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Hometown: Chennai Wife: M. M. Srivalli Age: 61 Years
| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Koduri Marakathamani Keeravani [1]The Times of India |
| Other Names | Maragathamani, MM Kreem
Note: He uses his name MM Keeravani for Telugu films, and pseudonyms Maragathamani for Tamil and MM Kreem for his Hindi compositions. [2]The Times of India |
| Profession(s) | Film composer, Playback Singer, Lyricist |
| Famous for | Composing the song “Naatu Naatu” form the Telugu film RRR (2022) |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters– 175 cm in meters– 1.75 m in feet & inches– 5’ 9” |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Salt & Pepper |
| Career | |
| Debut | As a Film Composer Telugu: Manasu Mamata (1990) Note: Although he first worked as a composer for the film Kalki (1990),but the film never got released and the soundtrack also went unnoticed. |
| Awards, Honours, Achievements | Golden Globe Awards • 2023 – Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for Nattu Nattu National Film Awards Filmfare Awards South Nandi Awards Others |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 4 July 1961 (Tuesday) |
| Age (as of 2022) | 61 Years |
| Birthplace | Kovvur, Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Zodiac sign | Cancer |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Chennai, Tamil Nadu |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Food Habit | Vegetarian/Non-vegetarian [3]citation |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Marriage Date | 23 August |
| Family | |
| Wife/Spouse | M. M. Srivalli (line producer in films) |
| Children | Son– Kaala Bhairava (singer), Sri Simha (actor) |
| Parents | Father– Koduri Siva Shakthi Datta Mother– Bhanumathi (deceased) |
| Siblings | Brother– Kalyani Malik (music director, singer) |
| Other Relatives | Cousin brother– S. S. Rajamouli (film director)
Cousin sister– M. M. Srilekha (singer) |
Some Lesser Known Facts About M. M. Keeravani
- M. M. Keeravani is an Indian film composer, playback singer, and lyricist. The legendary Pan-Indian musician predominantly works in Telugu cinema along with other languages including Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam. He is best known for composing the song Naatu Naatu for the 2022 Telugu film RRR for which he bagged the Golden Globe Award in 2023 in the category of Best Original Song.
- He has also won various accolades for composing the pan-India film Baahubali: The Beginning (2015).
- Intrigued by music since childhood, he started learning music at a very young age. In an interview, while talking about he same he said,
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.” - He has received training in Indian classical music Carnatic raga.
- Keeravani belongs to a Telugu family hailing from Kovvur. Later, Siva Shakthi Datta’s passion for films made the family to shift to Madras (now Chennai). At that time, Keeravani completed his intermediate studies. Although Datta assisted a couple of directors for some time and started a film titled Pillanagrovi, he stopped midway due to financial reasons.
- Keeravani faced a ton of struggles during the initial stages of his illustrious career. In the beginning, aspiring to be a musician, Keeravani would approach several filmmakers and deliver his sample tunes in the form of cassettes.
- To make ends meet, he joined as an assistant music director to noted Telugu composer K Chakravarthy and Malayalam composer C. Rajamani in 1987. Talking about his work with Chakravarthy, in an interview, he said,
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.” - In the late 1980s, he provided assistance in the Telugu films such as Collector Gari Abbai and Bharatamlo Arjunudu.
- Keeravani’s first big break as an independent music composer came in 1990 with the film Kalki, but as the film never got released.
- He turned into a musician with director T. S. B. K. Moulee’s 1990 film Manasu Mamatha.
- He bagged immense accolades for ‘Seetharamaiah Gari Manavaralu’.
- He gained popularity in Telugu cinema with Ram Gopal Varma’s 1991 blockbuster Kshana Kshanam, which fetched him his first Filmfare Award (South). All the songs in the film went on to be instant chartbusters, especially Jaamu Rathiri and Ammayi Muddu.
- Other popular Telugu films composed by him include Gharana Mogudu (1992), Sundarakanda (1992), Allari Mogudu (1992), Aapadbandhavudu (1992), ‘Matru Devo Bhava (1993 ), ‘Major Chandrakanth (1993), Criminal (1994), Pelli Sandadi (1996), and Pavitra Bandham (1996).
- The Telugu devotional blockbuster film Annamayya (1997) earned MM Keeravani the National Award for Best Music Direction.
- He lent his voice to the song Raalipoyye Poovva from the Telugu film Matru Devo Bhava (1993).
- Following his success in South cinema, Keeravani forayed into Bollywood with the Telugu-Hindi action-thriller Criminal (1995), directed by Mahesh Bhatt. Criminal’s popular track Tu Mile Dil Khile was inspired by the 1994 single ‘Age of Loneliness’ by the band Enigma.
- In Bollywood, he is known for his work in the film Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin (1996), Zakham (1998), Sur (2002), Jism (2003), Saaya (2003), Rog (2005), Dhokha (2007), and Special 26 (2013).
- Keeravani and film director SS Rajamouli, who is known for directing the pan-India film series Baahubali, are cousins who hail from a single joint family. Keeravani has composed the music for all the films directed by Rajamouli. The soundtracks in their 11 collaborations went in to become chartbusters. One of those collaborations was for the music and background for the films Baahubali 1 and 2. Keeravani not only composed the film but also voiced the songs ‘Sivuni Aana’ and ‘Nippule Swasaga’ in its Telugu version. While the film earned him several accolades in the category of Best Music Director, the songs accumulated him awards in the category of Best Male Playback Singer. He is also the lyricst for the songs Oka praanam, Kannaa nidurinchara, and Dandaalayyaa in the Telugu version of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.
- In 2022, he rose to prominence for composing the song Naatu Naatu for the Telugu film RRR. On 11 January 2023, Keeravani received the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for Naatu Naatu.
References/Sources:[+]
| ↑1 | The Times of India |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | The Times of India |
| ↑3 | citation |