

Even when Nagendra OK’ed a take, he would ask for a retake just because of a single note rendered wrong. At a time when stalwarts like GK Venkatesh were producing mesmerising numbers by blending Indian classical with western music, Rajan-Nagendra brought in an additional element of light music (bhavageethe).They wove magic in collaboration with singer-duos SP Balasubrahmanyam-S Janaki and Rajkumar-S Janaki. The duo was inseparable till Nagendra, the younger of the two, died in 2000. Since then the pair composed songs and scored background music for more than 375 films, including in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi. Rajan-Nagendra, still in their teens, got an opportunity to score music for the same banner’s Sowbhgyalakshmi in 1952. Hailing from Shivarampete in Mysuru, Rajan and Nagendra were initiated into film music by their father Rajappa, a composer who scored music for films produced by Mahatma Pictures. Rajan-Nagendra would ask for the entire plot so that they could think of a placement for the song and tune to supplement the plot,” said KS Bhagavan, filmmaker of Dorai-Bhagavan fame. “Normally, music composers ask directors to explain the sequence of the song before composing it. The song, Aakashave Beelali Mele-.Naa Ninna Kaibidenu, that the brothers composed for Nyayve Devaru (1971), effectively highlighted the central theme of the film.

Melody and embellishing orchestration were the hallmarks of their music and they blended these elements in such a way that their songs served as a catalyst to enhance the movie’s narrative. Having scored music for 200 Kannada films, brothers Rajan and Nagedra left their mark on hundreds of songs that have become all-time classics. BENGALURU: An era of flourishing melody that underlined Kannada film music during the second half of the 20th century ended with the passing away of composer Rajan, of the celebrated Rajan-Nagendra duo, on Sunday night.
