Singer Ritesh G Rao, male vocalist for popular singer Neha Kakkar’s band, takes us through his inspiring journey and recalls his association with Oscar winner, MM Keeravaani in this exclusive chat with The Pioneer.
Amartya Smaran
Vikrammmm!!!!! echoes Kamal Haasan in rage in Vikram(2022) and then goes on a killing spree. That’s the exact moment when singer Ritesh G Rao’s Ek Sher Ho Tum plays in the Hindi version. The young singer witnessed this spectacular moment when he was at a local theater in Hyderabad and he thought, “Good lord! I made it.”
The singer has the following songs to his name: Dekho Dekho from Godfather(Hindi Version), Chellemma(#BRO), Bullet La(Sammathame), and more recently, Main Toh Chali from Kabzaa(Hindi Version). Bullet La is one song that the singer is super proud of. “I spent two years on the song,” says the singer, speaking of his first ever hit song. “I’d like to thank music composer Shekar Chandra sir for trusting me. People really loved this song a lot. You can call that my first ever hit.”
Singer Ritesh G Rao first appeared on Junior Star Super Singer which was telecasted on NDTV Imagine. He was in his sixth standard back then and the winner would get the chance to be a part of an album that would feature A.R. Rahman and Katrina Kaif. Ritesh emerged as the winner of the show. “You can call that my first achievement!”
The young Ritesh was taking a stroll with his family at Ramoji Film City. There he spotted a bunch of singers taking part in a karaoke. Ritesh’s mother was really excited and encouraged him to sing on stage. “That was the first time I held a mic and sang a song. I still have the photo. That’s when we knew that maybe I could do something in this field.
We started searching for a guru. Later I joined Hindustani music and after that I had to prepare for Junior Star Super Singer. I won the show and I got the chance to sing for A.R. Rahman sir and his students(KM College of Music and Technology).”
How did he land an opportunity to sing for the Hindi version of Vikram? “I was asked to sing a track version (Hindi and Telugu) for him . So he could use it as a reference, listen to it, learn from it and sing. I was like, “Kamal Sir is listening to my Voice? That’s a big deal!” I worked on the film for one month. I sang the track versions for all the songs in Telugu. In the process, they liked one of the EDM versions that came out. They wanted me to be the voice of that song. That was like a turning point and to sing for the biggest actor in India was amazing. Srikrishna Anna has always been there to support me in my career. He’s the reason for Vikram and Godfather to happen in my life.”
In 2011 the soloist took part in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs and turned out to be the runner-up. The school(St. Patrick’s High School) that he was studying at felicitated him and that made him a star. “The whole school started asking for my autographs and many things happened. In my 10th standard I left Indian Idol Junior and I was still in the top 20.”
He says that’s because he had to manage both his singing aspirations and academics. The Dekho Dekho singer was disappointed that he missed out on a good opportunity. He was determined to do something noteworthy this time. “That’s when Super Singer happened on Maa TV. Also the judges were none other than the Oscar winner now, M.M.Keeravaani Sir and Chithra ma’am. I was like, “Come what may, I want to get into this.”
I was just learning Telugu back then and the first Telugu song that I heard was Chilipiga Choosthavala from Orange(2010). I don’t know why, but the song was just stuck in my mind. I didn’t even know the meaning behind the lyrics. I approached Sarath Santosh, who’s with Ilaiyaraaja Sir’s band. He and Ramachary sir (Little Musicians Academy) helped me out with the language. Ramachary Sir is my Guru and if I’m able to sing like this, it’s because of him. I’m indebted to him. Back to Super Singers, I was the youngest on the show. I was 17 and made it to the finals.”
His stint at Maa TV’s Super Singer 8 landed him an opportunity to be a part of re-recording sessions of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion. “From here, things panned out differently. I got a call from the KGF team(Hombale Productions). They were like, “Can you come to Bangalore for recording? It wasn’t as popular as it is now but looking at the people who were associated with the project, I knew something was different.”
Speaking of his association with the Oscar winner, M.M.Keeravaani, he shares, “He was very strict when it came to music and wanted me to grow as a singer. There was this episode where sir selected his favourite songs and asked us to sing. I was supposed to sing Shakti Nivvu from Baba(2002). For some reason I stopped singing in between.
Sir called me and asked me what’s wrong. I said, “I don’t know what’s happening.The tempo and everything seems off.” He said, “ Ritesh! This is the best part about you.You didn’t try to make do with the song. You stopped the song and made your point. I like this a lot about you.” In the next episode, Revanth, Karunya and I sang a tribute. He liked a particular part where I growled. He said, “He looks like a chota packet but he’s a dhamaka!” On the whole, Keeravaani sir was like a proper teacher for me. He was someone who guided me in the best possible way.”
A couple of months after he partook in IPML(Indian Pro Music League), where he was in the list of top 9 singers, the Chellemma singer got a call from Neha Kakkar’s team. “I was like, “Woah! It feels so good to listen to that. I joined her team and I’ve been working with her for two years now. We did 16 shows all together in the USA. Four in Canada and we went to Egypt and Israel as well. And then Dubai happened. We’re still doing shows.”
Guess what? He’s also the male vocalist for Neha Kakkar’s live shows and the Ek Sher Ho Tum singer enthuses what he learned from the pop icon, “Every show was a hit and that’s all because of her energy. With her voice and presence, she just attracts the crowd. That’s the kind of aura she possesses. I learned how to present myself and perform from her.
We have to sing live for 90 minutes straight and we are supposed to remember the lyrics. She said, “How come you remember all the lyrics!” There was a time I mixed up the lyrics of one song with the other and continued singing because I didn’t realise. She knew I messed up but she wasn’t angry because she understood that making mistakes is human and that’s what makes her great. After that incident I learned how kind she is and she helps me with the Punjabi diction as I’m not a native.”
Signing off, Ritesh informed The Pioneer that he wants to keep doing what he’s doing and up his game as a lyricist. In fact, he was the one who penned the lyrics for Chalo Chalore Sainiko from GodFather(Hindi Version). He’s also working on a plethora of Pan-India projects and he’s soon going to reveal the names of the projects on his Instagram handle.
