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Koduri Marakathamani Keeravaani, better known as M. M. Keeravani, is an Indian film music composer and playback singer, who works in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi cinema. He is also known by his aliases Marakathamani, Vedanarayana and M. M. Kreem. He has recorded a maximum number of songs with singers S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and K. S. Chithra.In 1997, he was awarded the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for the movie Annamayya. He has won six Filmfare Awards, eight state Nandi Awards and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award.
Keeravani was born into a Telugu family in Kovvur, Andhra Pradesh to Koduri Siva Shakti Dutta. He has a brother who is also a music director and singer, Kalyani Malik. He is the cousin of director S. S. Rajamouli and music director, singer M. M. Srilekha. He is the nephew of Telugu and Bollywood film screenwriter and director K. V. Vijayendra Prasad. His wife M.M.Srivalli works as a line producer in films.
Keeravani first began his career as an assistant music director with the noted composer K. Chakravarthy in 1987. He assisted in movies like Collectorgari Abbayi and Bharathamlo Arjunudu in the late 1980s. During this time, he also sought the guidance of the veteran lyricist Veturi for over a year.
Keeravani’s first big break as an independent musician came with the film Kalki in 1990, but the film never got released and the soundtrack also went unnoticed. It was director Mouli’s 1990 film Manasu Mamatha that brought him to the limelight and considered his first released movie.
However, it was Ram Gopal Varma’s blockbuster film Kshana Kshanam (1991) that made Keeravani an established music director. All the songs of this movie went on to become top chartbusters and Keeravani was flooded with offers from all across south Indian film industries. His first major Hindi film was Criminal.
He is known for his playback singing contributions to the Telugu film industry with compilations for hit films like Annamayya. He has composed music for Hindi films such as Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin (1996), Sur – The Melody of Life, Zakhm, Saaya, Jism, Criminal, Rog and Paheli. In Malayalam, he has scored for films like Neelagiri (1991), Soorya Manasam (1992) and Devaraagam (1996). He has composed for over 220 films in various Indian languages.
