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From playing the violin for the travelling band Pranalingam Accordian Party at the age of 10 to winning the Oscar for RRR song “Naatu Naatu” in March this year, Koduri Marakatha Mani Keeravaani, who is celebrating his 62nd birthday today, has certainly come a long way.
Keeravaani, also known as MM Kreem or Maragathamani, came at a time when the careers of greats like KV Mahadevan and K Chakravarthy were on the wane and Ilaiyaraaja was the undisputed ruler of South Indian film music scene. He worked beside well-liked musicians like Raj-Koti, Mani Sharma, Vidyasagar, SA Raj Kumar, and saw the birth & rise of musicians like Ramana Gogula, RP Patnaik, Chakri, Devi Sri Prasad, Harris Jayaraj, Anup Rubens, Mickey J Meyer and of course, AR Rahman. Keeravaani did great work during the 90’s and in the first decade of the new millennium and after a few slow years is now at the pinnacle of his career with the Oscar and consistent good work with SS Rajamouli.
MM Keeravaani began his career in 1987 as an assistant to music directors K Chakravarthy and C Rajamani. After an un-released film (Kalki; 1990), his first project as full-fledged composer was Mouli’s Telugu film Manasu Mamatha (1990). Since then, he has composed music for Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam movies – totaling 190 and counting.
Trained in classical music briefly, a violin player and a keyboard expert, Keeravaani’s music for K. Viswanath’s films and Bapu’s movies showcases his use of South Indian traditional music. In Bharathan’s Devaraagam, he used a beautiful rendering of Tyagaraja Keerthana “Endaro Mahanubhavulu”. In his Hindi films, MM Kreem feels like a different musician, depending heavily on melodies and music that tends to grow on listeners. The mellifluous “Tum Mile” from Criminal, “Aa Bhi Jaa”, “Kabhi Sham Dhale” from Sur, “Jeevan Kya Hai” from Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin, and songs in Jism and Paheli show his versatility.
MM Keeravaani mentions Ilaiyaraaja, John Williams, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and The Carpenters as his major influences. He worked with ace directors like K Viswanath, Bapu, K Raghavendra Rao, Kranthi Kumar, and Ram Gopal Varma in Telugu. His Hindi work centered around the Bhatts beginning with Mahesh Bhatt’s Criminal, and continued till Dhokha in 2007. He has also collaborated with Sudhir Mishra and Neeraj Pandey. In Tamil, after he parted ways with Ilaiyaraaja, legendary director K Balachander worked with Keeravaani on several movies. In Kannada, he gave music to a few Vishnuvardhan starrers and Arjun Sarja films. In Malayalam, he scored music for a few Mammootty films and Devaraagam, directed by Bharathan is another notable movie.
His score for many devotional films is also considered among his best work. A Lord Shiva devotee, Keeravaani gave his best for films like Annamayya, Sri Ramadasu, Pandurangadu, Shirdi Sai and others. It was his score for Annamayya in 1997 that earned him the National Film Award for Best Music Direction.
Here’s a playlist featuring some of MM Keeravaani’s best songs in different languages:
The Baahubali films, as per MM Keeravaani’s own confession, were meant to be his final movies as a music composer. With the unique working relationship he has with cousin SS Rajamouli, Keeravaani participated in every stage of the production beginning with writing, and gave advice on editing choices too while also scoring songs and background music. He gave the movies his all and the result also reflected his dedication. Now, in retrospect, it is difficult to imagine Baahubali films without Keeravani’s music.
The success of Baahubali films was so huge that Keeravani had to put aside his ideas of retirement. Soon RRR followed and this movie turned out bigger than any previous projects and went on to win the first ever Oscar for an Indian film song.
MM Keeravaani is now gearing up for SS Rajamouli’s next untitled film starring Mahesh Babu in the lead role.
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