Hyderabad: Singer Sooraj Santhosh, who is awaiting the release of the Malayalam web series Sambhava Parvaya Naalara Sangham on SonyLiv for which he served as the music director, hails from Paravoor, Kollam in Kerala. He has written over 300 songs in eight languages including Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu. However, the journey was far from easy.
The Malayali singer opens up about the opportunities he got, how he rose to prominence, and his future aspirations in a candid chat with ETV Bharat. Talking about his humble beginnings, the singer confesses he owes much to the Telugu film industry. Though he got his first break in a Malayalam film, it was a Telugu song in 2010 that propelled his career.
Before venturing into films, Santhosh was a part of a band named Masala Coffee, because of which he was already a known figure in the music circles of Kerala. His playback journey started with the Malayalam film Second Show (2012) starring Dulquer Salmaan. Though it marked his entry into the world of playback singing, it was with the Telugu film industry that Sooraj tasted success.
His debut song in Telugu was for the film Villagelo Vinayakudu, which was released in 2008. For the song, Sooraj collaborated with the music director Manikanth Kadri. Though it opened the doors for him in the Telugu industry, it was the song Inka Eto from the film Darling (2010), which starred Prabhas in the lead that paved his way to success.
The song became a milestone in his career, giving way to more opportunities in the Telugu industry. Banking on the newfound success, Santosh did not stop there and sang for some of the biggest names of Tollywood including Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun, Vijay Deverakonda, and Ravi Teja. Songs like Oh Sayonara from Ninakkadain (2014) and Bhel Puri from Aagadu (2014) became instant hits, further cementing his position in the industry.
Moving forward, Sooraj found opportunities in Tamil and Malayalam industries as well. Some of his biggest hits were with Malayalam films Guppy (2016), Kumbalangi Nights (2019), Ambili (2019), and Solo (2017). Chartbusters from these films include Aaradhike from Ambili and Uyiril Thodum from Kumbalangi Nights, which became an overnight sensation.
Coming back to where it all started from, his band Masala Coffee. He voiced some of the most iconic Malayalam songs while he was a part of it. Songs like Kantha Njanum Varam and Aalayal Thaara Venu created waves not just in Kerala but in the whole of South India. However, due to creative differences and technical issues, he left the band and now focuses on solo singing and film projects.
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