Know what AR Rahman, Vishal-Shekhar, Harris Jayaraj and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have in common, besides music of course?
All the musical maestros have been unable to weave their brand of magic when they have composed for Tollywood films. While Telugu film buffs have whole-heartedly welcomed actors, technicians and playback singers from other language films, when it comes to music, it seems they mostly prefer local composers. Interestingly while the dubbed compositions of Rahman( Roja to Sivaji) and Jayaraj (Gharshana and Veedokkade) are lapped up by music lovers, when they scored orginal music for Telugu films, the audience seemed untouched. Ilayaraja was one of the few Tamil composers who had a dream run in Tollywood for two decades. Oscar-winner A R Rahman has composed for Super Police, while Harris has composed for Vasu, Sainikudu and Munna all of which have failed to make any musical impact. Venkatesh who introduced Rahman to Tollywood feels, "We (the producers) didn't really exploit his genius in the film and even the film didn't fare well as expected." Venkatesh was also instrumental in bringing Jayaraj with Vasu and Gharshana, and Vishal-Shekhar with Chintakayala Ravi. "New generation viewers are demanding refreshing tunes and the duo lived up to it," says producer Nallamalapu Srinivas of Chintakayala Ravi. Later, Srinivas roped in Shankar Ehsaan- Loy for Konchem Ishtam Kochem Kashtam. "No one can match Shankar's energy. It was great working with the trio," he affirms. Actor Siddharth describes Tamil composer Yuvan Shankar Raj's work in Oye as excellent compositions. While non-local musicians get rave reviews, Telugu composers like M M Keeravani, Manisharma, Devisriprasad, Chakri, Hema Chandra, Mahesh Shankar and Micky Jayer deliver the hits and rule the charts. In the late 60s and early 70s, composers Shankar Jaikishan (Jeevitha Chakram), OP Nayar (Neeranjanam), Laxmikant-Pyarelal (Manju) and RD Burman (Antham) dabbled with Telugu music with mixed results. In the 80s, non-Telugu composers MS Viswanathan, KV Mahadevan, and Bappi Lahiri carved a niche for themselves in Tollywood. Director Sridhar Reddy says, "Unlike other composers, Telugu-speaking composers will have an edge due to their command over the language," and feels Ilayaraja and MSV survived because they could get the Telugu flavour in their compositions. Once the local connect happens, even non-Telugu musicians can hit the jackpot! http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ENTERTAINMENT/Music/Musical-maestros-not-tuned-in/articleshow/4795301.cms
