Devi Sri Prasad

Gorthi Devi Sri Prasad (2 August 1979), also known by his initials DSP, is an Indian music composer, singer, and lyricist primarily known for his work in Telugu cinema, along with Tamil cinema and Hindi cinema. He has received numerous accolades, including a National Film Award, a Nandi Award, ten Filmfare Awards, eight SIIMA Awards, and five CineMAA Awards.

Over his 25-year career, Devi Sri Prasad has worked on more than 100 films. He began his music career in 1997 by contributing to the studio album Dance Party. Prasad made his debut as a film composer at the age of 19 with the 1999 Telugu film Devi. His breakthrough in Telugu cinema came with the soundtrack of Anandam in 2001.

Devi Sri Prasad was born on 2 August 1979 in a Telugu family in Vedurupaka, East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh. His father, G. Satyamurthy, was a screenwriter in Telugu cinema, who has penned popular films like Devatha, Khaidi No. 786, and Pedarayudu. His father hails from Vedurupaka. He is named after his maternal grandparents, Devi Meenakshi, and Prasada Rao. He has a brother Sagar who is also a singer.

In his debut music album Dance Party, he collaborated with veteran singer SP Balasubrahmanyam's son S. P. Charan. He then composed score and soundtrack of the 1999 Telugu film Devi, thus marking his debut as a film music composer at the age of 19.

Prasad made his breakthrough with the soundtrack album of the film Anandam in 2001, marking his first collaboration with director Srinu Vaitla. He has written and sung the song "Premante Emitante" and lent his vocals for another song titled "Monalisa". Idlebrain wrote, "music of the film is good though some of the tunes are inspired by 'back street boys' work. Background music is impressive. Devi Sri Prasad has got a chance to work with a fulltime love story, which has scope for good music". This is his first major successful film album. In the same year, he composed film score for a Tamil film Badri. This marks his debut in Tamil cinema.

In 2002, he had five album releases, including soundtrack albums of the films Kalusukovalani, Manmadhudu and Sontham became the biggest chartbusters of the time. These films were critically and commercially successful, music composition by DSP also contributed to the films' successes. Films Sontham and Manmadhudu were regarded as musical hits of the year. Most of the songs in these albums were widely appreciated. A critic writing for Manmadhudu review, stated that "Music by Devi Sri Prasad is excellent. Even the background score is pretty good. The picturization of the songs has elevated the audio of Manmadhudu." The same year, Prasad composed music for a patriotic film Khadgam. Krishna Prasad Chigurupati of The Times of India wrote: " ‘Meme Indians’ composed by Devi Sri Prasad depicts the real attitude and unity among Indians with a hint of satire and humour." "Nuvvu Nuvvu" sung by Sumangali is another biggest hit of the album.

Although the film Varsham was released in 2004, its soundtrack album was released on 18 December 2003 through Aditya Music at the film's audio launch event at Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad. It is his second collaboration with producer M. S. Raju, who introduced him to the film industry through Devi in 1999. Prasad introduced his brother Gandham Sagar debut into the music industry by "Neeti Mulla" song of the album. The film was a huge hit at the box office. The soundtrack fetched him three awards, those include Santosham Best Music Director, CineMAA Awards Best Music Director and Filmfare Award for Best Music Director – Telugu. A critic described that he gave a perfect sound to the film and made a deep impact on the audiences with his soulful, melodious and romantic music. He continued his "romantic music" style in his next big hit Arya (2004). Prasad made his first collaboration with Sukumar, who his regular collaborator. The song "Aa Ante Amalapuram" enjoyed wide popularity in Telugu states and other parts of India. The six-track is considered the best of all time by a critic of The Times of India. Another critic from IndiaGlitz cited: "The man who should walk away with all the kudos is musician Devi Sri Prasad. He is at his inspirational best in the songs and in re-recording he is soothing as a cool juice in summer heat. The songs Nuvvante, Takadhimithom (Allu Arjun's dance add more weight age), Feel MY Love among the six numbers in the film stand out."

The next year, he composed the album of Tamil remake of Varsham – Mazhai. Prasad has eleven album releases in 2005 in both Telugu and Tamil, the highest number of releases in a single year till date. The soundtrack album of Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana which was released on 21 December 2004, made DSP one of the most prolific musicians in India. For the first time in his music career, Prasad remixed the song "Prema Kosamai Volalo" sung by Ghantasala for the 1951 film Pathala Bhairavi. A reviewer of Idlebrain.com felt DSP had his best outcome. He cited that "The songs might not sound great when you listen on stereo. But they are entirely different when captured on the screen amid situations. Songs do stand out in the film as the best. The re-recording and background score are terrific. There is rhythm, merriment, emotions upsurge and passion that flows throughout these songs. Songs in this film are a part of story narration." He composed film score and soundtrack for the action films Bhadra, Bunny and Aaru, which received decent success. Prasad made his breakthrough in Tamil with the film Sachein, which became successful both commercially and critically. The songs "Vaadi Vaadi", "Dai Dai Dai Kattikkoda", "Kanmoodi Thirakumbothu" and "Gundu Manga Thoppukkulle" of the soundtrack became chartbusters upon its release.