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Veturi Sundararama Murthy (29 January 1936 – 22 May 2010), known mononymously by his surname Veturi, was an Indian poet, lyricist and journalist who is popular for writing Telugu songs. His career in the Telugu cinema spanned more than four decades.[1] He was highly admired and cherished for his deep and thoughtful lyrics in Telugu songs.

For the surname, see Veturi (surname).

Veturi
Portrait of Veturi
Born
Veturi Sundararama Murthy

(1936-01-29)29 January 1936
Pedakallepalli, Madras Presidency, British India (present-day Andhra Pradesh, India)
Died22 May 2010(2010-05-22) (aged 74)
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India (present-day Telangana)
OccupationPoet, lyricist, songwriter
SpouseSeeta Mahalakshmi
Children3

Early life


Veturi was born to Chandrasekhar Sastry and Kamalamba in Pedakallepalli, near Challapalli, Krishna into a Telugu Brahmin family.[2][3] Veturi was a nephew of the Telugu Research Scholar Veturi Prabhakara Sastri. His grandfather Veturi Sundara Sastry was also a poet.[citation needed]


Education


Veturi completed his schooling in Diviseema, Jaggayyapeta, near Vijayawada in Krishna district, and SSLC in his grandmother's village. Later, Veturi went to Chennai for his intermediate studies and came back to Vijayawada where he completed his degree in S.R.R. Government College. He was a student of legendary Viswanatha Satyanarayana at this college.


Career as a journalist


Veturi joined Andhra Prabha as a journalist in 1952, after his education.[4] He learned the basics of editing a news article from his senior at Andhra Prabha, Narla Venkateswara Rao, whom he considers his first teacher. In 1959, he joined a weekly called Andhra Patrika, where Bapu and Mullapudi Venkata Ramana were his colleagues.[5] He was the in-charge of the Cinema section at Andhra Patrika. He also worked for the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee's official daily newspaper, called Andhra Janata, as an editor.

In 1962, he became the first and only Telugu journalist to interview the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who came to inaugurate Srisailam Hydroelectricity project. He covered the speeches of national leaders like Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. In 1964, he worked as an assembly reporter.

His articles are said to be very catchy and witty. For instance, he referred to the meeting of MLAs in Hotel Dwaraka, near the Andhra Pradesh State Assembly as "Adigo Dwaraka - Ivigo Alamandalu" ("This is Dwaraka and here are the cattle") (Telugu: అదిగో ద్వారక). His writing style caught the attention of the film industry due to his prowess in using traditional poetic rules related to alliteration and rhyme for describing current affairs.


Career as a lyricist



Entry into films


Veturi had contacts with the Telugu film industry during his days as a journalist. He used to meet veteran lyric writer Dasarathi often. Legendary director V. Nagayya offered him a role in his film, Naa Illu (1953).[6] However, two days before the shooting began, Veturi decided not to act as he felt that he was not fit for acting, and wrote a letter of apology to Nagayya for rejecting his offer. N. T. Rama Rao, has invited him to join the film industry as a lyricist. In 1974, he wrote his first song, "Bharatanaari Charitamu" (Telugu: భారతనారి చరితము), in the form of Harikatha, for O Seeta Katha (1974) under the direction of K. Viswanath.


1970s


In 1977, actor Sr. N.T.R's Adavi Ramudu showcased Veturi's talent for penning inspirational and romantic lyrics. The album was an instant hit among various audiences. In 1978, K Viswanath's Siri Siri Muvva proved his prowess in expressing diverse emotions with poetry. Acharya Aatreya, the leading lyricist in those days, was known to take days for writing a song. Veturi became the first choice for directors and producers too because of his ability to write a song to the director's taste in a few minutes. He went on to pen more than 5,000 songs in his career. He wrote more mass numbers for movies like Vetagadu and Driver Ramudu, and classics for movies like Sankarabharanam and Sagara Sangamam. In particular, Sankarabharanam stood as a landmark in the Telugu film industry.


