Chandrabose (lyricist) Wiki, Age, Family, Biography & More

Chandrabose is an Indian lyricist and playback singer who predominantly works in Telugu films. He struck international stardom for the song “Naatu Naatu” from the Telugu period action film RRR (2022) for which he won a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award in 2023.

Wiki/Biography

Kanukuntla Subhash Chandrabose ^[1]The Times of India was born on Sunday, 10 May 1970 (age 53 years; as of 2023) in Challagariga, Warangal district, Telangana (now in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district, Telangana). His zodiac sign is Taurus. There was a Shiva temple and a library near his house in Challagariga. Chandrabose spent his childhood listening to devotional songs, which started playing at 4 o’clock in the morning every day. He would also listen to the radio. Soon, he memorized the songs, and he would often sing along. He was a voracious reader and used to go to the library and browse different books after school. He grew up listening to folk music and started writing songs at the age of 11. In an interview, while talking about his childhood, he said,

I grew up in a village in Warangal district amid the folk music as well as Potana’s Bhgavatam and Annamayya kritis. I was a voracious reader of children’s magazines then which widened my imaginations. I derived my sense of music from oral traditions such as hari katha , burra katha , yakshaganas and Chindu Bhagavatam . I would write, sing and perfect it further.”

He pursued a diploma in Electrical & Electronics Engineering at J. N. Government Polytechnic Ramanthapur in Hyderabad. Thereafter, he enrolled at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Hyderabad to obtain a Bachelor of Engineering (BE) degree in the same discipline. He entered the industry aspiring to be a playback singer. While pursuing engineering, he tried working as a singer for the channel Doordarshan, but he was unsuccessful. Thereafter, his friend Srinathanna suggested that he focus on writing rather than singing.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 8″

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Family & Caste

He belongs to a backward-class family. ^[2]Sakshi

Parents & Siblings

His father, Narsaiah, worked as a primary school teacher. He is the youngest of four siblings, two brothers, Rajender and Koti, and a sister, Swaroopa. His mother, Kankuntla Madhunamma, used to work as a labourer in the fields as it was difficult to support the household with his father’s salary; she died in 2019 due to a heart attack.

Wife & Children

On 7 March 1999, Chandrabose got married to Suchitra, a choreographer in the Telugu film industry, in Bhadrachalam, Andhra Pradesh. The two first made acquaintance on a flight in 1998 from Chennai to Hyderabad. Initially, they faced difficulty in convincing their parents for marriage as Suchitra is elder than Chandrabose and they belong to different castes. While Suchitra belongs to a Brahmin family, Chandrabose belongs to a backward-class family.  Together, they have two children, a son, Nanda Vanamali, and a daughter, Amrutha.

Career

Chandrabose has set a record in the Telugu film industry by penning more than 3600 songs in over 850 films during his career spanning over 25 years. He ventured into the Telugu film industry with Muppalaneni Shiva’s film Taj Mahal (1995). The first song he wrote for the film was Manchu kondallona Chandram with the assistance of M. M. Srilekha. The song gained immense appreciation, establishing Chandrabose’s name in the industry. He wrote three crowd-puller songs in 2001, Chai Chatukkuna Tagara Bhai for Mrugaraju, Evaremi Anukunna for Budget Padmanabham, and Ekkado Putti Ekkado Perigi for Student No.1. Ekkado Putti Ekkado Perigi featuring NTR Jr brought him into the limelight. He worked with A. R. Rahman on the popular Telugu song Pedave Palikina from Naani (2004).

His notable works include Mounamgane Edagamani from Autograph (2004), Namasthe Namasthe Neeku Namasthe from Samba (2004) Panchadhara Bomma Bomma from Magadheera (2009), and Kani Penchina Maa Ammake in Manam (2014). In 2018, he gained popularity for the soundtrack Rangasthalam of the 2018 Telugu film of the same name. Some of the hit songs of the soundtrack were Jigelu Rani, Entha Sakkagunnave, and Ee Sethithone. He penned the popular songs Ooh antava and Srivalli for the film Pushpa – The rise (2021).

In 2022, he rose to prominence for writing lyrics of the song Naatu Naatu from the film RRR, which went on to win numerous accolades including the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award.

In January 2023, Naatu Naatu bagged the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. Naatu Naatu won the award beating the nominees Carolina by Taylor Swift, Hold My Hand by Lady Gaga, BloodPop and Benjamin Rice, and Lift Me Up by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson. On 12 March 2023, Naatu Naatu went on to win an Oscar beating a slew of heavy-weight competitors like Lady Gaga’s Hold My Hand from Top Gun: Maverick, Rihanna’s Lift Me Up from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, This Is A Life from Everything Everywhere All At Once, and Applause from Tell It Like A Woman.

Awards, Honours, Achievements

Academy Awards

• 2023 – Best Original Song award for ‘Naatu Naatu’ from “RRR”
  

  Chandrabose and M. M. Keeravani accept the Best Original Song award for ‘Naatu Naatu’ from “RRR” onstage during the 95th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on 12 March 2023

Critics’ Choice Movie Awards

• For Best Song for “Naatu Naatu” in RRR (2022)

Golden Globe Awards

• For Best Original Song for “Naatu Naatu” in RRR (2022)

Nandi Awards

• Best Lyricist for “Nee Navvula Thelladanaanni” in Aadi (2002)

• Best Lyricist for “Cheekatito Veluge Cheppenu Nenunnanani” in Nenunnanu (2004)

Filmfare Awards South

• Best Lyricist – Telugu for “Kanipinchina Maa Amma” in Manam (2014)

• Best Lyricist – Telugu for “Entha Sakkagunnave” in Rangasthalam (2018)

SIIMA Awards

• Best Lyricist – Telugu for “Kanipinchina Maa Amma” from Manam (2014)

• Best Lyricist – Telugu for “Entha Sakkagunnave” from Rangasthalam (2018)

• Best Lyricist – Telugu for “Srivalli” from Pushpa: The Rise (2022)
  

  Chandrabose receiving the Best Lyricist Award for ‘Srivalli’ from Pushpa The Rise at SIIMA Awards (2022)

• Best Lyricist – Telugu for “Naatu Naatu” from ‘RRR’ (September 2023)
  

  Chandrabose while holding the Best Lyricist Award at SIIMA 2023, held at the Dubai World Trade Centre, UAE

National Film Awards

• Best Lyricist – Telugu for “Dham Dham Dham” from ‘Konda Polam’ (17 October 2023)
  

  Chandrabose while receiving the National Film Award from the President of India Droupadi Murmu

Favourites

• Poet(s): Sri Sri, Joshua, Jandhyala Papayya Sastry (commonly known as Karunasri), Alishetty Prabhakar

• Author: Madhurantakam Rajaram

• Lyricist(s): Acharya Atreya, C. Narayana Reddy

Facts/Trivia

• It was Muppalaneni Shiva, the director of the Taj Mahal (1995), who introduced Chandrabose as a songwriter and suggested that he use only his last name for the screen.

• In an interview, he revealed that earlier he used to consume Pan Parag and smoke cigarettes, but later, he quit both. ^[3]Sakshi

• He is a non-vegetarian.^[4]Sakshi