Achu Rajamani
Achu Rajamani | |
|---|---|
| Born | Arun |
| Occupations | Music director, singer |
| Years active | 2003–present |
Arun R, credited as Achu Rajamani, is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer. He has scored music for several Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil films. He made his music direction debut in the Telugu film Nenu Meeku Telusa? in 2008.[1]
Early life
Achu is the grandson of music director B. A. Chidambaranath who is considered to be one among the pioneers of the Malayalam music industry. His father, Rajamani, was also a music director and was widely known as the king of background score. Rajamani has scored for more than 1000 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages. He is a graduate from Loyola College, Chennai.
Hailing from a musical family, Achu's natural interest was to become a pilot. He chose music over aviation and became a full-fledged musician. He also assisted prominent music director M. M. Keeravani for few years, before he became an independent music composer.[1]
Career
Achu has worked as a keyboard programmer for 410 songs and has programmed background music for over 175 films. He is also a professional pianist and has accompanied his father playing the piano to many of his compositions. He first played keyboard for Bollywood film Chup Chup Ke (2006) directed by Priyadarshan. He was the called upon to score the background music for the Malayalam film Keerthi Chakra's sequel film Kurukshetra (2008). Achu's background music was well appreciated.
Following this short stint, Achu got his major break when he got to compose the songs and background score for the Telugu film Nenu Meeku Telusa? (2008). His next work was for the Telugu remake of the Tamil film Polladhavan, named Kurradu (2009).
Apart from composing, Achu also worked as a playback singer. His song "Take It Easy" for the Malayalam film Happy Husbands composed by M. Jayachandran was among the major hits of 2010.
In 2012, Achu released his first full-fledged Tamil soundtrack for the film Maalai Pozhudhin Mayakathilaey. The album was very well received by critics and received the Album of the Year Award. His Telugu songs Bujji Pilla and Devatha from Potugadu and Padipoya from DK Bose were the biggest hits of 2013. His songs Siru Nadai and Hey Umayaal from the movie Urumeen (2015) were also superhits of the time. His song Pondatti from the movie Golisoda 2 (2018) was in the top list in the radio charts for over 11 weeks since its release in June 2018.
Apart from composing and playback singing Achu was into professional racing from 2009 till 2012. He was also into sports events like sprint and had won numerous medals during his school days. He took a break from films to pursue his racing career from 2009 till 2012. He was also a cricketer and had played for few years. In 2015, he made his debut as an actor with the Telugu film Gaddam Gang.
Discography
Composer
| Year | Title | Language | Songs | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Valliettan | Malayalam | No | Yes | |
| 2004 | Black | Malayalam | No | Yes | |
| 2008 | Nenu Meeku Telusa? | Telugu | Yes | Yes | |
| 2009 | Kurradu | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2012 | Maalai Pozhudhin Mayakathilaey | Tamil | Yes | Yes | |
| 2013 | Sundaattam | No | Yes | ||
| Om 3D | Telugu | Yes | Yes | ||
| DK Bose | Yes | Yes | |||
| Summa Nachunu Irukku | Tamil | Yes | Yes | ||
| Potugadu | Telugu | Yes | Yes | ||
| Naa Rakumarudu | Yes | Yes | |||
| 2014 | Pandavulu Pandavulu Thummeda | Yes | Yes | ||
| Appavin Meesai | Tamil | Yes | Yes | Film unreleased | |
| Ra Ra Krishnayya | Telugu | Yes | Yes | [2] | |
| Current Theega | Yes | Yes | [3] | ||
| 2015 | Gaddam Gang | Yes | Yes | Also actor | |
| Krishnamma Kalipindi Iddarini | Yes | No | 1 song | ||
| Dynamite | Yes | Yes | [4] | ||
| Ctrl-c | Yes | Yes | |||
| Urumeen | Tamil | Yes | Yes | [5] | |
| Mama Manchu Alludu Kanchu | Telugu | Yes | Yes | [6] | |
| 2016 | Nandini Nursing Home | Yes | Yes | [7] | |
| 2017 | Luckunnodu | Yes | No | 1 song | |
| Yaanum Theeyavan | Tamil | Yes | Yes | [8] | |
| Vizhithiru | No | Yes | |||
| Puthan Panam | Malayalam | No | Yes | ||
