Sooraj Santhosh (born September 19, 1987) is an Indian singer, songwriter, and composer. He straddles the worlds of independent music and playback singing, moving smoothly between the two. Santhosh is the recipient of a Kerala State Film Award (2016),[3] 2 Mirchi Music Awards,[4] and a Kerala State Film Critics Award (2021).[5] He has sung around 300 songs in 8 languages.
Santhosh released his independent solo EP, The Gypsy Sun, in 2020. It's a multi-genre, multi-lingual album that consists of 5 songs.
Santhosh was the lead singer and has composed and performed with Masala Coffee until 2019, when he decided to dedicate more time to his own creative endeavors. Now he performs with his own band, Sooraj Santhosh Live.
Early life and education
Sooraj Santhosh was born on September 19, 1987, in Kerala, India. His family was not musical. His father Santhosh Kumar worked for the Forest Department, and his mother Jayakumari was a teacher. Neither they nor their extended family had any musical connections. At the age of 5, Santhosh's talent for music was recognized by a music teacher at his mother's school. She introduced him to a song, which he performed beautifully. On her recommendation, Sooraj's parents took the matter seriously and enrolled him at the age of 6 in the Tharanganisari School of Music, which was founded by Dr. K. J. Yesudas. His initial years at that institution were difficult since he was thrown abruptly into the midst of senior singers. As a child he struggled to understand what was happening and what was expected of him. But he gamely stuck on with the constant encouragement of his mother who ensured that he attended classes regularly. Santhosh has also been under the teaching of Prof K. Omanakutty, Kollam G.S Balamurali, and Parvathipuram Padmanabha Iyer.
Santhosh completed his High School and Higher Secondary level education in Government Model Boys Higher Secondary School, Thiruvanaigh puram. In high school, he participated and won prizes in School Youth Festivals and State Youth Festivals.[6] He graduated in commerce from Mahatma Gandhi College, Trivandrum, and did his Post-Graduation in Commerce from Mar Ivanious College, Trivandrum. While in college he took part in National University Youth Festivals and won prizes consistently.
One of the programs he participated was a musical competition on Surya TV where the renowned flautist Kudamaloor Janardanan was one of the main judges. Each performance was followed by a host of questions from the judges on music and its intricacies. Sooraj Cherukat won the competition, which featured an engaging format. Following the success, he began studying music under the teaching of Shri Kudamaloor Janardanan. He realized that there was so much more to music than taking part and winning in competitions. This is the moment that opened his mind to the world of music. The doubts that kept cropping up constantly in his mind were being resolved, and he had found someone who could provide clarity.
Santhosh went on to perform vocal concerts in his home-town Trivandrum.
Career
After completing his Post Graduation, Sooraj moved to Chennai where he felt he could focus more on his music. His entry into playback singing was completely unexpected. While in college he had auditioned for the renowned composer G. V. Prakash Kumar, and after two years he got a call for a recording. It was the song "Inkaa Etho" for the movie Darling which released in 2010. This song got him the Best Upcoming Singer award from Radio Mirchi in the same year. In 2010, Santhosh accompanied his mentor and guru Shri Kudamaloor Janardhanan for a fusion ensemble at the Kovalam Literature Festival, where he was the sole singer in the group.
In 2012, he sang with the Austrian rock band Ashram Oriental Rock, a 7-member Indo-Austrian band. He accompanied them on their European tour in 2011.[7] They travelled across Europe in a unique initiative to perform within prisons.
In 2014, Santhosh became the part of the band Masala Coffee. He was their front man and he also produced music for the band. They performed in innumerable venues, both nationally and internationally. He along with Masala Coffee scored music for two films – Uriyadi, and Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal. In 2019, Santhosh left the band and started on his solo career.
In 2016, he was awarded the Kerala State Film Award for Best Playback Singer for the song "Thaniye", composed by Vishnu Vijay for the film Guppy.[8]
Santhosh's first international project was with Sri Ganesh B Kumar and the European Chamber Choir. He performed the Shanmukha Kavacham in Germany along with the Choir and worked closely with Mr Nicol Matt, the popular new age German composer. He is the first male Indian singer to perform with the Chamber Choir of Europe. It is the world's first Choral composition from India, that's now a part of the Western Classical Choral repertoire.[9]
Independent Music
In 2019, Santhosh started work on his solo independent EP, The Gypsy Sun, which had five songs in it. It's a multi-lingual album with tracks in Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil. The songs were released in 2020-2022. He collaborated with musicians from across genres for this, like the hiphop artist Insanoid, music producer Varkey, and the renowned singer Sayanora.[10]
Over the years, he has collaborated with several independent artists across geographies and genres.