1980s


After the surge of his popularity during the 1970s, he went on to work with a variety of directors and actors in the 1980s. He wrote classics for directors like Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, Dasari Narayana Rao, Bapu, Jandhyala, Vamsy and mass numbers for directors like Raghavendra Rao, A. Kodandarami Reddy, Vijaya Bapineedu. He delivered a number of hits for senior actors like Sr. N.T.R, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Ghattamaneni Krishna, Shobhan Babu, Krishnam Raju and upcoming stars like Chiranjeevi, Nandamuri Balakrishna, Nagarjuna, Daggubati Venkatesh. This golden period in his career saw memorable albums like Saptapadi, Subhodayam, Subhalekha, Sagara Sangamam, Meghasandesam, Mudda Mandaram, Malle Pandiri, Nalugu Stambhalata, Rendu Jalla Seeta, Amarajeevi, Sreevariki Prema Lekha, Ananda Bhairavi, Srivari Sobhanam, Mogudu Pellalu, Chantabbai, Sitaara, Anveshana, Alapana, Mayuri, Amavasya Chandrudu, Janaki Ramudu and Geetaanjali.


1990s


During the late 1980s, Veturi's mass numbers garnered a lot of response from the public resulting in directors demanding more and more of them. However, Veturi still maintained his balance between classics and mass-numbers with movies like Jagadeka Veerudu Atiloka Sundari, Sarigamalu, Sitaramayya Gaari Manavaralu, Matru Devo Bhava, and Mechanic Alludu. Veturi was given the opportunity to dub many Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi movies. Some of his dubbed albums, for instance Iruvar and Devaraagam, received wide acclaim.


2000s


During this period, Veturi created classics like Gangotri and Swarabhishekam. His association with young directors like Sekhar Kammula and Gunasekhar produced some memorable albums, like Anand, Godavari, Varudu, Arjun, Premishte (Dubbed version of Kaadhal) and Leader.


Relations with other artists


Veturi had cordial relationships with the prominent figures of the industry. He worked with all classes of directors, producers, music directors and actors, ranging from stars to debutants. In his book Kommakommako Sannayi, he describes his relationship with some of the music directors, singers, lyricists, actors and directors he worked with. He was a teacher-like figure for many artists in the industry.

He is considered one of the most complete lyricist in the history of Telugu cinema. Even his competitors called him guru. Fellow lyricist Sirivennela praised him as a source of inspiration.[7] He identified Veturi as the one who broadened the horizons of Telugu music.[8] Sirivennela wrote an article in a Telugu monthly magazine, Haasam, explaining the breadth and depth of Veturi's poetry. Being a competitor, he ended the article saying: "aakaaSaannaakramiMchina aayana bhaavanaapaadaaniki, bhoogOLaanni aakramiMchina aayana bhaashaapaadaaniki bhaktithO aMjali ghaTistoo "naa mooDO paadaanni nee nettina peDataa" aMTunna aayana taaMDava paadaaniki bhayaMtO namaskaristoo, mummaaru mokkutoo"(Telugu: "ఆకాశాన్నాక్రమించిన ఆయన భావనాపాదానికి, భూగోళాన్ని ఆక్రమించిన ఆయన భాషాపాదానికి భక్తితో అంజలి ఘటిస్తూ "నా మూడో పాదాన్ని నీ నెత్తిన పెడతా" అంటున్న ఆయన తాండవ పాదానికి భయంతో నమస్కరిస్తూ, ముమ్మారు మొక్కుతూ") which roughly translates to "I pray unto your two feet with devotion: one who has occupied the sky of imagination, one which has occupied the earth called language; and with terror, I pray salute the third foot which he says he would keep on my head".[9] This is in reference to Vamana, an Avatar of Vishnu.

Veteran director K. Viswanath referred to him as brother.[10] Director Sekhar Kammula referred to him as his guru.[11] Actor, writer and director Tanikella Bharani referred to him as a manifestation of Saraswati in male form.[12] Acclaimed director Mani Ratnam, who worked with him for Geetaanjali, praised him as one of the best he has come across.

