Music composer Raj of Raj-Koti duo dies, Chiranjeevi and Sai Rajesh share heartfelt tributes

Popular Telugu composer Thotakura Somaraju aka Raj of the Raj-Koti duo died on Sunday due to a heart attack. He was 68. As per reports, he had a fall in the bathroom and suffered a cardiac arrest due to the shock. His sudden demise has left the Telugu industry in grief. The last rites of Raj will be performed on Monday. He’s survived by his wife and three daughters.

Reacting to the tragic demise of Raj, actor Chiranjeevi took to Twitter to share a heartfelt note in Telugu. The translation of his tweet read: “It came as a shock to know that ‘Raj’ is no more in popular music director duo Raj-Koti. Raj, who is very talented, has played a major role in the success of my films by giving many wonderful popular songs for my films in the early stages of my career. It brought me closer to the audience. Raj’s untimely demise is a great loss to the music world. My deepest condolences to all his fans and family members. (sic).”

The Raj-Koti duo had composed music for Chiranjeevi starrers such as Khaidi 786 and Mutta Mestri. Several other celebrities also took to Twitter to share their condolences.

Director Sai Rajesh wrote: “Music Director #Raj sir is No more. It’s really heart breaking. I love the Raj-Koti combination to the core. I put all my efforts to bring that combination back for #BabyMovie. Even Raj sir agreed for that…His last attended function was #Baby 2nd song launch …He even gave…(sic).”

Born to yesteryear composer TV Raju, Raj joined hands with composer Koti and the duo made their debut with 1982 Telugu film, Pralaya Garjana. Over a span of 13 years, the duo worked together in close to 300 films. Some of their best films include Yamudiki Mogudu (1988), Jayammu Nishchayammu Ra (1989), Khaidi No 786 (1988), Bava Bamaridi (1993), Muta Mestri (1993) and Hello Brother (1994) among others.

In 1995, the duo split up following creative differences. Raj went on to compose individually for a few films and the most popular among them was Nagarjuna starrer Sisindri (1995), which marked Akhil Akkineni’s first on-screen appearance as a baby.

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