Meanwhile, he has been producing his own songs, one of which was the thought-provoking single titled "Aalayal Thara Veno". This song questioned many regressive and backward-looking ideas that were existing unchallenged and unchanged in a popular folk song. His song was welcome by the youth and accepted wholeheartedly. However, he had to face a lot of backlash from certain sections of society who found it difficult to accept the need to question existing beliefs even if they were problematic. It was a very challenging period for the artist, since a lot of online attacks were vicious and turned very personal.
Sooraj Santhosh Live
In 2016, Santhosh formed his own five-piece band called Sooraj Santhosh Live. He performs across national and international venues with his band, where he primarily presents his own compositions, along with the songs he has sung playback in films. Sooraj also showcases the musical pieces and compositions of artists and composers whose works resonate with him. The core idea behind Sooraj Santhosh Live is to communicate with an audience and perform what Sooraj as an artist would like to convey.
Theatre
Santhosh's initial foray into the world of theatre was as an actor when he attended a workshop with Janabheri. They are a theatre group based in Shoranur, who have made a mark in the contemporary theatre scene through their unique theatre productions. Later in 2022, he composed and produced music for Thaaram (The Dismissed Shadow), a Janabheri Production that explored new possibilities in interpreting the current socio-political realities.
Thaaram (The Dismissed Shadow) was performed across venues in Kerala, including the Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Academy Theatre Festival, and Rangaprabhath Theatre Festival.
In February 2023, Thaaram was one of the entries selected for the International Theatre Festival in Bodoland.[11]
Masala Coffee
Santhosh was the former lead vocalist of Masala Coffee, which made its debut on Kappa TV's Music Mojo. The band composed the soundtrack for the Tamil movie, Uriyadi, co-produced by Nalan Kumarasamy.[12][13] They composed the title track and featured in a promo video for the Malayalam movie, Hello Namasthe.[14] Masala Coffee performed at the RAAG 'N' ROCK Indie Music Festival at Al Nasr Leisureland, Dubai, on September 11, 2015,[15] releasing their first music video titled 'Aalayaal Tharam Venam',[16] in 2016. In November 2019, Masala Coffee announced that they were cordially parting ways with Santhosh, so the latter could pursue a promising solo music career. He made his independent band latter which came to know as Sooraj Santhosh Live[17]
His first song "Inka Etho" composed by G.V Prakash for the Telugu Darling won him the Mirchi Music Awards South conducted by Radio Mirchi for the Best Upcoming Singer in Telugu (2010). "A Special program on the Mirchi Music Awards hosted to felicitate all the singers and musicians of South India"[18] He made his debut in Malayalam with the song "Ee Ramayanakkootil" in the film Second Show was released in 2012, the music was composed by Nikhil Rajan starring Dulquar Salman.
Santhosh made his entry into the Tamil film industry by singing "Uyirin Suvaril" and "Vegam vegam" in the movie Sridhar (2012), which the music was composed by Rahul Raj. He got his break with a duet song "Yamma Yamma" in All in All Azhagu Raja (2013) with Shreya Ghoshal, music composed by S. Thaman. "Othakadai othakadai" and "Yaelley Yaelley" from the film Pandiya Naadu (2013)[19] composed by D. Imman are other Tamil songs. His recent song ′Madai Thirandhathu′ was for music director M M Sreelekha in the film Kaadhal Solla Aasai.
He has been nominated in the category of Best Upcoming Vocalist (Male) in Malayalam (2013) by Music Mirchi Awards, for his rendition of the song 'Iniyum Nin Mounam' for the movie KQ.[20]
Santhosh is working on his debut solo album, which is a multilingual album consists of 6 songs, Recently he released one among them. "Thani Malayalam" which has wooed the audience with its unique theme and offbeat composition. The song's genesis is rooted in Santhosh's love for language. The Music Video features eminent personalities from Malayalam literature, culture, art and cinema like M T Vasudevan Nair, Sara Joseph, Benyamin, Nedumudi Venu, Peeshapilly Rajeevan, Artist Bhattathiri, Methil Devika, Peruvanam Kuttan Marar, Ramachandra Pulavar.[22][23]
Alphons Joseph is an Indian music director and playback singer who works in Malayalam film industry. He debuted with 2003 movie Vellithira. Alphons is also noted for singing "Aaromale" from the film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, which was composed by A. R. Rahman.
Vijay Yesudas is an Indian playback singer and actor. He has sung over 1000 film songs. Vijay works predominantly in the South Indian film industry, mostly in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi. He is the son of acclaimed singer K. J. Yesudas.
