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Charan Raj
Background information
Born	(1985-01-27) January 27, 1985 (age 39) Kodagu, Karnataka, India
Occupations	Singer music director arranger
Instrument	Piano
Years active	2014–present

Charan Raj is an Indian composer and singer known for his work in Kannada cinema. For his work in Jeerjimbe (2016), he was awarded the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Music Director.

Early life

Charan Raj attended Sri Ramakrishna Vidya Shala, a residential school in Mysore. He was part of the music group there. Raj is trained in classical Carnatic music with Perumbavoor G. Raveendranath and in Western Classical music with Neecia Majolly. He also holds a grade eight certificate in piano from the London School of Music.

Career

Raj's first major success came when Winds of Samsara, an album of Ricky Kej and Wouter Kellerman won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album in 2015. The album also featured vocals by Raj. During the time, he also worked as an arranger for composers such as Prashant Pillai.

Raj's first work in Kannada films came in Harivu in 2014. He received acclaim for his work in Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu. He scored for Pushpaka Vimana. For his work in Jeerjimbe (2016), he was awarded the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Music Director.

Raj received praise for his music in the 2018 film Tagaru. The soundtrack included tracks with blend of "electronic score" and "traditional sounds". It was composed with each track based on a different "human emotion" "such as love, anger and fear" rather than situation-based nature of tracks. In its review of the film, the New Indian Express wrote, "Charan Raj's music raises the tempo of the narrative with good songs, and lets it flow seamlessly with the right background score."

In 2023, Raj joined forces with Sanjith Hegde and Prassanna Hegde for Coke Studio Bharat's first Kannada song "Geejaga Hakki" which draws inspiration from various retellings of Raja Harishchandra's story. The song became an instant hit among the audience.

Saptha Sagaradache Ello movie which was released as two part Romantic drama in 2023 fetched him more accolades with his varied music and heart stirring background score and songs. The Entire album was a hit among critics and Audience. The film marked his third combination with Hemanth Rao who has been his go to collaborator.

Discography

Awards

References

1. ^ "Karnataka State Film Awards 2016 on TOI". The Times of India. 11 April 2017. Archived from the original on 16 April 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
2. ^ Nathan, Archana (6 June 2016). "A confluence of the past and present". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
3. "'Winds of Samsara' by Bengaluru-based composer Ricky Kej wins Grammy". Deccan Herald. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
4. Sibal, Prachi (8 September 2016). "The reel changemakers". India Today. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
5. "Sruthi Hariharan is best actress; Kirik Party is entertaining film". Bangalore Mirror. timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
6. Suresh, Sunayana (18 January 2018). "Charan Raj creates an anthem for fear in Tagaru". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
7. Desai, Dhwani (17 February 2018). "Meet the man behind the hit Tagaru album". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
8. Sharadhaa, A. (24 February 2018). "Tagaru review: Shivrajkumar's gangsta flick fall into the 'classics' category, Suri style". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
9. "Coke Studio Bharat: Sanjith Hegde, Charan Raj & Co. win hearts with Kannada single Geejaga Hakki". OTTPlay. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
10. "Exclusive! Charan Raj about Sapta Sagaradaache Ello's music: I'm Hemanth's instrument; give a musical translation to his ideas". OTTPlay. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
11. A, Nishanth (16 November 2023). "A Charan Raj Musical: The Aural Poetry Of A Unique Kannada Musician". www.filmcompanion.in. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
12. Winners: 64th Jio Filmfare Awards 2017 (South)
13. "Nominations list for the SIIMA 2017 announced!". Sify.com. Archived from the original on 5 June 2017.
14. "SIIMA Awards 2018 - Telugu, Kannada nomination list out". International Business Times. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
15. "Nominations for the 66th Filmfare Awards (South) 2019". Filmfare. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
16. "SIIMA 2019 FULL nominations list out!". Times Now. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
17. "The 9th South Indian International Movie Awards Nominations for 2019". South Indian International Movie Awards. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
18. Hymavathi, Ravali (30 August 2021). "SIIMA Nominations: Here Is The Complete List Of Nominations For 2019 And 2020". www.thehansindia.com. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
19. "67th Parle Filmfare Awards South 2022 with Kamar Film Factory". Filmfare. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
20. "Nominations for the 69th Filmfare Awards (Kannada) 2024". Filmfare. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
21. "Full list of Winners of the 69th SOBHA Filmfare Awards South (Kannada) 2024". Filmfare. 3 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.

External links

• Charan Raj at IMDb

• Living people
• 21st-century classical composers
• Indian film score composers
• Indian male playback singers
• Film musicians from Karnataka
• Kannada film score composers
• Kannada playback singers
• Indian male film score composers
• 21st-century Indian male singers
• 21st-century Indian singers
• 1985 births