Vennelakanti Rajeswara Prasad (30 November 1957 – 5 January 2021) was an Indian

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

and writer known for his work in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

cinema. He wrote over 2000 film songs, and was awarded

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

State

Nandi Award The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named after ...

for Best Lyricist in 2000.

Career

Vennelakanti was inclined towards Harikathas, and began writing from a young age. Initially, he worked as a banker and wrote his first film song for

Krishnam Raju Uppalapati Venkata Krishnam Raju (20 January 1940 – 11 September 2022) was an Indian actor and politician. He was known for his works in Telugu cinema and was widely known as "''Rebel Star''" for his rebellious acting style. He was also the ...

-starrer ''Sriramachandrudu.'' He was also known for his works as dubbing script writer and contributing lyrics for

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

films, dubbed into Telugu language.

Filmography

;Lyricist *1988: '' Murali Krishnudu'' *1991: ''

Aditya 369 ''Aditya 369'' is a 1991 Indian Telugu-language science fiction film written and directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao. The film stars Nandamuri Balakrishna and Mohini while Amrish Puri, Tinnu Anand, and Suthivelu play supporting roles. The music ...

'' *1993: One By Two *1994: Gharana Alludu *1994: Theerpu *1995:

Gharana Bullodu ''Gharana Bullodu'' () is a 1995 Telugu-language film directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and written by Vijayendra Prasad. It stars Nagarjuna, Ramya Krishna, Aamani playing the lead roles and music composed by M. M. Keeravani. The film was produ ...

*1995:

Criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

*1996: Shri Krishnarjuna Vijayam *1999:

Samarasimha Reddy ''Samarasimha Reddy'' is a 1999 Indian Telugu-language action drama film, produced by Chengala Venkat Rao under Satyanarayanamma Productions banner and directed by B. Gopal. It stars Nandamuri Balakrishna in the titular role alongside Anjala ...

*1999: Seenu *1999: '' Premãnurãgam'' (Dubbed Version of

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

film

Hum Saath-Saath Hain ''Hum Saath-Saath Hain'' () is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language family drama film written and directed by Sooraj Barjatya under the production and distribution of Rajshri Productions. The film stars Salman Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Tabu ...

) *2001:

Bhalevadivi Basu ''Bhalevadivi Basu'' is a 2001 Telugu-language action comedy film, produced by Sivalenka Krishna Prasad under the Sridevi Movies banner and directed by P. A. Arun Prasad. It stars Nandamuri Balakrishna, Anjala Zhaveri, Shilpa Shetty and the ...

*2001: Cheppalani Vundhi *2002:

Takkari Donga ''Takkari Donga'' () is a 2002 Indian Telugu-language revisionist western film produced, written, and directed by Jayant Paranjee. The film starred Mahesh Babu, Lisa Ray, Bipasha Basu, and Rahul Dev in pivotal roles. Shot entirely in the United ...

*2006:

Pellaina Kothalo ''Pellaina Kothalo'' () is a 2006 Indian Telugu-language romance film, produced and directed by Madan on Aa Naluguru Films banner. The film stars Jagapati Babu, Priyamani, and music composed by Agastya. Plot The film begins with two software ...

*2007: Bhayya (dubbed version of

film

Malaikottai ''Malaikottai'' () is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Boopathy Pandian. The film stars Vishal and Priyamani, while Devaraj, Ajay, Ashish Vidyarthi, and Urvashi play supporting roles. The music was composed by ...

) *2009:

Mitrudu ''Mitrudu'' () is a 2009 Indian Telugu-language drama film produced by Sivalenka Krishna Prasad under Vaishavi Cinema banner and directed by Mahadev. Starring Nandamuri Balakrishna, Priyamani and music composed by Mani Sharma. This film was la ...

*2010: Aawara(kaarthi) *2011:

Vastadu Naa Raju ''Vastadu Naa Raju'' (English: My King will Arrive) is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language action film directed by Hemant Madhukar. It stars Vishnu Manchu, who has also produced the film and Taapsee Pannu in the lead roles. While Gopal Reddy S has h ...

*2011: Raaj *2020: ''

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

'' ;Dialogue writer *'' Premãnurãgam'' (1999) (Dubbed Version of

film

) *

Panchathantiram ''Panchatanthiram'' () is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language comedy film directed by K. S. Ravikumar and written with Kamal Haasan, with the dialogues by Crazy Mohan. The film stars Kamal Haasan, Jayaram, Ramesh Aravind, Sriman, Yugi Sethu, Simran, ...

(2002) (dubbed version of Tamil film of same name) * Magic Magic 3D (2003) (dubbed version of Tamil film of same name) * Prema Chadhurangam (2004) (dubbed version of Tamil film Chellame) *

Monalisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...

(2004) (dubbed version of Kannada film of same name) *

Pothuraju Potu Raju () is a Hindu folk deity, regarded as a form of Vishnu by his adherents. He is considered to be a gramadevata in some rural regions of Maharashtra and South India, and sometimes considered to be the brother of a female folk deity, such ...

(2004) (dubbed version of Tamil film Virumaandi) *

Mumbai Xpress ''Mumbai Xpress'' is a 2005 Indian bilingual black comedy film directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao and produced by Kamal Haasan. It stars Kamal Haasan himself in the lead role alongside Manisha Koirala. The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, w ...

(2005) (dubbed version of Tamil film of same name) *

Dasavathaaram ''Dasavathaaram'' () is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language science fiction action film directed by K. S. Ravikumar. It stars Kamal Haasan, who also wrote the script, in ten distinct roles. Asin appears in two roles and Mallika Sherawat plays a subs ...

(2008) (dubbed version of Tamil film of same name) * Saroja (2008) (dubbed version of Tamil film of same name) * Manmadha Baanam (2010) (dubbed version of Tamil film Manmadhan Ambu) *

Prema Khaidi Prema Khaidi ( Love prisoner) is 1990 Indian Telugu-language romantic film directed by E. V. V. Satyanarayana starring Harish Kumar, Malashri, Sharada. It was the first hit film of E. V. V. Satyanarayana. The film was remade in Hindi as ''Pre ...

(2011) (dubbed version of Tamil film Mynaa)

Personal life and death

His elder son Shashank Vennelakanti works as dialogue writer for dubbed films. His younger son,

Rakendu Mouli Rakendu Mouli Vennelakanti is an Indian lyricist, actor, singer, and dialogue writer who works in Telugu films. He is the son of Telugu lyricist Vennelakanti. Career Mouli made his debut as an actor with '' Moodu Mukkallo Cheppalante'' (2015) ...

, also started his career as a lyricist and singer for several dubbing films. His first 'direct' film was ''

Andala Rakshasi ''Andala Rakshasi'' () is a 2012 Indian Telugu-language romance film written and directed by Hanu Raghavapudi. It is produced by Sai Korrapati and S. S. Rajamouli under Vaaraahi Chalana Chitram banner. The film marks the debut of actors Naveen ...

'', in which he wrote two songs and rendered his voice for one. He made his debut as a lead actor with '' Moodu Mukkallo Cheppalante''. He died on 5 January 2021, in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

after suffering from

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

References

External links

*
Entry at movies.dosthana.com
{{Authority control 1957 births 2021 deaths Telugu-language lyricists Indian lyricists Nandi Award winners