‘Pushpa’ composer Devi Sri Prasad keeps it simple: ‘Even a dance song needs a catchy tune’

Pushpa wasn’t the only one rising.

Sukumar’s Telugu-language Pushpa: The Rise has been a success in its Hindi version. Which means a wider audience for hit-maker Devi Sri Prasad.

Prasad’s catchy melodies, dance numbers and crisp production have adorned a series of Telugu blockbusters. When the movies are dubbed in Hindi, his songs are among the highlights, such as Rinka Ringa (Arya 2), reworked as Dhinka Chika for Salman Khan’s Ready and Aa Ante Amalapuram (Arya), featured in the Hindi-language Maximum (2012).

Gudilo Badilo from DJ: Duvvada Jagannadham clicked with a national audience after the Hindi version reportedly clocked 10 crore views in record time on YouTube. All three songs feature Allu Arjun, making Prasad a key contributor to the Telugu star’s popularity.

Arjun, who plays a smuggler in Pushpa: The Rise, once again has Prasad’s pulsating tunes for company. If the feral Daakko Daakko Meka has Pushpa explaining his dog-eat-dog philosophy, he turns Romeo with the sweet Srivalli, sung by Sid Sriram.

Devi Sri Prasad’s mastery of the soundscape of the Telugu star vehicle has similarly worked for Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan, NTR Jr, Nagarjuna and Prabhas. The 42-year-old composer’s success has also benefitted Tamil actors such as Kamal Haasan, Vijay, Suriya, Vikram, Karthi and Dhanush. Prasad’s influence extends to Bollywood: after Ready, Salman Khan rehashed…

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