Rajanna is the soundtrack album to the 2011 film of the same name directed by V. Vijayendra Prasad, starring Nagarjuna, Sneha, Shwetha Menon and Baby Annie. The musical score and soundtrack were composed by M. M. Keeravani and featured 12 songs with lyrics written by Anantha Sriram, Suddala Ashok Teja, K. Sivasakthi Datta, Mittapalli Surendar and Chaitanya Prasad. The soundtrack was released under the Vel Records label on 25 November 2011, to positive reviews from critics and received two nominations at the Filmfare Awards South, including Best Music Director – Telugu for Keeravani.
Background and development.
The film's music is composed by M. M. Keeravani in his 13th collaboration with Nagarjuna. Keeravani heard the script of "Rajanna" during the production of "Chatrapathi" (2005) and has been worked on the film since its inception; he described it as a rare opportunity for any music director, as the music never dominated the lyrics, thus providing him scope for composing music with lyrical quality.
Keeravani had provided 12 songs for Rajanna, with most of the lyrics being written by his father K. Sivasakthi Datta, Anantha Sriram, Suddala Ashok Teja, Mittapalli Surendar and Chaitanya Prasad. Most of the songs were background montages and did not provide any choreography, except for "Lachchuvamma Lachchuvamma". Unlike songs set in the Telangana backdrop having an aggression, Keeravani had composed melodious songs, due to its requirements in the story, as each song had varied emotions. He recorded the background score within 25 days.
Album information.
The film opens with the song, "Gijjigadu", written by Sivasakthi Datta, and recorded by Mumbai-based singer Sanjeev Chimmalgi, in his first Telugu song. "Goodu Chedirindi" was described as the expansion to "Gijjigadu" which occurs in a crucial sequence and was recorded by Shweta Pandit. The song "Karakuraathi Gundello" was rendered by Keeravani and Kailash Kher. While Keeravani personally liked Kailash's version due to his voice having "rustic and raw emotions", Keeravani also recorded his portions owing to Prasad's insistence.
The opening lyrics of "Vey Vey", sung by L. V. Revanth, was taken from Suddala Hanmanthu's literature, which Ashok Teja changed it to suit the story. The song was filmed by S. S. Rajamouli. The song "Lachchuvamma Lachchuvamma" was written in Gondu language, which Keeravani called it as the fun folk song, while experimenting with the instruments. It was recorded by Rahul Nambiar, Deepu, Sravana Bhargavi. On the song "Melukove Chitti Talli". "Raa Ree Ro Rela" is a ballet number and had numerous singers recording their vocals. Keeravani described "Chittiguvva" as the "most confusing song in the album" as many incidents take place in the song sequence.
The song "Dorasani Korada" is a bit song composed in the Carnatic raga Sankarabharanam. The song "Okka Kshanam" was added on Prasad's choice, though even he liked the song, did not want to be rendered in a delirious pitch. "Kalligajje" was written and sung by Mittapalli Surendar, in his debut. He was introduced to Keeravani, by R. Narayana Murthy. The climactic song "Amma Avani" was composed in the raga Mohanam. Keeravani added that the song resembled "Ye Swasalo" from "Nenunnanu" (2004) as the song occurs in a singing competition, like this film; while K. S. Chithra had sung "Ye Swasalo", the song "Amma Avani" was sung by Malavika as it was meant for the character played by Baby Annie.
Release.
The film's music was launched on 25 November 2011. Unlike big-budget Telugu films, which had audio launches to promote and release the music, Nagarjuna and Keeravani decided to release the soundtrack album directly through the market, under Keeravani's Vel Records label. Nagarjuna added: "If the music is really good, you need not create a hungama for people to sit up and notice. It will automatically happen." After its release, the songs topped the charts and sales, providing high consumer response which resulted in the film's release being preponed by a day.
Reception.
Karthik Srinivasan of "Milliblog" praised the music, saying "Rajanna is a thematically apt and rich musical offering from the veteran composer." Radhika Rajamani of "Rediff.com" wrote "M M Keeravani's music and background score is outstanding. It's easy on the ear and in sync with the film's narrative. The folk feel of the music enhances the story. Some of the songs like Veyyi Veyyi, Gijigaadu, Amma Avani (the last song in raga Mohanam) are noteworthy." Atul Chaturvedi of "Bangalore Mirror" stated "M M Keeravani does complete justice with his music." "NDTV" noted "The music and background score is noteworthy and the song "Veyyi... Veyyi..." is outstanding." Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu stated "M.M. Keeravani's music serves as a backbone to this story that's propelled by music."