Regardless of its merits as a movie, every Telugu film possesses within it an intrinsic entertainer with which it has the ability to mesmerize an audience-its soundtrack. However, as director K.Viswanath so aptly and timelessly asserted through Shankar Shastri, "Ee naadu sangeethamlo aneka koothalu chotu chesukunnayi." Our misfortune lies in the fact that this statement now applies to Telugu cinemusic as it did (or does) to Western music. As celebrated lyricists like Sirivennela and Veturi tend to and reap the sweet fruits of lyrics from the prolific soil of Telugu, today's Telugu music directors espouse a different agenda: "forget Telugu, where's the Justin Timberlake wannabe?", as being Telugu is increasingly defined by trying not to be so.

So numerous are songs that, even with soulful lyrics and elegant or charming tunes, are murdered in their rendering by playback singers-it's absurd! The song 'Andamaina Bhamalu' in Manmadhudu is a perfect example, as Devi Sri Prasad very nearly describes andamaina 'baammalu' (grandmothers) instead of his intended 'bhaamalu', or pretty girls. And what about the catchy 'Radhe Govinda' from Indra or the beautiful 'Cheppave Chirugali' from Okkadu, both of which unfortunately fail to fulfill their musical purposes thanks to Udit Narayan's total lack of Telugu nativity in his voice and his mispronunciation? Then there is Ramana Gogula who might as well not sing in Telugu because it doesn't sound like it anyway! And, again from Okkadu, the song 'Hare Rama,' which sounds like a prayer in an American ISKCON temple-ISKCON temples are run by Anglo-Americans. The annoying nuances in the Telugu accents of the male singers in the otherwise alluring 'Vunna Maata Cheppalevu', or in the otherwise captivating 'Naa Choope Ninu Vethikinadi', and in the otherwise poignant 'Okkasari Cheppaleva' in Nuvvu Naaku Nachav are worthy of mention here as well: laudable songs, deplorable singers. Further, it wouldn't hurt if some of these people begin to sound like they are at least eighteen years old before rendering playback for a forty-year-old hero. All the songs mentioned above are not flawed in tune, rhythm, or lyrics, supposedly the most important elements of a song, but in the way they are sung, an element equally important, and obviously ignored today.

Telugu is a language in which nuances in votthulu, deerghaalu, and enunciation cannot be compromised-it's a language in which the difference between 'sudda' (chalk) and 'sudha' (amrutham) is but one part of one letter. Respecting and using this amazing quality in Telugu to their advantage, Telugu lyricists have thus far churned out timeless aanimutyalu. It is shameful to see that the Telugu cinemusic bureaucracy has now become the authority on how Telugu words are pronounced (as everyone knows the social impact of movies), and that we now have to appreciate soulful Telugu lyrics that innately lack 'Teluguthanam' in their accents and mannerisms. Many Telugu NRI kids who don't know Telugu but try to speak it do so with an aggravating thick accent: little do they know there are native Telugu speakers trying to emulate them in India! Have we ensconced in the neglecting of Telugu musical talent (for I disagree that there is a lack thereof) or have we merely embraced a more grotesque taste for cacophonous music, welcoming the transformation from 'gandu koyilalu' to 'banda koyilalu'?-perhaps Shankar Shastri is still right.

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