Popular Telugu music director Thotakura Somaraju aka. Raj of the Raj-Koti duo passed away on Sunday due to a heart attack. He was 68. According to reports, he fell in the bathroom and suffered a cardiac arrest as a result of the shock. He is survived by his wife and three daughters. Reacting to the tragic news, Tamil music director A. R. Rahman penned an emotional tribute honoring Raj earlier today. The Ponniyin Selvan composer reminisced about his time spent with the late music director and tweeted, "Rest in peace Somaraju Garu …I can never forget the pleasant memories working with Raj-Koti in the 80s ❤️🩹🤲🏼🙏🥀🌹💐 (sic)".
Rest in peace Somaraju Garu …I can never forget the pleasant memories working with Raj-koti in the 80s ❤️🩹🤲🏼🙏🥀🌹💐 pic.twitter.com/xQdwYMyWs1
— A.R.Rahman (@arrahman) May 22, 2023
The Telugu film fraternity and several big notable names from across the country have been pouring their condolences upon hearing the news of Raj's demise. 'Megastar' Chiranjeevi shared a heartfelt note in Telugu and the translation of the 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)" Raj along with Koti had worked on Chiranjeevi films namely Khaidi 786 and Mutta Mestri.
ప్రముఖ సంగీత దర్శక ద్వయం రాజ్-కోటి లలో 'రాజ్' ఇక లేరు అని తెలవటం దిగ్భ్రాంతికి గురి చేసింది. ఎంతో ప్రతిభ వున్న రాజ్ , నా కెరీర్ తొలి దశలలో నా చిత్రాలకందించిన ఎన్నో అద్భుత ప్రజాదరణ పొందిన బాణీలు, నా చిత్రాల విజయాలలో ముఖ్య పాత్ర వహించాయి. నన్ను ప్రేక్షకులకు మరింత చేరువ… pic.twitter.com/uPifYfmtFE
— Chiranjeevi Konidela (@KChiruTweets) May 21, 2023
Raj, born to yesteryear music composer TV Raju, teamed up with Koti and the duo debuted in the 1982 Telugu film, Pralaya Garjana. They composed music for nearly 300 films over a span of thirteen years in the industry, while garnering appreciation for their work in Khaidi No 786 (1988), Yamudiki Mogudu (1988), Jayammu Nishchayammu Ra (1989), Bava Bamaridi (1993), Mutta Mestri (1993) and Hello Brother (1994).