| Venkatapuram | Telugu | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2018 | Basmati Blues | English/Hindi | Yes | No | 1 song ("Rama Hare Krishna") |
| Goli Soda 2 | Tamil | Yes | Yes | [9] | |
| Marainthirunthu Paarkum Marmam Enna | Yes | Yes | [10] | ||
| 2019 | Kutty Mama | Malayalam | Yes | Yes | |
| Kolaiyuthir Kaalam | Tamil | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2020 | Velvet Nagaram | Yes | Yes | [11] | |
| Shadow | Kannada | Yes | Yes | ||
| Puthiya Mugam | Tamil | Yes | Yes | Film unreleased | |
| Yaadhumagi Nindraai | Yes | Yes | Film released on ZEE5 | ||
| Bhanumathi & Ramakrishna | Telugu | Yes | Yes | [12] | |
| 2021 | Gaali Sampath | Yes | Yes | [13] | |
| 2022 | Virgin Story | Yes | Yes | [14] | |
| Urvasivo Rakshasivo | Yes | Yes | [15] | ||
| 2023 | Month of Madhu | Yes | Yes | [16] | |
| Sooragan | Tamil | Yes | Yes | [17] | |
| 2024 | Tillu Square | Telugu | Yes | No | 1 song |
| Mazhai Pidikkatha Manithan | Tamil | Yes | No | 1 song ("Aham Brahmasmi")[18] | |
| 2025 | Jack | Telugu | Yes | No | [19] |
| Gajaana | Tamil | Yes | Yes | [20] | |
| Chiranjeeva | Telugu | Yes | Yes | ||
| Kumaara Sambavam † | Tamil | Yes | Yes | [21] |
As singer
- Aakasame Haddu (2011)
- Puthumugangal Thevai (2012)
- Naadodigal 2 (2020)
References
- ^ a b "Achu Rajamani: "Keeravani' uncle is by far the most humble soul I know in this industry" - EXCLUSIVE". Times of India.
- ^ "Ra Ra Krishnayya's audio launch on May 30". The Times of India. 16 January 2017. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ "Music Review : Current Teega". The Times of India. 16 January 2017. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ "Vishnu Manchu's Dynamite music launch - Telugu cinema news". www.idlebrain.com. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ Urumeen (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Achu on Apple Music, 1 July 2015, retrieved 11 May 2025
- ^ "Mama Manchu Alludu Kanchu Audio Launch Today". Teluguodu.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ Nandini Nursing Home (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), 3 August 2017, retrieved 11 May 2025
- ^ Yaanum Theeyavan - All Songs - Download or Listen Free - JioSaavn, 8 August 2016, retrieved 11 May 2025
- ^ "Goli Soda 2 Movie Review". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ Marainthirunthu Paarkum Marmam Enna (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), 9 July 2018, retrieved 11 May 2025
- ^ Staff, T. N. M. (11 June 2018). "First look of Varalaxmi Sarathkumar's 'Velvet Nagaram' unveiled". The News Minute. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (2 July 2020). "'Bhanumathi & Ramakrishna' review: Director Srikanth Nagothi's film starring Naveen Chandra and Salony Luthra is a charming, mature romance". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ "Sree Vishnu and Rajendra Prasad shoot for Gaali Sampath at Araku". The Times of India. 28 November 2020. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ 123telugu (19 February 2022). "Review : Virgin Story – A good script that fails to amuse". www.123telugu.com. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "'Urvashivo Rakshashivo' romantic poster: Allu Sirish, Anu Emmanuel are lost in love; announce first single release date". The Times of India. 6 October 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ "Month Of Madhu Movie Review : A deep dive into human connections and emotional turmoil". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ Sooragan - - Download or Listen Free - JioSaavn, 20 November 2023, retrieved 11 May 2025
- ^ TrendMusic (25 July 2024). Mazhai Pidikkatha Manithan Jukebox | Vijay Antony, Achu Rajamani, Roy, Hari Dafusia, Vagu Mazan. Retrieved 11 May 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ Junglee Music Telugu (19 March 2025). Kiss Song | Lyrical Video | JACK | Siddhu Jonnalagadda | Vaishnavi Chaitanya | Bhaskar | BVSN Prasad. Retrieved 11 May 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Teaser of Vedhika's Gajaana out". Cinema Express. 17 March 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ "Balaji Venugopal-Kumaran Thangarajan film titled Kumaara Sambavam". Cinema Express. 27 February 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.