Veturi was very flexible with remunerations while working with young and upcoming artists, which made him very approachable and close to almost every director and producer.[13]


Awards and honors


Veturi received several national and regional awards for his contributions to literature and films. He has been conferred an honorary Doctorate in the 23rd convocation of Acharya Nagarjuna University.[14] In 2007, he received the Jandhyala Memorial Award.[15]

Bust of Veturi at Tummalapalli Kshetrayya Kalakshetram, Vijayawada
Bust of Veturi at Tummalapalli Kshetrayya Kalakshetram, Vijayawada

National Awards


He got the National Film Award for Best Lyrics for the song "Ralipoye Puvva" (Telugu: రాలిపోయె పువ్వా) in the film Matrudevobhava,[16] making him the second Telugu film lyricist to achieve the distinction after the revolutionary poet, Sri Sri. In 2006, he declared that he would return the National Award if Telugu is not given the status of Classical Language by the Government of India.[17] In 2008, the Government of India declared Telugu as a classical language.[18]


Filmfare Awards


He received filmfare award for the song, Uppongele Godavari (Telugu: ఉప్పొంగెలే గోదావరి) in the 2006 movie, Godavari. In 2008, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.[19]


Nandi Awards


He received the Nandi award for best lyrics, from the Government of Andhra Pradesh, six times. They are listed here.

YearSongMovie
1977Maanasa Veenaa Madhu Geetam (Telugu: మానసవీణ మధుగీతం)Panthulamma
1979Sankara Naadasareeraparaa (Telugu: శంకరా నాదశరీరాపర)Sankarabharanam
1984Brundavani Vundi (Telugu: బృందావని ఉంది)Kanchana Ganga
1985Ee Duryodhana Dushaasana (Telugu: ఈ దుర్యోధనదుశ్శాశన)Pratighatana
1991Pavuraniki Panjaraniki (Telugu: పావురానికి పంజరానికి)Chanti
1992All SongsRajeswari Kalyanam[20]

Manaswini Awards


He received two Manaswini awards.[21]

  1. Song: Venuvai vachchaanu (Telugu: వేణువై వచ్చాను), Movie: Matrudevobhava, Year: 1993.
  2. Song: Aakaashaana suryudundadu (Telugu: ఆకాశాన సూర్యుడుండడు), Movie: Sundarakanda, Year: 1992.

Filmography


He wrote thousands of songs as a lyricist for many successful Telugu films. He has also acted in very few films in cameo roles. He acted as a fake swamiji in a film, which succeeded in producing good comedy. He also penned Dialogues along with writer Jandhyala for the movie Siri Siri Muvva.


1970s



1980s



1990s



2000s



Books



Sirikaakolanu Chinnadi


This book was originally a "musical play" telecasted on the All India Radio. The story describes the culture and people during the time of the king Krishna Deva Raya through the story of a Devadasi.[23] The original play has music by the great music director Pendyala Nageswara Rao. One can see the beauty of the Telugu language in this book. Veturi was introduced to the director K. Viswanath through this book and later their combination was a big hit. N.T.Rama Rao was so impressed by the story of this book that he wanted to make it as a movie. It is believed that there were some discussions on the script but the movie was never produced.


Kommako Kommako Sannaayi


A book titled komma kommakO sannAyi was published by "Veturi Sahitii Samiti". This book contains 27 articles written by Veturi celebrating his association with some famous personalities in the Telugu film industry. It also contains descriptions of some of his songs. The personalities covered include the following:

  1. Music directors: Pendyala Nageswara Rao, S. Rajeswara Rao, K. V. Mahadevan, Adi Narayana Rao, Ramesh Naidu, Rajan – Nagendra, Chakravarty, Ilayaraja, MM Keeravaani & A.R.Rahman
  2. Singers: S._P._Balasubrahmanyam
  3. Lyricists: Daita Gopalam, Samudrala (Sr), Atreya, Dasarathi,
  4. Actors: Nagayya, Jagayya, N. T. Rama Rao & Relangi
  5. Directors and producers: Nagi Reddy, Jandhyala, Bapu – Ramana

Many of these articles were originally published in a Telugu magazine called Haasam. Veturi's prowess in the Telugu language & literature and his vast knowledge of Carnatic music can be seen in this book. Veturi often quotes many of his own lyrics in this book and those examples offer a glimpse of his genius. In particular, his explanation of the song Swararaaga gangaa pravaahamE (Movie: Sarigamalu) is a masterpiece.


