vENuvai vacchaanu bhuvanaaniki..., bangaaru kODipeTTa...., adigO alladigO..., mannEla tinTiviraa kRshNaa..., antaa raamamayam..., poosindi poosindi punnaaga..., jaamuraatiri jaabilamma..., nallaanallani kaLLa pillaa..., telusaa manasaa... ...
Each song is different from the other, a different mood, a different tune, and a different style. The only one common thing for all these numbers is the composer M.M. Keeravani, who goes by the name Keeravani in Telugu, M.M. Kreem in Hindi, and Makaratamani in Tamil. Whatever be the name, his music goes places.
Though I tried to contacted him now and then, I haven't really worked on that seriously. When I recently heard about his controversial interview to a magazine, I tried to contact him, but his frequently changing mobile number made it difficult. Then, I finally called his home and got hold of him in the early hours of morning. Initially, he was hesitant to talk to someone he didn't know, but when we spoke for sometime, he reluctantly agreed to talk after sometime as he was busy with Vikramarkudu re-recording at that time. Again, his cell number changed and I had trouble getting in touch with him. With the help of Sree Gunnam Gangaraju gaaru, I finally got him, and this time he was more comfortable and we did the interview when he was at the recording theater in Chennai taking care of re-recording for Amma Cheppindi.
TeluguCinema.Com provides the exclusive long interview to its readers. Though he achieved success, he was down to earth and very frank in expressing his opinions - a rarity in the industry!
Sri: Where shall we start? With your background, perhaps?
Keeravani: (laughs) I know you did Nandi's (S.S. Rajamouli) interview last month. So you know pretty much about it. ...I was also in vacation with him in Jaipur when you spoke to him! ...From the beginning, I was interested in music. So, my father sent me to a music teacher and I learned music from a very young age. After my intermediate in Kovvuru, we moved to Madras when my father decided to make a film, which never materialized. Later, I joined the music director Chakravarthy gaaru as an assistant.
Sri: Which film was that?
Keeravani: I do not remember exactly, because at that time he was doing ten films all at once! That was about the time of Yuddhabhumi, around 1987. I remember doing for the films like Collector Gaarabbaai and Bharatamlo Arjundu at that time. I worked with him for almost ten years. I then worked with Veturi gaaru for one year...
Sri: With Veturi gaaru? What sort of work did you with him?
Keeravani: Oh, just following him for one year. Then, I got my first break with the film Kalki...
Sri: Never heard about that! I always thought your first film was Manasu-Mamata and then came Kshanakshanam and Seetharamayya Gaari Manavaraalu.
Keeravani: Manasu-Mamata was released first, and Kalki had never seen the light of the day. It was produced by Suryanarayana Raju gaaru (Prabhas's father). Then, my second film was for Sriram Kumar (a.k.a Rajababu, brother of Jayaprada). I was the ghost music director for that. Then, my third film was Manasu-Mamata for Ushakiron Movies, which was released first. The fourth one was Daagudumoothala Daampathyam with ANR and Rajendra Prasad under Kodi Ramakrishna's direction. ...Then came Kshanakshanam and Seetharamayya Gaari Manavaraalu.
Sri: So, your first film Kalki was not released, and so was the film Maina, which had a super hit song kommala daagina mainaa... and other good ones. Do you have any plans to release those sort of songs as an album sooner or later?
Keeravani: There are some more films and songs which are lying idle after recording. My option is to use them for the film only, since they get good exposure only then. I might think of albums and stuff once I retire. At present, I do not have any thought about it.
Sri: Anyway, Kshanakshanam was a big hit in audio at that time. But the song jumbarE... was a straight lift!
Keeravani: Sridevi liked that song and wanted that in the film. I was just beginning and I did not have much choice than to use it as it was. Except for one song jaamuraatiri jaabilamma... all other songs are done according to the wishes of the director and others. Now, people remember that song more than the others (laughs).
Sri: I am surprised that you didn't work with Ramu after Kshanakshanam though it was a really big musical hit. Your next combination was after long
