Ramajogaiah Sastry
| Photo Credit: RAMAKRISHNA G
Lyricist Ramajogaiah Sastry is having a dream run. His songs — classy or massy — connect instantly with Telugu film lovers especially the youth. Whether it is the soulful ‘Sadasiva sanyasi’from Khaleja, the playful ‘Kurchi madathapetti’ in Guntur Kaaram, ‘Mallepoola taxi’, a celebratory wedding vibe chartbuster from the upcoming movie Dhoom Dhaam, or the electrifying ‘Bhairava’ track from the recent release Kalki 2898 AD, the 53-year-old has a unique way with words. His lyrics, drawn from everyday life, are easy-going and catchy, captivating audiences, and turning his songs into chartbusters. As he completes 20 years as a lyricist in September, Ramajogaiah had made a significant mark in the Telugu film industry.
Simple things matter
“Mana jeevitham chinna chinna vishayalo mudi padi untundi. Manamu daani appreciate cheyadam lo fail avtaamu kaani, chinna chinna vishayale goppa sutraalu (It is the simple things that matter most in our lives but we fail to appreciate them.)Chedapaku ra chededavu (don’t spoil or you’ll get spoilt), Parula sommu paamu vantidi (It’s dangerous to eye others’ property), Kashte phale (hard work will reward)… are beautiful, little phrases in Telugu but great principles,” he says
Singer dreams
Writing simple and soulful is his mantra
| Photo Credit:
RAMAKRISHNA G
Born in Muppala village of Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh, Ramajogaiah was a movie buff and harboured a love for singing. The only child of his parents, he did a B Tech in mechanical engineering and a master’s in metallurgical engineering at IIT. Though he wanted to work at a steel factory in Chennai to work and also fulfil his dream to be ‘another SP Balasubrahmanyam’, he ended up working in Bengaluru in 1995. There, he developed connections with writers and auditioned to be a singer. “I was told I cannot become a singer because I have no formal training in music, but was advised to hone my writing,” he recalls.
His career as a lyricist began with devotional songs for nearly 40 cassettes, he moved on to writing Telugu lyrics for Hindi tracks and a project (which did not materialise) for actor Ravichandran. “Though I was in Bengaluru, I was happy to write in Telugu, my mother tongue,” he says.
On the sets of ‘Dhoom Dhaam’ movie.. .Ramajogaiah Sastry with singer Mangli and director Sai Kishore
| Photo Credit:
special arrangement
Catchy wedding number
Ramajogaiah Sastry’s ‘Mallepoola Taxi’ (for Dhoom Dham) is trending with more than 2.5 million views. He wrote the hook words of that song even before Gopi Sundar had composed the tune. This catchy wedding song number sung by Mangli also features her in a special appearance. Elated by the response, Ramajogaiah says, “This movie is special because director Sai Kishore Macha is a disciple of Sreenu Vytla garu who I started my career with. Actor Chetan Krishna is the son of producer Ram Kumar garu, my close friend. Gopi Mohan is the writer. I am confident about Chetan’s talent and hope the movie turns out to be a big break for him.”
He says that music director Gopi Sundar came on board following his suggestion. The team had created four songs but added a catchy number, this song, as a special attraction. “We initially thought of having a male and female singer, but it turned out as a solo female song. Mangli was considered right from the beginning.” He adds, “Parents have a special fondness for the last-born child. Similarly, we felt this is the best song for us to start movie promotions.”
He enjoyed the dual role of being an engineer by day and a lyricist after hours. Eventually, he quit his job and came to Hyderabad in 2001 to work in the Telugu film industry. Here, he became a disciple of the legendary lyricist (late) Sitarama Sastry and made his debut as lyricist for Yuvasena in 2004.
Ramajogaiah believes destiny set the path for him. Destiny led me to different things and finally landed me here (writing lyrics),” he points out.
Team player
His mantra as lyricist is simple; he is not writing to show off his language skills, but ‘to communicate something a character feels.’ Two things drive his creative process, whether he can fulfil the responsibility given and follow a novel approach. Calling himself a ‘constructive team player’, he says, “I look for the uniqueness I can create within my sphere. My guru (Sitarama Sastry) could have written 100 songs on motivation, but I strive to see how distinctly I can write the 101st song.”
Catering to different segments
Enjoying the phase
| Photo Credit:
RAMAKRISHNA G
Having written songs across all genres — item songs, romantic duets, playful numbers — Ramajogaiah jokes that his surname ‘Sastry’ sometimes works negatively for him. ”When they see Sastry in the name, they think I am some literary genius or poet. I tell them I will write what I know but I can rise to any occasion without ignoring the points given by the director. ”
He explains, “I am catering to a film which has commercial elements and I always think of the purpose of a song. I want my song to be simple, yet touch different segments of people.”
He doesn’t have any favourite songs but shares that milestones in his career are tracks such as ‘Evare nuvvu’ (Raju Bhai), ‘’Nuvvakkadunte nenakkadunta’ (Gopi Gopika Godavari), ‘Ek Niranjan’ (Ek Niranjan), ‘’Sadasiva Sanyasi’ (Khaleja), ‘‘Pranaamam pranaamam‘ (Janatha Garaje) and ‘Devara’ (from upcoming movie Devara).
With a positive mindset
| Photo Credit:
RAMAKRISHNA G
Ramajogaiah leads a busy life writing around 100 songs a month. Devara, Thandel, Raja Saab, Bhaje Vayuvegam, Indian 2 and Game Changer are some of his ongoing projects.
When not writing, he sings and spends time on social media and photography. While he likes to see himself on the big screen doing cameos with unique get-ups, Ramajogaiah likes to indulge in a plate of hot bajjis in a roadside shop or masala dosa in a restaurant. Having a positive mindset and celebrating life are his goals. “Keep a tab on sensibilities so that every song turns out to be a good one.”