Jul 04, 2026 11:59am IST
Devi Sri Prasad on Composing For ‘Sing Geetham’: ‘Singeetham Sir Narrated The Script To Me Over A Decade Ago’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Composing for a film where all the dialogues are sung and hence, require backing music is no mean feat. But Devi Sri Prasad, who started his career in film music at 19 and is receiving loud applause for his latest work in Singeetham Srinivasa Rao’s “Sing Geetham” proved to be more than equal to the task.
For over 25 years now, Devi Sri Prasad is a widely regarded music composer, singer and lyricist, whose oeuvre spans films in various genres and languages with stars like Allu Arjun (“Arya”, “Pushpa” and “Pushpa 2”), Prabhas (“Varsham”), Chiranjeevi (“Shankar Dada MBBS”), Pawan Kalyan (“Gabbar Singh” and “Ustaad Bhagat Singh”).
In an exclusive interview with Variety India, he swells with excitement over the recently released “Sing Geetham,” which he has composed the music for. He speaks about how he landed the project, why director Singeetham Srinivasa Rao’s faith in him means the world to him and even briefly touches on his upcoming acting debut with “Yellamma.”
You’re making your acting debut.
Yes, in “Yellamma.” It will have a mix of folk and classical music and I'm really excited about scoring the film. It’s also my acting debut. I'm looking forward to that.
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As a composer, would you say you have never faced a bigger challenge than scoring for ‘Sing Geetham’?
Challenges are what raise us from what we are to what we can be. From that perspective, “Sing Geetham” has definitely been one of the biggest challenges I have come across in the movie industry as a composer. For any film we usually make five to seven songs. Sometimes, 10… like I did in the first movie I scored for (Devi; 1999). But a film like “Sing Geetham” is a bigger challenge because all the film’s dialogues are sung. This has happened for the first time in the world.
What was it like working with legendary director Singeetham Srinivasa Rao for ‘Sing Geetham’?
I don't think we have ever watched any Indian or international director do the kind of experiments he has. He's 94 years old now and still has a child-like excitement about films. That’s the most inspiring thing about him. Anybody would feel that it is definitely a blessing to even be considered for working with him.
Composing music to back the entire film’s dialogue is no mean feat.
After I set the first scene to music and played it to Singeetham Sir and producer Nag Ashwin, everyone clapped. Singeetham Sir said he wondered how it would go, but that he also knew I could do it. Both of them agreed that now that the base was ready in their heads, they knew how to take the film forward. [The way I do it is] I imagine each and every dialogue in my head, the spaces between the dialogues and also the space for the closeups of the artists. During narrations, I would act out and show them how the music would play out. One day, Sir said, “Shoot a video of this and let’s show the actors what Devi has done.” He believed it would be really helpful for them. He was super thrilled about the way I came up with the music.
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What was your reaction when you first heard the concept?
Sir had narrated this script to me over a decade ago when he had approached me for another movie. I believed it would be my biggest opportunity to work on something this different. But the movie didn’t happen then and a couple of other times that it was supposed to. But they finally started filming last year and I was happy to start working on it. As a lover of musicals, my excitement was sky-high. While I wanted to give it my own touch, I wanted to make it as musical as possible; at the same time, as easy as possible, as playful as possible, so that even kids could sing along. And that's how I tried to convert each and every dialogue in this film into a tune.
Your reaction to finally getting the opportunity to compose for this film?
I've always been waiting to work for Singeetham Sir. I'm elated that it finally happened. He somehow always had great confidence and trust in me. During the launch of the film, when the host asked him, “Why did you choose DSP?” He said, “Who else can compose for this film other than DSP?” Those words coming out the mouth of the legend is equal to winning one of the biggest awards for me.
Your thoughts on film music in Telugu and Hindi cinema currently?
I think it's great. Everyone is doing a great job and is coming out with different stuff. There’s great music, visuals and choreography. But yeah, I'm not a great fan of remixes. I don't make remixes for movies on principle. I'm here to create original music. I would be really happy when there’s more original music and not remixes.
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