Susarla Dakshinamurthi
Encyclopedia
Susarla Dakshinamurthi is a playback singer
and music director
from South India
. He has worked for about 135 films in different South Indian languages. He is noted for his work in the films Laila Majnu, Samsaram and Narthanasala.
, Krishna District
, Andhra Pradesh, India to Susarla Krishnabrahma Sastry, who was a musician and teacher and Smt Annapurnamma. His paternal grandfather was Susarla Dakshinamurthi Sastry, a classical Carnatic music pioneer. During the childhood, his home used to feed many students from far away places who came to learn Music under his grandfather. He was a child prodigy, who at the age of 9 played the violin with great finesse accompanying all the singers during the 9 day Navarathri Celebration at Machilipatnam.
He has worked as Harmonium player in His Master's Voice in 1938. He has worked in different stations of All India Radio
as A-grade artist in the late 1930s. He was invited to New Delhi station as Director for South Indian music.
. He made Lata Mangeshkar
sing the ever popular song 'Nidurapora Thammuda', in his movie Santhanam
.
Samsaram (1950) movie is a musical hit film with ever popular song Samsaram Samsaram by Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao and A. M. Rajah
in Telugu and Tamil languages respectively.
Ilavelpu
(1956) is the next major hit film by L. V. Prasad
. The famous song Challani Raja O Chandamama by Raghunath Panigrahi. He sang Challani Punnami Vennelalone casting Relangi Venkataramaiah in the film.
His score for Narthanasala (1963) songs particularly Evari Kosam Ee Mandhahasam, Janani Siva Kaamini (P. Susheela), Salalitha Raga Sudharasa Saaram (singer: Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna) and Sakhiya Vivarinchave are forever memorable.
He has produced two films Mohini Rukmangada (1960) and Rama Sundari (1962) under the banner of Anuradha Movies and lost heavily.
and lost vision in one eye in 1972. He did not get much opportunities because of this. He has worked as Violonist under another Music director K. Chakravarthi. He lost vision in the other eye in 1987 and became totally blind. N. T. Rama Rao
used to like him so much that he called him to work for the Srimad Virata Parvam (1983) and Shrimad Virat Veerabrahmendra Swami Charitra
(1984). He was used to be collected for the audio recordings. Both were musical hits those days.
He is presently living at Chennai
with his son, Hari Susarla in Velachery.
Playback singer
A playback singer is a singer whose singing is prerecorded for use in movies. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras, while the actual singer does not appear on screen.-South Asia:...
and music director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
from South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
. He has worked for about 135 films in different South Indian languages. He is noted for his work in the films Laila Majnu, Samsaram and Narthanasala.
Early life
He was born on 11 November 1921 in PedakallepalliPedakallepalli
Pedakallēpalli is a village in Mopidevi mandal, in Diviseema taluk, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Pedakallepalli is also known as Dakshina Kasi...
, Krishna District
Krishna district
Krishna District is a district of India's Andhra Pradesh state. It is named after the Krishna River, the third longest river that flows within India, flows through the district and joins Bay of Bengal here in this district. It has a population of 4,529,009 of which 32.08% is urban as of...
, Andhra Pradesh, India to Susarla Krishnabrahma Sastry, who was a musician and teacher and Smt Annapurnamma. His paternal grandfather was Susarla Dakshinamurthi Sastry, a classical Carnatic music pioneer. During the childhood, his home used to feed many students from far away places who came to learn Music under his grandfather. He was a child prodigy, who at the age of 9 played the violin with great finesse accompanying all the singers during the 9 day Navarathri Celebration at Machilipatnam.
He has worked as Harmonium player in His Master's Voice in 1938. He has worked in different stations of All India Radio
All India Radio
All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...
as A-grade artist in the late 1930s. He was invited to New Delhi station as Director for South Indian music.
Film career
He has moved to the Madras film industry and worked as an assistant to Music Director, C. R. SubburamanC. R. Subburaman
C. R. Subburaman also known as C. S. Ram was a famous South Indian film music composer and producer. He was born to Ramasamy Iyer at Chintamani village in Thirunelveli, in present-day Tamil Nadu. Music director Shankar of Shankar Ganesh duo is his younger brother...
. He made Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional...
sing the ever popular song 'Nidurapora Thammuda', in his movie Santhanam
Santhanam
Santhanam is a Tamil film actor, who plays comedy roles in Tamil films. His fame started off in the Lollu Sabha. He made his feature film debut in Manmadhan in 2004 and later appeared in several successful films.-Background:...
.
