayaraj present the memento to him, and demeanour of Ramesh shifted noticeably, smiling and hugging Jayaraj. On July 18, 2024, Ramesh Narayan issued a public apology regarding the incident, attributing it to unintentional circumstances. Subsequently, on July 19, Asif Ali clarified his stance on the controversy during a press conference. Asif Ali suggested that Narayan's reaction stemmed from personal matters and denied he himself feeling insulted from Narayan's reaction. The actor's public statement also criticised the online harassment directed towards Ramesh Narayan.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Narayan, Ramesh 1959 births Hindustani singers People from Kannur district Living people Recipients of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Award Kerala Sree Award Winners Artists from Kerala