Hitting a high note: Telugu music composer PVR Raja to compose 100 songs in 15 Indian languages

Telugu short-film music composer PVR Raja is on a roll. After finishing work on his 250th short film in January this year, he is already on a mission to compose 100 original songs in 15 Indian languages. The idea is to celebrate the country’s diversity, he says. 

The album, which will release in June, will feature original compositions by Raja on simple subjects such as air, water, earth, flowers and rainbows, something, he says, isn’t always possible with commercial music. He promises to include a few peppy, western freestyle numbers as well. “Commercial music for films doesn’t explore the little, but crucial things in life as the music is often situational. 

I want to compose these songs in languages such as Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Sanskrit and Tamil as a tribute to the vibrant lingual legacy of India,” says the Hyderabad-based composer. Raja’s penchant for versatility is evident from his student days. At Maharajah’s Government College of Music and Dance, Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, he trained in Carnatic vocal and veena, and also learnt to play the guitar. He shifted base to Hyderabad in 2005, and did odd jobs—music teacher in a school, a guitarist with private bands, singing in the local church choirs—patiently waiting for his big break as a music director, which happened about a decade later with the short film, Arya 3.

What stands out in his discography, however, is his affinity for the short-film format when most of his contemporaries are vying for an opportunity in full-length feature films. “There was a boom in short films around 2015, thanks to YouTube and other streaming networks. 

I found it to be a gold mine of opportunity and wanted to give 70mm Dolby-movie quality for short films, and establish my mark in it. My strategy paid off,” says the guitarist.

He ventured into the feature films segment for the first time last year with Telugu romantic drama Madhi, written and directed by Naga Dhanush. Earlier this year, he also had  Maro Prapancham, a Telugu thriller directed by Kilaru Naveen. Among his other notable work is India’s first crowd-sourced 2018 Hindi feature film Mitti––Back to the Roots directed by Anshul Sinha, and Okka Kshanam, a Telugu sci-fi action thriller. He also unveiled a Telugu devotional album, Kalabhairava Ashtakam, on the Sony Music label last month.

Right now, the composer is focused on the 100-song project. He has shut out “all distractions” as he works from his recording studio in Vizianagaram. “I don’t listen to other music when I am composing as 
I could get influenced by those,” he says, adding, “For the last three months, I have been only singing and composing, and not listening.”He also has Pudami, a Telugu short film, and Maaya, an OTT release, lined up this year.