Saluri Rajeswara Rao (11 October 1922 – 25 October 1999) was an Indian composer, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and music producer, known for his work 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 ...

.M. L. Narasimham
"Trend-setter in Light Music"
''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'', 12 March 1993. Rajeswara Rao is noted for integrating

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...

into Telugu cinema for over five decades. His innovative compositions and mastery of classical and folk music earned him widespread recognition.

Early life

Rajeswara Rao was born in 1922 in the village of Sivaramapuram near Salur in Vizianagaram district,

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. His father, Sanyasi Raju, was a mrudangam player in the troupe of the renowned violinist, Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu. Rajeswara Rao was recognized as a

child prodigy A child prodigy is, technically, a child under the age of 10 who produces meaningful work in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to describe young people who are extraordinarily talented in some f ...

and began performing on stage at the age of four. Under his father's guidance, he trained with Venkataswamy Naidu in

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

and

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 ...

Career

Rajeswara Rao's career in cinema began in 1934 when recording technician Mr. Huchins discovered him and took him to

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

to record the "Bhagavad Gita". He later traveled to

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

and was cast as

Lord Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is wi ...

in the Telugu film '' Sri Krishna Leelalu'' (1935). Subsequently, he did films like ''Keechaka Vadha'' and ''Uttara Gograhanam'' and met musical legends such as Kundan Lal Saigal and Pankaj Mullick, from whom he learned

Hindustani 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'' ...

. Rajeswara Rao's first role as a music director came with the film '' Jayaprada'' (1939). He went on to score music for a number of successful films in multiple languages, including Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada. Some of his notable films include '' Malliswari'' (1951), '' Missamma'' (1955), and '' Chandralekha'' (1948). He was known for his use of Indian classical ragas and experimentation with foreign musical styles, including Western, Persian, and Arabic influences. Rajeswara Rao was associated with

Gemini Studios Gemini Studios was an Indian film studio based in Madras, Tamil Nadu. It was launched when S. S. Vasan, a businessman of many ventures (including the ownership of Ananda Vikatan) bought Motion Picture Producers' Combines from Krishnaswamy Su ...

in the 1940s and composed music for many of their major films. He is credited with helping popularize light music in Telugu cinema. He was also known for his collaborations with directors like

B. N. Reddy Bommireddi Narasimha Reddi (16 November 1908 – 8 November 1977), professionally known as B. N. Reddi, was an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was an early figure in the Telugu cinema. Many of his earlier films like Vande ...

and Vijaya Productions.

Musical style

Rajeswara Rao's compositions were known for their classical underpinnings, particularly his use of ragas such as " Mohanam", " Abheri", " Kalyani", and " Sindhu Bhairavi". He blended Indian classical music with other styles, creating scores that captured a wide range of emotions. His works in films like '' Kurukshetram'' (1977) and '' Tandra Paparayudu'' (1986) demonstrated his mastery over classical compositions. He was also among the first to incorporate Persian musical elements in Indian film scores.

Personal life

Rajeswara Rao was married to Rajeswari Devi, with whom he had five sons and four daughters. His sons, Saluri Ramalingeswara Rao, Saluri Poornachandra Rao, Saluri Vasu Rao, and Saluri Koteswara Rao (Koti), followed in his footsteps as musicians in the Telugu film industry. His elder brother, Saluri Hanumantha Rao, was also a music director in Kannada and Telugu cinema.

Filmography

Awards and honours

Rajeswara Rao was the recipient of numerous awards and honours for his contributions to Indian cinema, including: * Honorary doctorate ''Kalaprapoorna'' from

Andhra University Andhra University is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. It is graded as an A++ institution by NAAC receiving a score of 3.74 on a scale of 4. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Mah ...

in 1979 * ''Asthana Vidwan'' of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams * ''

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government ...

'' award from the Government of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

* Raghupathi Venkaiah Award in 1992 for his outstanding contribution to Telugu cinema * Nandi Award for Best Music Director for ''Sri Vasavi Kanyaka Parameswari Mahathmyam'' in 1980 * Commemorative postage stamp issued by India Post in 2018 in his honour

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, S. Rajeswara 1922 births 1999 deaths Indian male film actors Telugu film score composers Tamil film score composers Kannada film score composers Telugu playback singers 20th-century Indian male actors 20th-century Indian composers People from Vizianagaram district Film musicians from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian singers Indian male film score composers 20th-century Indian male singers