Samsaram (1950) movie is a musical hit film with ever popular song Samsaram Samsaram by Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao and A. M. Rajah
A. M. Rajah
Aemala Manmatharaju Rajah was a South Indian playback singer-music composer popular in the 1950s and the early 1960s in South India. He was popularly known as A. M. Rajah or Rajah. His songs were featured in numerous Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films in the 1950s, early 1960s and early...
in Telugu and Tamil languages respectively.
Ilavelpu
Ilavelpu
Ilavelpu or Ilavelupu is a 1956 Telugu Drama film produced by L. V. Prasad and directed by D. Yoganand. The story is based on the successful Tamil film, Ethirpaaraathathu...
(1956) is the next major hit film by L. V. Prasad
L. V. Prasad
Akkineni Lakshmi Vara Prasada Rao , more popularly known as L. V. Prasad was an Indian film producer and actor. He was a recipient of the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for lifetime contribution to cinema from the Government of India for the year 1982...
. The famous song Challani Raja O Chandamama by Raghunath Panigrahi. He sang Challani Punnami Vennelalone casting Relangi Venkataramaiah in the film.
His score for Narthanasala (1963) songs particularly Evari Kosam Ee Mandhahasam, Janani Siva Kaamini (P. Susheela), Salalitha Raga Sudharasa Saaram (singer: Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna) and Sakhiya Vivarinchave are forever memorable.
He has produced two films Mohini Rukmangada (1960) and Rama Sundari (1962) under the banner of Anuradha Movies and lost heavily.
Later life
He developed Diabetes MellitusDiabetes mellitus
Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced...
and lost vision in one eye in 1972. He did not get much opportunities because of this. He has worked as Violonist under another Music director K. Chakravarthi. He lost vision in the other eye in 1987 and became totally blind. N. T. Rama Rao
N. T. Rama Rao
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao , also known as NTR and fondly referred to as Anna Garu, was an Indian film actor, director, producer, and a politician...
used to like him so much that he called him to work for the Srimad Virata Parvam (1983) and Shrimad Virat Veerabrahmendra Swami Charitra
Shrimad Virat Veerabrahmendra Swami Charitra
Shrimad Virat Veerabrahmendra Swami Charitra is a 1984 Telugu Biographical film acted and directed by N. T. Rama Rao and produced by Ramakrishna Cine Studios...
(1984). He was used to be collected for the audio recordings. Both were musical hits those days.
He is presently living at Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
with his son, Hari Susarla in Velachery.
Filmography
- Narada Naradi (1946) (music director)
- Laila MajnuLaila Majnu (1949 film)Laila Majnu is a Telugu film that released on 1 October 1949 starring A. Nageswara Rao and P. Bhanumathi. It was originally produced in Telugu and was dubbed in Tamil by Bharani Pictures...
(1949) (playback singer) - Paramanandayya Shishyula KathaParamanandayya Shishyula KathaParamanandayya Shishyula Katha is a 1966 Telugu Comedy film directed by C. Pullayya. The story is written by Vempati Sadasivabrahmam.-The plot:...
(1950) (playback singer and music director) - Samsaram (1950) (music director)
- Shri Lakshmamma Katha (1950) (playback singer and music director)
- SarvadhikariSarvadhikari (film)Sarvadhikari is a Tamil language musical film starring M. G. Ramachandran in the lead role and M. N. Nambiar as the villain. The film was released in 1951. It established Nambiar as a major star. It was the 25th film for MGR....
(1951) (playback singer and music director) - Santanam (1955) (playback singer and music director)
- IlavelpuIlavelpuIlavelpu or Ilavelupu is a 1956 Telugu Drama film produced by L. V. Prasad and directed by D. Yoganand. The story is based on the successful Tamil film, Ethirpaaraathathu...
(1956) (playback singer and music director) - Veera Kankanam (1957) (music director)
- AnnapurnaAnnapurna (film)-Plot:Ramayya, Ranganatham and Venkayya are business partners. When they get huge profits, Ranganatham does not want to share it with his partners. So he murdered Venkayya and puts the blame on Ramayya. Ramayya goes to jail, his wife dies and his children suffer at a relations' place...
(1959) (music director) - Krishna Leelalu (1959) (music director)
- Narthanasala (1963)
- Shrimad Virata Parvam (1983)
- Shrimad Virat Veerabrahmendra Swami CharitraShrimad Virat Veerabrahmendra Swami CharitraShrimad Virat Veerabrahmendra Swami Charitra is a 1984 Telugu Biographical film acted and directed by N. T. Rama Rao and produced by Ramakrishna Cine Studios...
(1984)