By Harihar Swarup
When M M Keeravani won the Golden Globe award for the best original song for S Rajamouli’s film RRR on January 11, he was fulfilling his destiny. As a 4-year—old in Kovvur, Andhra Pradesh, he had walked up to his father; Koduri Siva Shakti Dutta, and narrated a dream: “A divine being asked to open my mouth and stretch my tongue out. I did, and it placed a burning coal on my tongue.” Then, abruptly, the young Keeravani declared “I want to learn music.”
The whole family was surprised. “It was not that he was exposed to a lot of music to have been influenced. Nevertheless, we took him seriously and got him educated in music,” celebrated writer-director and Keeravani’s uncle Vijayendra Prasad said. Prasad has written the stories of “Bahubali-the beginning” and ‘Bahubali’—the conclusion’, besides many other films. He is also a play back singer; and currently the toast of Telugu cinema.
Now 62, Keeravani won the Globe for the song “Naatu, Naatu” written by lyrist Chandrabose for the Telugu film “RRR” that was directed by Rajamouli. But his music has mesmerized audiences in different languages for years. It’s just that his name sometimes does not ring a bell because of the aliases he works under; In Bollywood he is known as M M Kreem, and in the Tamil industry as Marakathamani.
He carved out his space in Hindi cinema with the song “Tu Mile, Dil Khile” sung by Alaka Yagnik and Kumar Sanu in 1984 film ‘ Criminal’ ‘Jism’, released in 2013 was another high light of his Bollywood career.
Music director R P Patnaik says Keeravani’s music in film ‘Is Raat ki Subh Nahi’ showed his skill and acumen.”He has sung for me and I have sung for him. We shared a good bond. In fact, Keeravani in someone, everyone loves in the film industry,” Patnaik said.
But Keeravani had to earn his way to the top through diligence. He had started as an assistant to an assistant of well known music director Chakraverthi more than 30 years ago. “It is his grounding in classical music and literature that has taken him so far”, said Patnaik, who rates Keeravani’s music in Nagarjuna – starred ‘Annamayya’ as of a very high order.
Keeravani has provided music for nearly 100 films in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada since his debut with the film ‘Manasu Mamata’ in 1990. Directors feel comfortable working with him, and K Raghvendra Rao, who won the national award for best director with Annamayya in 1997, has collaborated with him in more than 20 films. “It is your sheer hard work and determination that has taken you places. You are an example of what one can achieve through commitment”, Rao twitted as soon as the Golden Globes announcement was made.
Keeravani once said he chose the screen name M M Kreema to make life easier for his Bollywood colleagues, but now he’s become household name. His uncle Prasad and others in the family are of course delighted. “We saw the spark in Keeravani when he was a child. We were certain that he would go places but did not imagine the heights he would reach winning the Golden Globe. It is a matter of pride for our family, the Indian film industry and the country,” Prasad said. Now an Oscar for “Naatu Naatu” would be icing on the cake, and the song is already on the short list. (IPA Service)
