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Salil Chowdhury

Chairman Chalamayya (1974)

A Telugu film featuring a lively and highly melodic soundtrack by Salil Chowdhury, with lyrics by Arudra and Kosaraju.

Chairman Chalamayya Poster

Film Information

Language: Telugu

Lyrics: Arudra, except Song #CM3 by Kosaraju

Many of the songs share melodic connections with Salil's compositions in other languages, demonstrating his ability to adapt musical ideas across cultural and linguistic borders. Surviving audio materials have been discovered both through original EP records and a later VCD release.

Songs

Nr Song Singer(s) HndMalTamTelKanBngOth
CM1 Nayanalu kalise toli saari P. Susheela, S. P. Balasubramaniam RG1----OS36 / LM30 / OS66-
CM2 Tikku takku basti pillalam P. Susheela, S. P. Balasubramaniam CB1----SC23-
CM3 Yesko bullemma P. Susheela, S. P. Balasubramaniam -----RB1 / RB2-
CM4 Haayi haayi entha haayi P. Susheela, Ramakrishna -----MA2-
CM5 Hello chairman garu P. Susheela -----MA3-

Notes & Background

Originally released on vinyl EPs, the songs became better known decades later when a VCD of Chairman Chalamayya surfaced in 2009, allowing longer versions of some tracks to be recovered.

The lively rhythmic nature of Song CM3 – “Yesko Bullema” shows a clear resemblance to Goan folk influences. Salil reused its antara in a rare Bengali track “O Dadabhai” sung by Lata Mangeshkar in the Bangladeshi film Raktaakto Banglaa (1972).

The melodic network across Telugu, Bengali and Hindi versions offers a rich study of Salil Chowdhury's cross-cultural composing style.