Suchitra Ramadurai, known by the mononymSuchitra, is an Indian radio jockey, popular playback singer, songwriter, composer, voice artist, dubbing artist and film actress. She has sung in multiple languages including Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu.
Gopi Sundar C.S. is an Indian music director, programmer, playback singer, songwriter, actor and performer who works in the Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil film industries.
Sriram Parthasarathy is a Carnatic vocalist and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam films.
Sithara Krishnakumar is an Indian playback singer, composer, lyricist, classical dancer and an occasional actor. She predominantly works in Malayalam cinema in addition to Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. Sithara is a well known singer who is trained in Hindustani and Carnatic classical music traditions and is also a recognised ghazal singer. She is the recipient of several awards which includes three Kerala State Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer.
Vaikom Vijayalakshmi is an Indian playback singer from Kerala, India. She is an expert in a rare musical instrument called Gayatriveena. She won special jury mention for her much appreciated work in the 2013 film Celluloid. She was born at Vaikom on 7 October 1981 and later on moved to Chennai. In 2022, she was honoured with Kerala Sree Award, third highest civilian award given by the Government of Kerala.
Ishaan Dev is an Indian music composer, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music programmer and stage performer in several South Indian languages. Hailing from Thiruvallam, Trivandrum, Kerala, India, Ishaan Dev worked in several South Indian languages. He won the Best Male Playback Singer Award at Mirchi Music Awards South for the Kannada Movie Shyloo in 2011. He had composed and recorded songs for several South Indian movies and established himself an identity as a musician in the industry. He is the composer and singer of the famous song, during the 2018 flooding in Kerala ‘Karalurappulla Keralam’ which gained special attention all across the nation.
Sayyed Hesham Abdul Wahab is an Indian music director, Music Producer, singer and audio engineer. Best known for his compositions for the soundtrack of the 2022 Malayalam film Hridayam and the music album Qadham Badha produced by British singer-songwriter Sami Yusuf. Wahab is the recipient of 2021 Kerala State Film Award for Best Music Director for the soundtrack of the film Hridayam.
Yazin Nizar, also credited as Yasin, is a playback singer working predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi-language films, with over 800 film songs with several multilingual chart busters. He is the singer of Oscar Award-winning Naatuin Tamil and Malayalam.
Masala Coffee is an Indian music band founded in 2014. The band performs across various genres - Indian folk, blues, pop and rock. Although they primarily compose original music and covers in Malayalam, the band also performs in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Punjabi and English. Masala Coffee has also made a name for itself through the music they've composed and performed for movies including Solo, Uriyadi, Mundina Nildana and Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal.
Manu Manjith is an Indian lyricist and poet in Malayalam language. He is also doctor in Homeopathy Psychiatry. He began his film career with the Malayalam film Ohm Shanthi Oshaana in 2014. Since then, he has brought out many chart-toppers including "Neelambalin" from Oru Vadakkan Selfi to "Thiruvavaniraavu" from Jacobinte Swargarajyam. He is a frequent collaborator of Shaan Rahman since 2014. Presently he is working as a psychiatric consultant in Sarada Krishna Homoeopathic Medical College, Kulasekharam. He is popularly known as Doctor Lyricist.
Santhosh Venky is an Indian playback singer known for his work in Kannada cinema. He has performed for many Kannada film songs. Starting his singing career from the film Krishnan Marriage Story in 2011, Santhosh Venky recorded for many film songs and won Karnataka State Film Awards and Filmfare Awards South for his singing.
Sanjith Hegde is an Indian playback singer. Hegde has sung songs in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. His rendition of "Gunu Gunuguva" from the film Dalapathi composed by Charan Raj topped the music charts for a year. Sanjith won the Mirchi Music Awards South Best Upcoming Male Vocalist for the song "Kush Kush" from the film Chamak.
Febin Joseph better known by his stage name Fejo, is an Indian rapper, singer and songwriter from Kerala who started his solo career professionally in 2009. Rapping in Malayalam, Fejo has worked with music composers including Raftaar, Sushin Shyam, Jakes Bejoy, Rahul Raj, Girish Nakod. He is considered one of the pioneers of Malayalam Rap, noted for his socio political themes & commercially performing tracks.
Madhuvanthi Narayan is an Indian singer, composer and Hindustani Classical Vocalist. She predominantly works in Malayalam cinema & Tamil. She made her debut in playback singing with the songs "Thira Thira" and "Thaniye Mizhikal" from the Malayalam movie Guppy in 2015. She is known for the song "Aaradhike" from the Malayalam movie Ambili, "Appalale" from Nayattu, "Chiramabhayamee" from Aarkkariyaam, and recently "Aadharanjali" from Romancham.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
