Rahul Sipligunj makes the best of both worlds

Music happened to Dhoolpet boy Rahul Sipligunj only in his late teens, until then the only hint of his musical talent was his penchant to tap rhythmically on the dining table at home; that’s when his father got him enrolled in music classes.

“We lived a middle-class life in a typical old-city backdrop where everyone was immersed in 9-5 jobs . It simply didn’t occur to many that one had to learn it or go for classes,” recollects Rahul, whose rustic touches in his indie-numbers as well as Bombhaat, Ranga Ranga Rangasthalana, Pedda Puli in Lie, Rangasthalam, Chal Mohan Ranga respectively have made him a household name.

Snehithuda was the first film he sang for (though Josh released much earlier) after a stint as a chorus singer with M M Keeravani. Identifying himself as a ‘Telugu pop artist’, Rahul says, “Keeravani included me in his team after hearing my songs in Snehithuda and Josh. Though I would have been thrilled with even chorus assignments, he pushed my limits with many solo numbers. Chorus numbers can also be trickyas matching your co-singers at every step is no easy task.” Subsequently Keeravani’s films Dammu, Shirdi Sai Baba, Eega and Maryada Ramanna have featured his numbers. He didn’t use his surname Sipligunj for long, it was only on Keeravani’s insistence that he began using it for song credits.

The journey wasn’t always this smooth. During the initial days, he struggled to resist the lure of reality shows and live tours abroad that would have given him big bucks; as a song writer and musician, the prospect of producing something original excited him more. “It takes only some time to record a song for films, I am free otherwise. So I began pursuing my independent music interests alongside my film career. YouTube wasn’t really this big in 2013, but the more people dissuaded me from going on that path, the more I felt I was doing something right. I was eager to prove that the popularity of my songs on YouTube was no fluke.”

Maga Jathi with singer Prudhvi Chandra proved to be the game changer and he quickly followed it up with . Maakikirikiri, Daawath, Mangamma, Galli Ka Ganesh. Soon there was no looking back. Now he composes, sings, writes and acts in his indie numbers.

“Though I had sung for Raccha, Lion, Gentleman, Doosukeltha and Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum, many didn’t know that I had a film career before Bombhaat, they thought my independent numbers helped me get playback offers,” he shares. He doesn’t consciously work on the Telangana flavour to his songs, though many have termed that as his USP. “It is still Telugu. Growing up in urban areas exposes you to various slangs of Telugu that one mixes it all up when we speak.”

His next goal post is to compose film music, he’s already got a project A 2 America. “I’ll look for more assignments after this releases. I have a couple of music videos to do as well, one on mothers, another pertaining to the transgender community.” he signs off.