Personal life


Veturi was married to Seeta Maha Lakshmi and has three sons: Ravi Prakash, Chandrasekhar and Nanda Kishore.[24]


Controversies


In March 2010, Veturi openly criticized the Film Nagar Cooperative Society officials for not handing over the 1000 sq.yard land that was allotted to him about 28 years ago.[25] He alleged that several juniors and ineligible people were given plots ahead of him. He was allegedly offered a double bedroom flat for 1.5 million.[26]

After his death, noted singer Mano and senior actor Vijay Chandar demanded the government to give the land to his family.[27]


Death


Veturi died of a pulmonary hemorrhage at a private hospital in Hyderabad on 22 May 2010, aged 74, at about 9:30 p.m. local time. He was admitted to the hospital two days earlier and was kept in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) there as his health was deteriorating.[28]

K. Viswanath, who introduced Veturi to the film industry, stated that "his works would please even the gods".[27] Director Sekhar Kammula, who worked with him to deliver some critically acclaimed songs, wrote a four-page article in the daily Sakshi describing Veturi's death as his "personal loss".[29]


Legacy


Appaji Ambarisha Darbha, a creative digital-media professional turned actor made a font with the name "Veturi" which was inaugurated by Telugu lyricist Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry in 2018.


References


  1. "News Archives". The Hindu. 24 May 2010. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  2. Veturi Passes Away – The Times of India
  3. Big loss to Telugu [Film] Industry – Merinews
  4. Video on YouTube
  5. "'AIR gave Veturi the break' – ANDHRA PRADESH". The Hindu. 24 May 2010. Archived from the original on 30 May 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  6. [dead link]
  7. "Telugu Cinema Etc". Idlebrain.com. 4 March 2002. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  8. "Veturi". Mana Sirivennela. Archived from the original on 15 May 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  9. "New Page 1". Mana Sirivennela. 15 May 2012. Archived from the original on 15 May 2012.
  10. "Telugu film industry pays tributes to lyricist Veturi". Archived from the original on 17 July 2012.
  11. "'Films have an obligation to society' – ANDHRA PRADESH". The Hindu. 9 May 2010. Archived from the original on 14 May 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  12. "Tanikella about Veturi". Greatandhra. 26 May 2010. Archived from the original on 26 May 2010.
  13. "Sekhar Kammula on Veturi- Telugu cinema". Idlebrain.com. 30 May 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  14. "Honorary doctorate for Veturi, two others – ANDHRA PRADESH". The Hindu. 26 July 2007. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  15. "Veturi given Jandhyala award – ANDHRA PRADESH". The Hindu. 15 January 2007. Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  16. "T'wood mourns death of Dr Veturi Sundara Ramurthy". sify.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  17. The Hindu: Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News: Going all out for 'classical' tag
  18. "Declaration of Telugu and Kannada as classical languages". PIB. Archived from the original on 16 December 2008. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  19. "56th Filmfare awards Tollywood winners – Telugu Movie News". IndiaGlitz.com. 1 August 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  20. "నంది అవార్డు విజేతల పరంపర (1964–2008)" [A series of Nandi Award Winners (1964–2008)] (PDF). Information & Public Relations of Andhra Pradesh. Retrieved 21 August 2020.(in Telugu)
  21. "Lyricist Veturi passed away". Telugu Cinema. 31 December 2010. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010.
  22. "Badri". Ragalahari. Archived from the original on 13 June 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  23. AVKF review on this book. Available at: http://www.avkf.org/BookLink/display_author_books.php?author_id=211
  24. "Veturi". Eenadu. Retrieved 29 May 2010.[dead link]
  25. "Filmnagar society denies Veturi's land". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 1 June 2010.[dead link]
  26. Video on YouTube
  27. "His work would please even gods". Express Buzz. Retrieved 31 May 2010.[dead link]
  28. "Lyricist Veturi no more". Deccan Chronicle. 30 June 2010. Archived from the original on 30 June 2010.
  29. "Veturi died". Sakshi. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2010.




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