Sooraj Santhosh
- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Composer
Sooraj Santhosh is an Indian singer, songwriter, producer, and composer. He straddles the worlds of independent music and playback singing, moving smoothly between the two. Sooraj is the recipient of a Kerala State Film Award, 2 Mirchi Music Awards, and a Kerala State Film Critics Award. He has sung around 300 songs in 8 languages. Sooraj released his independent solo EP, The Gypsy Sun, in 2020. It's a multi-genre, multi-lingual album that consists of 5 songs. Sooraj was the co-founder of the folk-rock group Masala Coffee, and he composed and performed with them until 2019, when he decided to dedicate more time to his own creative endeavors. Now he performs with his own band, Sooraj Santhosh Live.
Early Life: Sooraj was born on September 19, 1987, in Kerala, India. His was not a musical family. His father Santhosh Kumar worked for the Forest Department, and his mother Jayakumari was a teacher. Neither they nor their extended family had any musical connections. It was the music teacher in Sooraj's mother's school who identified his affinity to music when he was 5 yrs. old. She taught him a song that he sang beautifully. It was on her advice that Sooraj's parents took this seriously and enrolled him at the age of 6 in Tharanganisari School of Music founded by Dr. K J Yesudas. His initial years at that institution were difficult since he was thrown abruptly into the midst of senior singers. As a child he struggled to understand what was happening and what was expected of him. But he gamely stuck on with the constant encouragement of his mother who ensured that he attended classes regularly. Sooraj has also been under the tutelage of Prof K. Omanakutty, Kollam G.S Balamurali, and Parvathipuram Padmanabha Iyer.
Sooraj completed his High School and Higher Secondary level education in Govt Model School, Tvm. In High School he participated and won prizes in School Youth Festivals and State Youth Festivals. He graduated in Commerce from M.G College, Trivandrum, and did his Post-Graduation in Commerce from Mar Ivanios College, Trivandrum. While in college he took part in National University Youth Festivals and won prizes consistently. One of the programs he participated was a musical competition on Surya TV where the renowned flutist Kudamaloor Janardanan was one of the main judges. Each performance was followed by a host of questions from the judges on music and its intricacies. It was an interesting format and Sooraj went on to win the competition. It was after this that he started learning music from Shri Kudamaloor Janardanan. That opened a new world for him. He realized that there was so much more to music than taking part and winning in competitions. This is the moment that opened his mind to the world of music, and he became fascinated with the magic of music. The doubts that kept cropping up constantly in his mind were being resolved, and he had found someone who could provide clarity. Sooraj went on to perform vocal concerts in his home-town Trivandrum.
Career: After completing his Post Graduation, Sooraj moved to Chennai where he felt he could focus more on his music. His entry into playback singing was completely unexpected. While in college he had auditioned for the renowned composer G.V Prakash, and after two years he got a call for a recording. It was the song Inke Etho for the movie Darling which released in 2010. This song got him the Best Upcoming Singer award from Radio Mirchi that year. More opportunities came his way to work with various composers in Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Telugu. In 2010, Sooraj accompanied his mentor and guru Shri Kudamaloor Janardhanan for a fusion ensemble at the Kovalam Literature Festival, where he was the sole singer in the group. In 2012 he sang with the Austrian rock band Ashram Oriental Rock, a 7 member Indo-Austrian band. He accompanied them on their European tour in 2011. They traveled across Europe in a unique initiative to perform within prisons. In 2014, Sooraj became one of the co-founders of the band Masala Coffee. He was their front man and he also produced music for the band. They performed in innumerable venues, both nationally and internationally. In 2019, Sooraj bid adieu to the band and started on his own path to create the music he had always wanted to. In 2016 he was awarded the Kerala State Film Award for Best Playback Singer for the song 'Thaniye', composed by Vishnu Vijay for the film Guppy. Sooraj's first international project was with Sri Ganesh B Kumar and the European Chamber Choir. He performed the Shanmukha Kavacham in Germany along with the Choir and worked closely with Mr Nicol Matt, the popular new age German composer. Sooraj is the first male Indian singer to perform with the Chamber Choir of Europe. It is the world's first Choral composition from India, that's now a part of the Western Classical Choral repertoire.
Sooraj Santhosh Live: In 2016 Sooraj formed his own five-piece band called Sooraj Santhosh Live. He performs across national and international venues with his band, where he primarily presents his own compositions, along with the songs he has sung playback in films. Sooraj also showcases the musical pieces and compositions of artists and composers whose works resonate with him. The core idea behind Sooraj Santhosh Live is to communicate with an audience and perform what Sooraj as an artist would like to convey.
Theatre: Sooraj's initial foray into the world of theatre was as an actor when he attended a workshop with Janabheri. They are a theatre group based in Shoranur, who have made a mark in the contemporary theatre scene through their unique theatre productions. Later in 2022, Sooraj composed and produced music for Thaaram (The Dismissed Shadow), a Janabheri production that explored new possibilities in interpreting the current social and political realities. Thaaram (The Dismissed Shadow) was performed across venues in Kerala, including the Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Academy Theatre Festival, and Rangaprabhath Theatre Festival. In February 2023, Thaaram was one of the entries selected for the International Theatre Festival in Bodoland.
