Rahul Raj heads to Tollywood

Composer Rahul Raj, who has many a hit to boast of in M-Town, is making his Telugu debut with the Siddharth-Shruthi Hassan starrer ���������Oh My Friend���������
Talk of music crossing barriers and composer Rahul Raj will tell you his tryst with Tollywood. The Malayali music composer, who stormed into the Mollywood music scene with the refreshing numbers of ���������Chotta Mumbai,��������� has spread wings and is all set to enter Tollywood with the Siddharth-Shruthi Hassan starrer ���������Oh My Friend.���������
���������Call it sheer luck that director Venu Sriram zeroed in on me!��������� says an excited Rahul.���������He and producer Dil Raju were on the lookout for a new composer when they bumped into a track I composed for Shyamaprasad���������s ���������Ritu.��������� And here I am, joining hands with them to bring out one of the most awaited films of the time.��������� The film is due for release in November. ���������I���������ve always wanted to branch out. And making an entry into new turf with such an industrious team is an honour in itself.���������
The network specialist quit his London job to return to his hometown, Kochi, and make a career in music. ���������I pursued my first love, music, in London, too, where I studied electronic music production and jazz piano besides handling an IT job. But had I decided to continue my job there, I would have ended up as a pot-bellied fellow entertaining folks with a song or two every annual day,��������� he chortles.
But before the big break happened, Rahul went through testing times for almost five years. ���������Director Anwar Rasheed was impressed, too, and that paved my entry into films with ���������Chotta Mumbai.���������
A bouquet of hits and sleeper hits - Time, Malabar Wedding, Annan Thambi, Oneway Ticket, Maya Bazar and Crazy Gopalan - followed before the next turning point, ���������Ritu,��������� came by. ���������That was when I took a break from the so-called stylish music,��������� he says. Needless to say, the songs went on to be hits and even earned him a state award.
Rahul has been working on the music of his Telugu project for a long time now and is keeping his fingers crossed for the big leap to take him places. ���������Look out for the audio release in October,��������� he says. Attention, fans!