UPES student debuts as a lyricist in animation film ‘Dhira’

A budding marketer, Bhanu Siva Krishna has written eight songs in English for Dhira which is now streaming in 12 languages on Amazon Prime

It is said that success happens when preparation meets opportunity. This aphorism manifested itself quite unequivocally in the life of Bhanu Siva Krishna, a final-year student from BBA Digital Marketing at UPES School of Business.

Bhanu recently debuted as a lyricist in Dhira, an animation movie based on the chronicles of legendary Indian poet Tenali Ramakrishna. He has written eight songs in English – Vijayanagara Saga, Churn of Love, Chess Song, Life is a Mission, Hail Lord Tenali, Crazy and Classic Tenali, Tribal Jumba and World Womb’s Treasure – for the movie directed by Arun Kumar Rapolu. Prominent names from Indian cinema, Vijay Sethupathi, Bellamkonda Sreenivas, Vivek Oberoi, Dhruva Sarja, Pratik Gandhi and Jeet Data have lent their voice for the lead characters. Dhira is now streaming in 12 languages on Amazon Prime and is being hailed as India’s finest animation movie.

Bhanu has been writing poetry since he was in school and his work has been published by leading publications such as The Times of India and PoetrySoup, an online community of poets.

Reminiscing about the phone call that changed his life, Bhanu says, “On August 5, 2017, I woke up to a call from Mr. Raju, the executive producer of Dhira. He asked me to come to the recording studio at Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. He had heard about me from one of my seniors at high school. I had always dreamt of writing lyrics in Telugu cinema. And here I, a 16-year-old, was being offered an opportunity to write in English! Writing those songs everyday in the studio from 9 am till 11 pm will remain an enduring memory for me.”

Despite the rave reviews that he has garnered for the songs, Bhanu makes it clear that he does not want to pursue song-writing as a full-time career, but only as an outlet for his creativity.

“If I think about making this my profession, my focus may shift from writing good lyrics to earning money primarily. To earn a living, I see my career as a consultant for entertainment giants such as Disney, Warner Bros, Fox, Netflix, etc., or as a management consultant with specialisation in entertainment and media. Metaphorically, writing songs for films to me is like eating pani-puri – I’m not doing it to satiate my hunger, but only for sensory pleasure,” he quips.

Expressing her appreciation of Bhanu’s achievement, Dr. Githa Heggde, Dean, School of Business, UPES, says, “He stood out from the crowd when he joined our school. In the years that he has been with us, he has developed some exceptional people skills and is quite evidently a go-getter. We are extremely proud of him and wish him great success in his future endeavours.”

Bhanu credits the supportive environment at UPES for giving wings to his dreams and helping him grow into a well-rounded individual. He has competed and won prizes in extempore speeches, debates, MUNs and several other business competitions. He has also completed 14 online courses, thanks to UPES’ collaboration with Coursera. “I feel confident, competent and progressive in pursuing continuous improvement and making the best of every opportunity that comes my way,” he signs off.

(With inputs from Preeti Aneja)