Singer Mano to launch singing mentorship programme in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu

Singing, acting, and beyond: Mano’s four-decade film sojourn

Singer Mano is set to launch a mentorship programme soon in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu for people interested in singing. The programme will be aimed at those who may have talent but lack proper training or want to pursue singing as a profession. Mano says he wants to give them an opportunity to learn and sing with him.

The initiative adds another dimension to a career that has included singing, dubbing, music composing, and hosting chat shows and singing contest shows. It also reflects the path Mano took after beginning with an interest in acting and eventually finding his strongest connection in music.

A childhood shaped by theatre and music

“Singing is not just a passion, it is like the air I breathe,” Mano says while reflecting on his journey spanning four decades in the music industry. But singing was not his first ambition.

Mano, who was named Nagoor Babu, grew up in Vijayawada watching his mother, Shaheeda, a theatre artiste, and his father, a harmonium player, recite dialogues and practise their scenes at home. Acting, reciting poetry and singing therefore became familiar to him from an early age.

He began performing in plays when he was seven. The stage gave him an early space to act, recite and sing, while his parents’ work kept theatre and music close to everyday life.

His first connection with films came in 1979, when his mother was offered a character artiste role in Dasari Narayana Rao’s film ‘Needa’. Mano was offered a child artiste role in the same film, and the opportunity deepened his interest in acting.

After ‘Needa’, he appeared as a child artiste in films including ‘Rangoon Rowdy’, ‘Ketugaadu’ and ‘Jathara’. At that stage, acting remained the direction he appeared to be following.

An unexpected opportunity in a studio

A change came in 1979, while Mano was playing the heroine’s brother in the film ‘O Aadadi O Magadu’. Singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam had been brought in to sing a song but could not arrive at the studio on time.

That absence created a new opportunity for Mano, who was asked to sing. Music director M.S. Viswanathan heard him and was impressed by his skills.

Viswanathan told him that he could do well in the music industry if he overcame his initial inhibitions. “Those words are etched in my memory,” Mano says.

The advice stayed with him as he left Vijayawada at the age of 14 to begin a new chapter in Madras. Although he had been interested in acting, Mano says he realised early that he did not belong there.

“Despite my interest, I realised early that I did not belong here [acting],” he says. His next phase involved working as an assistant to Viswanathan and later working for K. Chakravarthy, with whom most of the Telugu industry actors worked.

The long wait to become a singer

A film-singing opportunity did not come immediately. Mano eventually got his first opportunity to sing for the Tamil film ‘Velaikkaran’.

Before that, he had worked as what he calls a “dummy singer”. He says he had sung nearly 1,500 songs in recordings, gaining experience but becoming increasingly frustrated because he was not receiving actual singing opportunities.

“Until then, I used to be a dummy singer. I had sung nearly 1,500 songs in recordings. While the experience was enriching, frustration had set in since I did not get actual singing opportunities,” Mano says.

The period nevertheless gave him exposure to recording and helped build his experience. It was music composer Ilaiyaraaja who gave him the name Mano and helped him achieve success.

‘Velaikkaran’ was released in 1987. From that film to date, Mano has lent his voice to more than 27,000 film songs, most of them in Tamil and Telugu.

His work has taken him across music styles and generations of composers, from K.V. Mahadevan and S. Rajeswara Rao to Anirudh Ravichander. His recorded work includes melodies such as ‘Priya Priyatama Ragalu’ and peppy numbers such as ‘Muqabla’.

He was also the first singer to sing for A.R. Rahman, for the film ‘Roja’. The scale of his work after ‘Velaikkaran’ marked a decisive shift from the years when he had been waiting for an opportunity to sing.

From playback singing to dubbing

Mano’s work did not remain limited to singing. He became well-known as the Telugu voice of Rajinikanth in films.

Mano says Siva Kumar, who had dubbed for Rajinikanth until the film Basha, had begun acting in Kannada movies. Rajinikanth was then looking for another dubbing artiste, and found Mano.

Starting with Muthu, Mano has dubbed for all of Rajinikanth’s movies except one. He has also lent his voice to Rajinikanth’s recent film Coolie and its upcoming sequel.

Alongside singing and dubbing, he has also tried music composing and hosted chat shows and singing contest shows. His forthcoming mentorship programme in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu now brings those experiences towards helping aspiring singers.

For young people considering the profession, Mano offers a single-word answer: “Perseverance.” He says he did not allow himself to become upset over the acting opportunity he lost. Instead, he kept an open mindset, which guided him towards his true passion.

Source: The Hindu