Gurukiran unplugged: Celebrating 20 years of his tryst as music composer in Sandalwood

It was a turntable that his father gave him back in school that set the tone for a lifetime’s love affair with music. “My father used it as bait to get me to stop crying at school. I was delighted when he brought it home. I think that’s where I can trace my love for music to. My parents also listened to a lot of radio and music would be wafting from their room most parts of the day,” shares Gurukiran, who celebrates 20 years in Sandalwood as music composer this year.This passion led the young Guru to set up a band during his college days, called the Quality Beats. “It was so much fun. I even began an annual music festival called the Gurukiran Night that would draw a full house every time,” he tells us. Obviously, then, he wanted to make a mark as a singer on a larger platform — films. “But every time I went to the studios in Mangaluru, my hometown, I received offers to act. So, I starred in many Tulu films at that time and my acting skills received much praise,” he says. He also rendered music for many Tulu projects, but the desire to establish himself as a singer did not diminish.
“In fact, it just kept getting stronger and that’s how I wound up in Bengaluru. I was looking at making it big in Sandalwood as a playback singer,” states Guru. But then again, it was his looks that received much attention and Guru found himself starring in films, this time in Kannada. “My first was Mauna Horata in the 90s, which was followed by a couple of projects, including one with Shivanna titled Gandugali, director Sunil Kumar Desai’s Nishkarsha and Chennappa Chenne Gowda, among others,” he says.
Guru then went to filmmaker TS Nagabharana, hoping for an opportunity to compose music for his projects and again ended up playing a pivotal role in Tirugu Baana, a superhit serial. “Wherever I went, people only wanted me to act. But I didn’t want to lose focus on my main agenda — music,” says Guru. He then began assisting acclaimed music director V Manohar and was hailed for the magic he spun on the keyboard. “Word was out that Upendra was looking for someone to compose music for his film, A, as the music director originally pencilled in for it was no more part of the project. Uppi and I were thick friends by then and he called me to step in as the composer,” recalls Guru.
The movie went to become a runaway hit and Guru was a sensation. “It released in January 1998 and by February, I was a star. But strangely, for a year after that film, I did nothing much in terms of music, perhaps because I got extremely picky. Then, in 1999, I scored music for the film Upendra, which also became a big hit. Then hits like Chitra followed, as did Appu, Abhi, Dhum, Chandu, Tuntaata, Nandi, Kutumba, Kanti, Omkara, Jogi, Apthamitra, Kariya, Ningaagi, Kushi, Rishi, Mylari, Rama Shama Bhama, Aptharakshaka, Aramane, Govindaya Namaha, Uppi2 and Nagarahaavu. “For eight years I worked back-to-back on films, including in other languages and hardly slept over four hours in a day,” he tells us. “I also take pride in the fact that I gave hits with newcomers, including Puneeth Rajkumar, Rakshitha, Ramya, Radhika, whose debut films I worked on,” says Guru.
However, the scene has changed today. Guru says that today’s generation has it a lot easier. “The music reality shows today are a step in this direction. But more than finding talent, we should remember that it’s important to groom young talent. Let’s not take it for granted that they come with a know-it-all background,” states Guru.