Telangana Association of New Zealand event draws a huge audience
Venkat Raman
Auckland, June 4, 2023
More than 700 men and women were transported to a world of melody along with their favourite music director Saluri Koteshwara Rao, thanks to the Telangana Association of New Zealand (TANZ).
Affectionately and popularly called ‘Koti,’ the visiting composer and music director enthralled his fans by rendering five of his popular songs picturised on superheroes of the Indian film industry. His humility and friendliness came to the fore as he invited talented members of the community to sing along with him, making a marked difference to the ‘know all’ attitude of some music directors of the day.
Govardhan Mallela, who won the Best Accountant of the Year Award at the 13th Annual Indian Newslink Business Awards on November 29, 2022, has known Koti since his formative years. He said that the music director has kept his composure unaffected by the high status as one of the most sought-after artists in the industry and as an acclaimed musician for several decades.
“Koti is the son of the yester years popular Telugu and Tamil music composer Sri Saluri Rajeswara Rao. He is a popular composer and a specialised Guitarist. He worked under popular musicians Chakravarthy and Ilaiyaraaja. After working for more than ten years as an assistant, Koti became a music director along with his co-musician Raj (Thotakura Somaraju, Son of another veteran music Director T V Raju) and became very popular as Raj-Koti music directors,” he said.
Mr Mallela said that the duo composed music for about 180 films from 1983 to 1994.
“They also worked as co-music directors for the films composed by R D Burman, Bappi Lahiri and Laxmikant Pyarelal in South India. They are very famous for their rerecording skills and heralded a new trend in the Telugu film industry with the introduction of pop music. They gave beautiful compositions to the popular Telugu heroes Late Krishna, Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh, Nagarjuna and Mohan Babu, to mention a few,” he said.
Mr Mallela said that following differences in thought and approach, the duo went their ways.
“Koti started his own journey as a solo music director and composed music for more than 350 Telugu films. He was a delight to the Telugu community in New Zealand at the Telangana Formation Day organised by TANZ. At the request of his fans at the event, Kot sang a few of his compositions with local singers Sirisha Ravooru, Sudiksha Ravooru, Sudena Ravooru and Sravani Kunapuli,” he said.
The songs included Naa Mansukemaindi (from Nuvve Nuvve with Sudiksha Ravooru), Priya Ragale (from Hello Brother with Sirisha Ravooru), Padaharella Vayasu (from Lankeswarudu with Sudena Ravooru), Andama Anduma (from Govinda Govinda with Sravani Kunapuli) and Guvva, Gorinkatho (from Khaidi Number 786 with Sirisha Ravooru).
National Party’s Police, Serious Fraud Office, Counter-Terrorism and Corrections Spokesperson Mark Mitchell paid tributes to the people of Telangana on the Formation of their State.
“New Zealand is proud of the Indian community for its contributions. It is a great pleasure to celebrate your culture, heritage and pride. I look forward to attending the future events of the Telangana Association of New Zealand,’ he said.
As a part of the celebrations, TANZ honoured many members of the community for their achievements in community service, empowerment of women, youth and sports.
Honorary President Narender Reddy Patlola said that the presence of Koti added to the value of the Formation Day celebrations this year.
“We are happy that we had an opportunity to host a man of such great talent. Koti came to New Zealand at our invitation from Sydney, where he was honoured with a Life-Time Achievement Award by the New South Wales Parliament.
“This is the first time that a music director received from Telangana such an honour overseas and we are told this was the first for the New South Wales Parliament as well. Koti has earned a special place in the hearts of music lovers all over the world. The Australia India Sports Education and Cultural Society presented this award,” he said.
In his speech, Koti dedicated the award to the Telugu community.
“It is because of the patronage and support of our people that I was honoured with a Life-Time Achievement Award. I therefore dedicate this Award to our people and I am grateful to the Telangana community in New Zealand for providing this opportunity to celebrate our Formation Day in their midst,” he said.
