Lyricist Ramajogaiah Sastry charts his journey with songs

Telugu lyricist Ramajogaiah Sastry connects with audiences through catchy, relatable songs in various film genres. His latest work ‘Mallepoola Taxi’ from ‘Dhoom Dhaam’ movie marks his return to the spotlight

Lyricist Ramajogaiah Sastry is having a dream run. His songs — classy or massy — connect instantly with Telugu film lovers especially the youth. Whether it is the soulful ‘Sadasiva sanyasi’from Khaleja, the playful ‘Kurchi madathapetti’ in Guntur Kaaram, ‘Mallepoola taxi’, a celebratory wedding vibe chartbuster from the upcoming movie Dhoom Dhaam, or the electrifying ‘Bhairava’ track from the recent release Kalki 2898 AD, the 53-year-old has a unique way with words. His lyrics, drawn from everyday life, are easy-going and catchy, captivating audiences, and turning his songs into chartbusters. As he completes 20 years as a lyricist in September, Ramajogaiah had made a significant mark in the Telugu film industry.

“Mana jeevitham chinna chinna vishayalo mudi padi untundi. Manamu daani appreciate cheyadam lo fail avtaamu kaani, chinna chinna vishayale goppa sutraalu (It is the simple things that matter most in our lives but we fail to appreciate them.)Chedapaku ra chededavu (don’t spoil or you’ll get spoilt), Parula sommu paamu vantidi (It’s dangerous to eye others’ property), Kashte phale (hard work will reward)… are beautiful, little phrases in Telugu but great principles,” he says

Born in Muppala village of Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh, Ramajogaiah was a movie buff and harboured a love for singing. The only child of his parents, he did a B Tech in mechanical engineering and a master’s in metallurgical engineering at IIT. Though he wanted to work at a steel factory in Chennai to work and also fulfil his dream to be ‘another SP Balasubrahmanyam’, he ended up working in Bengaluru in 1995. There, he developed connections with writers and auditioned to be a singer. “I was told I cannot become a singer because I have no formal training in music, but was advised to hone my writing,” he recalls.

His career as a lyricist began with devotional songs for nearly 40 cassettes, he moved on to writing Telugu lyrics for Hindi tracks and a project (which did not materialise) for actor Ravichandran. “Though I was in Bengaluru, I was happy to write in Telugu, my mother tongue,” he says.

He enjoyed the dual role of being an engineer by day and a lyricist after hours. Eventually, he quit his job and came to Hyderabad in 2001 to work in the Telugu film industry. Here, he became a disciple of the legendary lyricist (late) Sitarama Sastry and made his debut as lyricist for Yuvasena in 2004.

Ramajogaiah believes destiny set the path for him. “Destiny led me to different things and finally landed me here (writing lyrics),” he points out.

His mantra as lyricist is simple; he is not writing to show off his language skills, but ‘to communicate something a character feels.’ Two things drive his creative process, whether he can fulfil the responsibility given and follow a novel approach. Calling himself a ‘constructive team player’, he says, “I look for the uniqueness I can create within my sphere. My guru (Sitarama Sastry) could have written 100 songs on motivation, but I strive to see how distinctly I can write the 101st song.”