Personal Life: Sooraj is the son of Santhosh Kumar and Jayakumari. He has one younger sibling, Dheeraj. Sooraj got married in 2017 which later ended in an amicable divorce.
Early Life: Sooraj was born on September 19, 1987, in Kerala, India. His was not a musical family. His father Santhosh Kumar worked for the Forest Department, and his mother Jayakumari was a teacher. Neither they nor their extended family had any musical connections. It was the music teacher in Sooraj's mother's school who identified his affinity to music when he was 5 yrs. old. She taught him a song that he sang beautifully. It was on her advice that Sooraj's parents took this seriously and enrolled him at the age of 6 in Tharanganisari School of Music founded by Dr. K J Yesudas. His initial years at that institution were difficult since he was thrown abruptly into the midst of senior singers. As a child he struggled to understand what was happening and what was expected of him. But he gamely stuck on with the constant encouragement of his mother who ensured that he attended classes regularly. Sooraj has also been under the tutelage of Prof K. Omanakutty, Kollam G.S Balamurali, and Parvathipuram Padmanabha Iyer.
Sooraj completed his High School and Higher Secondary level education in Govt Model School, Tvm. In High School he participated and won prizes in School Youth Festivals and State Youth Festivals. He graduated in Commerce from M.G College, Trivandrum, and did his Post-Graduation in Commerce from Mar Ivanios College, Trivandrum. While in college he took part in National University Youth Festivals and won prizes consistently. One of the programs he participated was a musical competition on Surya TV where the renowned flutist Kudamaloor Janardanan was one of the main judges. Each performance was followed by a host of questions from the judges on music and its intricacies. It was an interesting format and Sooraj went on to win the competition. It was after this that he started learning music from Shri Kudamaloor Janardanan. That opened a new world for him. He realized that there was so much more to music than taking part and winning in competitions. This is the moment that opened his mind to the world of music, and he became fascinated with the magic of music. The doubts that kept cropping up constantly in his mind were being resolved, and he had found someone who could provide clarity. Sooraj went on to perform vocal concerts in his home-town Trivandrum.
Career: After completing his Post Graduation, Sooraj moved to Chennai where he felt he could focus more on his music. His entry into playback singing was completely unexpected. While in college he had auditioned for the renowned composer G.V Prakash, and after two years he got a call for a recording. It was the song Inke Etho for the movie Darling which released in 2010. This song got him the Best Upcoming Singer award from Radio Mirchi that year. More opportunities came his way to work with various composers in Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Telugu. In 2010, Sooraj accompanied his mentor and guru Shri Kudamaloor Janardhanan for a fusion ensemble at the Kovalam Literature Festival, where he was the sole singer in the group. In 2012 he sang with the Austrian rock band Ashram Oriental Rock, a 7 member Indo-Austrian band. He accompanied them on their European tour in 2011. They traveled across Europe in a unique initiative to perform within prisons. In 2014, Sooraj became one of the co-founders of the band Masala Coffee. He was their front man and he also produced music for the band. They performed in innumerable venues, both nationally and internationally. In 2019, Sooraj bid adieu to the band and started on his own path to create the music he had always wanted to. In 2016 he was awarded the Kerala State Film Award for Best Playback Singer for the song 'Thaniye', composed by Vishnu Vijay for the film Guppy. Sooraj's first international project was with Sri Ganesh B Kumar and the European Chamber Choir. He performed the Shanmukha Kavacham in Germany along with the Choir and worked closely with Mr Nicol Matt, the popular new age German composer. Sooraj is the first male Indian singer to perform with the Chamber Choir of Europe. It is the world's first Choral composition from India, that's now a part of the Western Classical Choral repertoire.
Sooraj Santhosh Live: In 2016 Sooraj formed his own five-piece band called Sooraj Santhosh Live. He performs across national and international venues with his band, where he primarily presents his own compositions, along with the songs he has sung playback in films. Sooraj also showcases the musical pieces and compositions of artists and composers whose works resonate with him. The core idea behind Sooraj Santhosh Live is to communicate with an audience and perform what Sooraj as an artist would like to convey.
Theatre: Sooraj's initial foray into the world of theatre was as an actor when he attended a workshop with Janabheri. They are a theatre group based in Shoranur, who have made a mark in the contemporary theatre scene through their unique theatre productions. Later in 2022, Sooraj composed and produced music for Thaaram (The Dismissed Shadow), a Janabheri production that explored new possibilities in interpreting the current social and political realities. Thaaram (The Dismissed Shadow) was performed across venues in Kerala, including the Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Academy Theatre Festival, and Rangaprabhath Theatre Festival. In February 2023, Thaaram was one of the entries selected for the International Theatre Festival in Bodoland.
Personal Life: Sooraj is the son of Santhosh Kumar and Jayakumari. He has one younger sibling, Dheeraj. Sooraj got married in 2017 which later ended in an amicable divorce.
