Charan Raj (composer)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Charan Raj
Kodagu, Karnataka
, India
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • music director
  • arranger
Instrument(s)Piano
Years active2014–present

Charan Raj is an Indian composer and singer known for his work in

Kannada cinema. For his work in Jeerjimbe (2016), he was awarded the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Music Director.[1]

Early life

Charan Raj attended Sri Ramakrishna Vidya Shala, a residential school in Mysore. He was part of the music group there. Raj is trained in classical Carnatic music with Perumbavoor G. Raveendranath and in Western Classical music with Neecia Majolly. He also holds a grade eight certificate in piano from the London School of Music.

Career

Raj's first major success came when Winds of Samsara, an album of

Grammy Award for Best New Age Album in 2015. The album also featured vocals by Raj.[2][3] During the time, he also worked as an arranger for composers such as Prashant Pillai
.

Raj's first work in Kannada films came in Harivu in 2014.[4] He received acclaim for his work in Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu.[2] He scored for Pushpaka Vimana. For his work in Jeerjimbe (2016), he was awarded the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Music Director.[5]

Raj received praise for his music in the 2018 film Tagaru. The soundtrack included tracks with blend of "electronic score" and "traditional sounds".[6] It was composed with each track based on a different "human emotion" "such as love, anger and fear" rather than situation-based nature of tracks.[7] In its review of the film, the New Indian Express wrote, "Charan Raj's music raises the tempo of the narrative with good songs, and lets it flow seamlessly with the right background score."[8]

In 2023, Raj joined forces with Sanjith Hegde and Prassanna Hegde for Coke Studio Bharat's first Kannada song "Geejaga Hakki" which draws inspiration from various retellings of Raja Harishchandra's story. The song became an instant hit among the audience.[9]

Hemanth Rao
who has been his go to collaborator.

Discography

List of Charan Raj music credits
Year Album Notes
2008 Thaalam Malayalam Album
2014 Winds of Samsara Vocals
Grammy Award for Best New Age Album[2]
Harivu Feature film
2016 Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu
Mandya to Mumbai
2017 Pushpaka Vimana
2018 Tagaru
Dalapathi
Jeerjimbe [1]
2019 Kavaludaari
Avane Srimannarayana 2 Songs only
2020 Popcorn Monkey Tiger
Bheema Sena Nala Maharaja
2021 Salaga
2022
James
Special Appearance
Head Bush
2023 Sapta Saagaradaache Ello – Side A
Sapta Saagaradaache Ello – Side B
Bad Manners
2024 Somu Sound Engineer
Bheema Yet to be released
Royal Yet to be released

Awards

Film Award Category Result Ref
Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu 64th Filmfare Awards South Best Music Director Nominated [12]
6th SIIMA Awards Best Music Director Nominated [13]
Pushpaka Vimana 7th SIIMA Awards Best Music Director Nominated [14]
Jeerjimbe 2016 Karnataka State Film Awards Best Music Director Won [1]
Tagaru 66th Filmfare Awards South Best Music Director Nominated [15]
8th SIIMA Awards Best Music Director Nominated [16]
Kavaludaari 9th SIIMA Awards 2019 Best Music Director Nominated [17]
Avane Srimannarayana Best Music Director Nominated
Popcorn Monkey Tiger 9th SIIMA Awards 2020 Best Music Director Nominated [18]
Best Male Playback Singer Nominated
Salaga 67th Filmfare Awards South Best Music Director Nominated [19]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Karnataka State Film Awards 2016 on TOI". The Times of India. 11 April 2017. Archived from the original on 16 April 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Nathan, Archana (6 June 2016). "A confluence of the past and present". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  3. ^ "'Winds of Samsara' by Bengaluru-based composer Ricky Kej wins Grammy". Deccan Herald. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  4. ^ Sibal, Prachi (8 September 2016). "The reel changemakers". India Today. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Sruthi Hariharan is best actress; Kirik Party is entertaining film". Bangalore Mirror. timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  6. ^ Suresh, Sunayana (18 January 2018). "Charan Raj creates an anthem for fear in Tagaru". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  7. ^ Desai, Dhwani (17 February 2018). "Meet the man behind the hit Tagaru album". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  8. ^ Sharadhaa, A. (24 February 2018). "Tagaru review: Shivrajkumar's gangsta flick fall into the 'classics' category, Suri style". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  9. ^ "Coke Studio Bharat: Sanjith Hegde, Charan Raj & Co. win hearts with Kannada single Geejaga Hakki". OTTPlay. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Exclusive! Charan Raj about Sapta Sagaradaache Ello's music: I'm Hemanth's instrument; give a musical translation to his ideas". OTTPlay. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  11. ^ A, Nishanth (16 November 2023). "A Charan Raj Musical: The Aural Poetry Of A Unique Kannada Musician". www.filmcompanion.in. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  12. ^ Winners: 64th Jio Filmfare Awards 2017 (South)
  13. ^ "Nominations list for the SIIMA 2017 announced!". Sify.com. Archived from the original on 5 June 2017.
  14. ^ "SIIMA Awards 2018 - Telugu, Kannada nomination list out". International Business Times. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  15. ^ "Nominations for the 66th Filmfare Awards (South) 2019". Filmfare. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  16. ^ "SIIMA 2019 FULL nominations list out!". Times Now. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  17. ^ "The 9th South Indian International Movie Awards Nominations for 2019". South Indian International Movie Awards. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  18. ^ Hymavathi, Ravali (30 August 2021). "SIIMA Nominations: Here Is The Complete List Of Nominations For 2019 And 2020". www.thehansindia.com. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  19. ^ "67th Parle Filmfare Awards South 2022 with Kamar Film Factory". Filmfare. Retrieved 18 October 2022.

External links