MM Keeravani, the Telugu music composer who rose to international prominence with his Telugu song “Naatu Naatu,” which won the Oscar for Best Original Song, is now receiving major offers from Bollywood and Kollywood. He has also signed new Telugu films. Devi Sri Prasad, one of South India’s top music directors, won a National Award for his songs in “Pushpa.” Telugu music has taken over the world in the last few years. This is only one side.
The other side is that current crop of top Telugu stars and directors prefer non-Telugu music directors. Several major films in development have Tamil and Malayalam music composers on board.
Anirudh Ravichander
Anirudh Ravichander is unquestionably India’s top music director right now. His songs and background score elevate a film. He is in high demand not only in his native Tamil film industry, but also in the Telugu film industry.
Current Telugu projects include NTR’s ‘Devara’ and Vijay Deverakonda’s ‘VD12’.
AR Rahman
With his albums from the 1990s, the Oscar-winning music director redefined Indian film music. He’s still in high demand. AR Rahman will return to Telugu later this year.
Current Telugu projects include Ram Charan’s film with Buchi Babu.
Santhosh Narayanan
After the success of Nani’s “Dasara,” Tamil music composer Santosh Narayanan has become the most sought after music director. He is currently working on two more major films.
Current Telugu projects include: 1. ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ starring Prabhas 2. Saindhav
Hesham Abdul Wahab
With “Kushi,” which is currently in theaters, this young Malayalam music composer made a stunning debut in Telugu. His music has been well received by both critics and the general public.
Current Telugu projects include: 1. Hi Nanna. 2. Spark 3. Sharwanand’s 35th film
Ajaneesh Loknath and Ravi Basrur
With their respective works for “Kantara” and “KGF,” Kannada music composers B. Ajaneesh Loknath and Ravi Basrur rose to prominence in other languages. The background score for “Virupaksha” by Ajaneesh Loknath was also well received. He is currently working on “Mangalavaram,” a film starring Payal Rajput. Ravi Basrur is working on “Salaar” with “KGF” director Prashanth Neel, who he previously worked with. He is also expected to compose music for Prashanth Neel’s upcoming Telugu films.
