Rajamani
C. Rajamani | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Chidambaranath Rajamani |
| Born | 21 May 1956 Kozhikode, Kerala, India |
| Origin | Boothapandi, Kanyakumari District |
| Died | 14 February 2016 (aged 59) Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Occupation(s) | Music director, background score, singer |
| Years active | 1981-2016 |
Chidambaranath Rajamani (May 21, 1956 - February 14, 2016) was an Indian music director and conductor-arranger who predominantly worked in Malayalam and Tamil film industries.[1][2] He has composed music in ten languages including Malayalam and has composed background music for over 700 films[3][4]. In 1997, he won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Background Music for the film Aaraam Thampuran[5]. The background music for the English film In the Name of Buddha has won three international awards.[citation needed] He is well known for his association with film director Shaji Kailas who has used his background music from his directorial debut in 1988 till the former's death. His son Achu Rajamani is also a music composer in the film industry since 2008.
Early life[edit]
Rajamani is the eldest son of six children of B. A. Chidambaranath, who was one of the early music composers in Malayalam.[6] His mother Thulasi was an All India Radio employee in Kozhikode. He spent his childhood in Kozhikode. Rajamani learned Carnatic music from his father. In 1969, Rajamani started his career by playing Congo drum for the songs in the film Kunjikunan while he was in the seventh grade. The song was composed by his father. Later he migrated to Chennai for education. While still a mechanical engineering student in Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, he studied guitar, keyboard and western music from a friend. Along with this, he learned guitar and keyboard from some of his choir friends in Chennai and gained knowledge in Western music and Hindustani music.
Career[edit]
Although his father secretly mastered Carnatic music, Rajamani once had to perform guitar while his father was the chief guest at a concert. The next day, Chidambaranath sent Rajamani to G. Devarajan for his son's interest. Rajamani then went to the Gulf to work for a while, during which he was led by a music troupe in the Gulf. After working abroad for some time, Rajamani returned to Chennai and worked with various music directors as a guitarist. He worked with around 70 different music directors from various languages. Meeting the music composer Johnson, was a turning point to his career. Johnson has helped him to become a conductor and let him conduct Johnson's recordings as a music conductor. While working with Johnson as an assistant in 1981, Rajamani played the role of music director in the Tamil film Graamathu Kilikal. Johnson has conducted the songs for him on his debuted movie. Rajamani started working in Malayalam films from 1985 with the movie Nulli Novikkathe. Although he played his role as a composer pretty well most of his signature contributions are as a background musician.
After G. Devarajan, Rajamani was a guitarist and vibraphone player in many languages including Malayalam, Kannada, and Telugu with over seventy composers including M. K. Arjunan, V. Dakshinamoorthy, Salil Chowdhury, and O. P. Nayyar.
Rajamani's meeting with music director Johnson during a concert by P. Jayachandran and Lathika marked a turning point in his life and paved the way for his dream of conducting music. Recognizing Rajamani's ability to handle various musical instruments, Rajamani quickly learned orchestration and music conducting from Johnson. It was Johnson who first persuaded Rajamani, who later became Johnson's conductor, to become the first independent music director. Rajamani then marked his debut as an independent music director in Tamil. It is also interesting to note that Rajamani was assisted by Johnson Master in 1982 in Rajamani's early films, Village Parrots and Kallurikanavu. The songs in Rajamani's film were orchestrated and harmonized by Johnson.
Rajamani composed music for several Malayalam films. Although many of Rajamani's hit songs, such as Winged Pigeon Pigeon, were born, Rajamani's was used by many to compose background music for films rather than for songs. He has composed music for over 150 films.
In 1997, he won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Background Music for the film Aaraam Thampuran. The background music for the English film In the Name of Buddha has won three international awards. Rajamani composed the background music for most of director Shaji Kailas' films. He composed many songs in Malayalam with Shibu Chakravarthy.
Rajamani's last musical work was in 2012 for the film Hide n' Seek.[2] Rajamani also composed the background music for the 2015 film Loham. He was also appeared in films as a villain. Rajamani also played the role of Chacko Muthalali in Ranjith's Gulmohar.
Family[edit]
His wife is the former basketball player Beena. Rajamani's son Achu Rajamani also became active in the film industry at an early age. Another son Aditya is a lawyer.
Death[edit]
He died on 14 February 2016 at his residence in Chennai. He was then 59 years old. His body was cremated at Basant Nagar Cemetery in Chennai with complete official honors.[2]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Well known South Indian music director Rajamani passes away". The News Minute. 15 February 2016. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Noted music director Rajamani passes away". The Indian Express. February 15, 2016.
- ↑ "രാജാമണി (പശ്ചാത്തല സംഗീതം)". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "List of Malayalam Songs composed by Rajamani". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "KERALA STATE FILM AWARDS" (PDF). Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Music Director Rajamani Dies at 60". www.outlookindia.com. February 15, 2016. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)
External links[edit]
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