Sripathi Panditharadhyula Kodandapani ( 5 April 1974) was an Indian music composer and playback singer 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 made his debut as an playback singer in the 1955 film '' Santhanam''. Later, he debuted as a music director in the 1961 film ''Kanna Koduku.'' Early in his career, he gained fame as a composer for folklore-based films. Later, he composed films in varied genres. Kodandapani's notable films as a music director include '' Guruvunu Minchina Sishyudu'' (1963), ''Thotalo Pilla - Kotalo Rani'' (1964), '' Jwala Dweepa Rahasyam'' (1965), ''Bangaru Timmaraju'' (1965), ''

Devata ''Devata'' (pl: ''devatas'', meaning 'the gods') are smaller and more focused Devas (Deities) in Indian religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism. The term "devata" itself can also mean deva. They can be either male or female. Every human ac ...

'' (1965), '' Sri Sri Sri Maryada Ramanna'' (1967), '' Gopaludu Bhoopaludu'' (1967), '' Sukha Dukhalu'' (1968), '' Manchi Kutumbam'' (1968), ''Manchi Mitrulu'' (1969), '' Kathanayika Molla'' (1970), '' Pandanti Kapuram'' (1972). Some of his notable compositions include songs like "Aalayaana Velasina Aa Devudi Reethi" from ''Devata'', "Idi Mallela Velayani" and "Medante Meda Kadu" from ''Sukha Dukhalu.'' He introduced S. P. Balasubrahmanyam to playback singing in the film ''Sri Sri Sri Maryada Ramanna'' (1967) and mentored him in his early career. Balasubrahmanyam considered Kodandapani to be his

guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

and would reminisce Kodandapani throughout his life and would often pay tributes to him. Kodandapani died on 5 April 1974 at an early age of 42.

Life

S. P. Kodandapani was born in 1932 in

Guntur Guntur (), natively spelt as Gunturu, is a city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district. The city is part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is lo ...

. He spent his childhood in Guntur. He used to sing songs and poems and learned to play

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

. He went 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 ...

looking for opprtunities to work in the film industry. Addepalli Rama Rao gave him a chance to sing in the chorus in the 1953 film '' Naa Illu''. Later, he worked as a harmonium player with Susarla Dakshinamurthi. He sang as an independent singer in the 1955 film '' Santhanam''. He also worked with the music director K. V. Mahadevan for some time. He became music director as an independent charge for the first time in ''Kanna Koduku'' (1961), followed by ''Padandi Munduku'' (1962), ''Manchi Rojulochayi'', ''Bangaru Timmaraju'' (1964), ''Thotalo Pilla - Kotalo Rani'' (1964), ''Loguttu Perumallakeruka'' (1966) and others. The song "Medante Meda Kaadu" from the film '' Sukha Dukhalu'' (1968) composed by him brought recognition to Balasubrahmanyam in Telugu cinema. Kodandapani is the music director in the Rekha Murali and Arts production company established by comedian and his former roommate Padmanabham.

Legacy

Kodandapani introduced S. P. Balasubrahmanyam to playback singing in the film ''Sri Sri Sri Maryada Ramanna'' (1967) and mentored him in his early career. Balasubrahmanyam considered Kodandapani to be his

and would reminisce Kodandapani throughout his life and would often pay tributes to him. He named his recording theatre after Kodandapani. He also named his film

production company A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...

after him as 'Sri Kodandapani Film Circuits'.

Filmography

Composer

Singer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kodandapani, S. P. Telugu film score composers Telugu people People from Guntur Film musicians from Andhra Pradesh Singers from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian composers 20th-century Indian singers 1974 deaths 1932 births