Salur Rajeswara Rao was an Indian composer, multi instrumentalist, conductor singer-songwriter, actor, music producer, and musician known for his works predominantly in South Indian cinema. Regarded as one of the finest music composers, Rao's works are noted for integrating Indian classical music in Telugu cinema for over half a century. In his recordings, Rao pioneered the use of light music in Telugu cinema; "Thummeda Oka saari", "Kopamela Radha", "Podarintilona", "Rave Rave Koyila", "Challa Gaalilo" and "Paata Paduma Krishna" were all written by his father. Rao's most rewarding assignments came from Gemini Studios, which he joined in 1940 and with which he remained for a decade. After leaving Gemini, he received an offer to provide music for B. N. Reddy's "Malleeswari" in 1950; the song was a hit. "Vipranarayana", "Missamma" and a host of other musical hits – more than a hundred in Telugu most of which won the National Film Awards for best film, and Tamil and a few in Kannada – followed. When Vijaya's Missamma was remade as Miss Mary in Bollywood, the film's soundtrack retained one of Rao's compositions.
Early career
Rao's introduction to cinema came unexpectedly, in the form of Mr. Huchins' visit to Rao's home district of Vizianagaram in 1934. A child prodigy, Rao could identify the Carnatic music ragams at age four; by the time he was seven, he was giving stage performances. Huchins spotted young Rajeswara Rao's talent, and took him to Bangalore with his father; there, young Rao recorded "Bhagawat Gita". Film producers P. V. Das and Gudavalli Ramabramham visited Bangalore and, impressed by Rao's singing ability, brought him to Madras. They cast him as Lord Krishna in their production of Sri Krishna Leelalu in 1934. The film was released the next year and Rajeshwara Rao became a household name all over Andhra Pradesh. Rao went to Calcutta to act in Keechaka Vadha, and met such stalwarts as Kundan Lal Saigal and Pankaj Mullick. He became a disciple of Saigal and studied Hindustani music for a year, learning to play the sitar and surbahar. Rao had already mastered playing the tabla, dholak, and miridangam; later instruments were piano, harmonium, mandolin and electric guitar. He learned orchestration, and how to mix the sounds of different instruments.
Music director
Returning to Madras in 1938, Rao formed his own music troupe. He worked as assistant to Jayaramayyar for a Tamil film, Vishnuleela, in which he also played the role of Balarama and sang his own songs. He became a full-fledged music director on the film Jayaprada. He continued acting inBala Nagamma and Illalu. When Rao entered the industry, there was no playback system. The actors sang and acted at the same time as the orchestra played in the background, unseen by the camera. While he was making Illalu, the playback system became popular. Among the classical ragas, Rao liked "Bhimplas ", "Sindhu Bhairavi", "Kafi", "Kalyani", "Pahad" and "Malkauns ", which he used most frequently in his songs. His two assistants, Rajagopal and Krishnan – both well-versed in classical music – were an asset to him.
Personal life
Rao was born in the village of Sivaramapuram, near Salur in Vizianagaram district, Andhra Pradesh, India. His father, Sanyasi Raju, was a famous mridangam player at concerts performed by Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu and also a lyricist. Rao was married to Rajeswari Devi; the couple had five sons and four daughters. His eldest son, Saluri Ramalingeswara Rao, was a piano and electric-organ player in South India. His second son, Saluri Poornachandra Rao, was a guitarist. His third and fourth sons, Saluri Vasu Rao and Saluri Koteswara Rao, are also music directors in the Telugu film industry. Rao's youngest son, Saluri Koti Durga Prasad, is not associated with the film industry. His daughters are Ramadevi, Mangamma, Kousalya, and Vijayalakshmi. Saluri Rajeswara Rao's elder brother, Saluri Hanumantha Rao, was a music director in the Kannada and Telugu film industry.
