After the historic win for the ‘Naatu Naatu’ song at Oscars 2023, music composer MM Keeravani is set to work in a Malayalam film titled Magician. Keeravani, who mainly works in Telugu cinema, was in Thiruvananthapuram to take part in the launch of his new Malayalam film, which he signed after a gap of 27 years.
The last time Keeravani worked in the Malayalam film industry was in 1996 for the film Devaragam which was a huge success. The songs in the Sridevi – Arvind Swami starrer, including ‘Shishirakaala’, ‘Shashikala’, and ‘Yayayaa Yadava’, are still popular in Kerala. Before that, Keeravani composed music for two Mammootty films, Neelagiri and Sooryamanasam. The songs in both the movies are also considered evergreen among Malayalam music lovers.
At the function in Thiruvananthapuram, Keeravani said he is very happy to return to the Malayalam film industry after a long gap.
It was in March that Keeravani, along with the lyricist Chandrabose, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for ‘Naatu Naatu’ that they made for SS Rajamouli's popular film RRR.
In his Oscar speech, Keeravani spoke about growing up listening to the American band The Carpenters, which, certain sections of the Malayalam media had at the time misinterpreted as the sound made by carpenters who work with the wood. At the Oscars, Keeravani also sang a few lines from The Carpenters' famous track ‘Top of The World’, tweaking the words a little.
"There was only one wish on my mind. So was Rajamouli's and my family's. RRR has to win, pride of every Indian, and must put me on the top of the world," Keeravani sang. Rajamouli and Keeravani also happen to be cousins, and have worked in several films together including the popular Baahubali series.
The 61-year-old music composer is from Andhra Pradesh, and his father Siva Shakti Datta was also a lyricist in Telugu films. Keeravani made his debut in the Telugu film Manasu Mamatha (1990).
(With IANS input)