Nagendra

Nagendra Biography

Nagendra, along with his elder brother Rajan together formed the celebrated and iconic music composers of the classic era of Kannada cinema, during the period, 1950s –1990s. They gave some memorable and ever green Kannada and Telugu film songs in their career spanning to nearly 5 decades. The duo scored music for about 375 films, predominantly in Kannada language with more than 200, and compositions of other languages comprise together of more than 150 films. They also composed music for Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Tulu, Hindi and Sinhala language films during the same period. The duo was active in music scene till the death of younger brother Nagendra in year 2000, and since then Rajan composes music with his son R. Ananth kumar. Year 1999 movie - Prema Prema Prema was their last work together.

Nagendra was two years younger to Rajan, and he was born in 1935. They were born into a middle-class musical family. Their father Rajappa was a harmonium and flute player. He also played background music for silent movies. Later Rajan became an expert in violin and Nagendra in Jal tarang. The brothers made their public appearance together when they joined Jaya Maruthi Orchestra as musicians. Rajan got an offer to go to Chennai, and took younger brother along with him, where they learnt more about film music from H. R. Padmanabha Shastri.

Once they returned to Mysore, the younger brother Nagendra got the opportunity to sing for a Telugu film named 'Srinivasa Kalyana’. Sowbhagya Lakshmi in 1952 marked the debut of siblings as music composers of Telugu cinema. The work got noticed and after the release of ‘Chanchalakumari', 'Rajalakshmi' and 'Mutthaide Bhagya', the brothers cemented their position in the industry. They reached the career peak in the 1970s after the release of Gandhada Gudi. With 1990s, their career graph fell down steeply. They won Karnataka state award for their compositions for Eradu Kanasu and Parasangada Gendethimma and Nandi award for Telugu movie, Panthulamma.

The name Rajan-Nagendra needs no introduction to those who love Kannada cinema of the ‘70s. Nyayave Devaru, Gandhada Gudi, Devara Gudi, Bhagyavantaru, Eradu Kanasu, Naa Ninna Mareyalaare, Naa Ninna Bidalaare, Hombisilu, Bayalu Daari, Paavana Ganga, Giri Kanye etc are some of their best works in the 1970s. They composed the music for about 70 Telugu films of which songs of 1980s belonging to Maa Intayana Katha, Puli Bebbuli and Vayyari Bhamalu Vagalamari Bharathulu became immensely popular. Mathe Haditu Kogile, Marali Goodige and Suprabhaata are some of their best works of 1990s. Many of their songs in remixed versions too are popular.

Nagendra was undergoing treatment of hernia in the late 1990s. Because of diabetics and high bp, some complications occurred, and he passed away on 4 November 2000. When Nagendra died in 2000, Rajan took a back seat from the film industry and composing. Yet he worked with his son occasionally, and released a few musical CDs too.

Published: February 18, 2019

Updated: February 20, 2019