Music director Raj, of Raj-Koti duo, passes away

Raj, one of the Raj-Koti duo’s composers, passed away on Sunday. He was 68.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Raj-Koti duo ruled the Telugu film music scene for more than a decade. Koti and Raj defined contemporary Telugu film music, scoring music for more than 180 films.

Thotakura Somaraju was Raj’s real name. He was the son of T.V. Raju, a legendary musician.

‘Yamudiki Mogudu,’ ‘Khaidi No.786’, ‘Lankeswarudu,’ ‘Vicky Dada,’ ‘Peddarikam,’ ‘Shatruvu,’ ‘Peddinti Alludu,’ ‘Kodama Simham,’ ‘Muta Mestri,’ ‘Bangaru Bullodu’, ‘Govinda Govinda,’ and ‘Hello Brother’ were some of the popular albums of this duo.

After splitting up with Koti, Raj worked as a solo composer on films such as Sisindri (1995), Bharatha Simham (1995), Ramudochadu (1996), Mrugam (1996), and others. Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman was his associate.

He also appeared in a few films.