Singing, acting and more: Mano’s four-year film stay in a nutshell

“Singing is not just a passion, it’s like the air I breathe,” says singer Mano as he reflects on his four-decade journey in the music industry. Still, Mano’s initial interest was acting, not singing.

Mano, whose name was Nagoor Babu, grew up watching his mother, a theater artist, and father, a harmonium player, recite dialogues and practice their scenes at home in Vijayawada, acting, reciting poetry and singing came naturally. He started acting in plays at the age of seven.

“Whenever I got paid, in those days (early 1970s) ₹ or ₹ 2, I used to be overjoyed,” recalls Mano, now 60, during an interview with The Hindu in Vijayawada. His first foray into films came in 1979 when his mother Shaheed was offered the role of an artiste in Dasari Narayan Rao’s ‘Needa’. He was also offered the role of a child artist in the same film, which sparked his interest in acting.

After Needa, he appeared as a child artist in films like ‘Rangoon Rowdy’, ‘Ketugaadu’, ‘Jathara’. However, fate had other plans for him. In 1979, while playing the character of the heroine’s brother in the film ‘O Aadadi O Magadu’, singer SP Balasubrahmanyam, who was roped in to sing a song, could not reach the studio on time and gave another opportunity to sing to Man.

A new chapter in Madras

Music director MS Viswanathan, who heard him sing, was impressed by his skills. He told him that only if he overcomes his initial inhibitions can he do well in the music industry. “Those words stuck in my mind,” says Mano, who left his hometown Vijayawada at the age of 14 to start a new chapter in his life in Madras.

“Despite my interest, I soon realized that I didn’t belong here (acting),” says Mano with his signature smile. After working as an assistant to music director Viswanathan, he worked for K. Chakravarthy, with whom most actors from the Telugu industry worked. But it took some time to sing for the film. He got his first singing opportunity for the film ‘Velaikkaran’ (Tamil). “I used to be a fake singer till then. I sang almost 1,500 songs in recordings. While it was rewarding, frustration came because I didn’t get real opportunities to sing,” says the singer.

It was music composer Ilaiyaraaja who gave him the name Mano and helped him achieve success. There has been no looking back since Velaikkaran, released in 1987 till date. Mano has since lent his voice to over 27,000 film songs, most of them in Tamil and Telugu, and has worked for composers ranging from KV Mahadevan and S. Rajeswar Rao to Anirudh Ravichander.

From tunes like ‘Priya Priyatama Ragalu’ to peppy beats like ‘Muqabla’, he covered it all and was also the first singer to sing for AR Rahman in ‘Roja’.

He did not limit himself to singing as he became famous for Rajinikanth’s voice in Telugu films. “Siva Kumar, who had dubbed for Rajinikanth till Basha, started acting in Kannada films and the actor was looking for another dubbing artist and found me,” he says. He has dubbed for all but one of Rajinikanth’s films, starting with Muthu. In the actor’s recent film Coolie and also in its upcoming sequel, Mano has lent his voice.

Mentoring program

After dabbling in singing, dubbing, music composition and also hosting chat shows and singing competitions, the singer will soon launch a mentorship program in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu for singing aspirants. “There may be many talented singers who don’t have a proper education or don’t pursue it as a profession. I want to allow them to learn and sing with me,” she says.

Before I sign off, a word for the young? “Persistence,” he says, adding that he didn’t let himself get upset over a lost acting opportunity, but kept an open mind that led him to his true passion.

Published – 11 October 2026 22:23 IST