“The Listeners Will Enjoy It”: Music Director Koti at the release of the Hello Baby song

Indian composer and vocalist Salur Koteshwara Rao, better known by his stage name Koti, is mostly employed in Telugu cinema. More than 475 movies have had his soundtrack. The early 1980s saw him collaborate with Raj, TV Raju’s son, and the two became known as Raj-Koti. He was the son of seasoned composer S Rajeswara Rao. Together, the pair wrote the soundtracks for about 180 motion pictures between their 1983 premiere and 1994 breakup.

SKML Motion Pictures is the producer of the new movie Hello Baby. This film, which is helmed by Ramgopal Ratnam, would be Hawking’s first feature film in India. This movie has been in production for a few days, and it is now getting ready for distribution. Renowned music director Koti just published a song from this movie. Sadiq Imran wrote and performed the lead song, Hello Baby. Music director Koti made a statement on the occasion, saying, “A film like this is sure to be loved by the audience.” The tale startled me when I heard it. Best wishes for success to the crew and producer Kanderegula Adinarayana for their diligent effort.

Koti wrote the soundtracks and background scores for over 350 movies after they split up. For the 1994 film Hello Brother, he was the recipient of the Nandi Award for Best Music Director. He began his musical career working as K. Chakravarthy’s assistant. In their early careers, composers such as AR Rahman, Mani Sharma, Harris Jayaraj, and S Thaman collaborated with Koti as a keyboardist. Koti’s son Roshan Saluri is also featured as a composer of cinema music. Rajeev Saluri, another son, began his acting career.

Raj, the music director of the well-known combo Raj-Koti, died at the age of 68 at his Kukatpally home in Hyderabad last year. Raj became known as Raj-Koti after he composed the soundtrack for many Telugu movies. The group had many number-one hits prior to their breakup.

Music director Koti was stunned to learn this information and thereafter broke down in tears. Koti said, “I am not able to process the news of my Raj’s passing.” The late music director didn’t disclose to him his health issues when they first met at a recent event. Koti said, “It was very sad to learn about his death this morning.”