Rajesh Krishnan

Biography

Rajesh Krishnan is an Indian playback singer, actor, and dubbing artist best known for his work in Kannada cinema, in addition to Telugu and Tamil films. He made his mainstream playback debut with “Mathinalle Gellaballe” in the Kannada film Gowri Ganesha (1991), and rose to prominence through a prolific run of 1990s–2000s hits, including Kannada numbers such as “Nooru Janmaku” (America America), “Kariya I Love You” (Duniya), “Suntara Gaali” (Kalasipalya), and “Onde Usirante” (Snehaloka). In Telugu, his breakout “Yeto Vellipoyindi Manasu” from Ninne Pelladatha (1996) earned him the Nandi Award for Best Male Playback Singer.
Across a career spanning over three decades, Rajesh has sung over 3,000 film songs in Kannada, over 300 in other languages such as Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil. He has also recorded numerous songs in Tulu and Lambani. In Hindi cinema, he has sung about 20 songs, including few for dubbed films. Rajesh has been recognized with multiple honors, including the Karnataka State Film Awards (Best Male Playback Singer—3 times), Filmfare South nomination (Best Supporting Actor for Gaalipata, 2008) for his acting, and the SIIMA for Best Male Playback Singer for “Kaarmoda” from Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari (2014). He has also recorded devotional and private albums that remain widely available on streaming platforms.

Early life

Rajesh was born in Bengaluru, India in a musical family; his mother is a Carnatic vocalist whom he credit as his first musical mentor. He studied at St. Joseph's Indian High School, representing the school at a children’s film festival at age 13, before taking up professional singing under composers including Hamsalekha. His first film song was recorded in 1991, when he was 17. His initial singing assignments were limited to track singing where an accomplished playback singer, mostly S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, would record the release version.

Playback singing

Rajesh began singing under the direction of composers Rajan-Nagendra and Hamsalekha in the late 1980s, where he recorded tracks in his voice upon which other professional singers would cover with their voices. In 1991, Rajesh's voice was retained and released in the final soundtrack album of Gowri Ganesha. The song "Mathinalle Gellaballe", composed by Rajan-Nagendra was the first official release song. This was quickly followed by songs from the films, Hoovu Hannu (1993) and Bevu Bella (1993), both composed by Hamsalekha, which raised his popularity among Kannada audience.
For his rendition in films such as Bannada Hejje (1999), Ekangi (2002) and Dumbee (2003), Rajesh won Karnataka State Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer.
Following these initial breakthrough films, Rajesh was one of the most sought-after singers in Kannada cinema. He went on to sing for numerous other composers such as V. Manohar, L. N. Shastry, Sadhu Kokila, S. A. Rajkumar and Rajesh Ramanath in the 1990s and 2000s. Later in the 2010s and 2020s, composers such as V. Harikrishna, Arjun Janya, B. Ajaneesh Loknath, Manikanth Kadri, Ravi Basrur and Charan Raj chose Rajesh's voice for their songs. He went on to sing more than 3000 songs in Kannada cinema making him the first ever singer from Karnataka to sing those many songs in films.
Rajesh expanded to Telugu cinema through Sandeep Chowta's musical Ninne Pelladatha in 1996. The song "Yeto Vellipoyindi Manasu" reached popularity immediately after release and earned him the Nandi Award for Best Male Playback Singer. Following this, he was offered many other Telugu songs in films including Raja (1999), Prema Katha (1999), Nee Kosam (1999), Nuvvu Vasthavani (2000), Kalisundam Raa (2000), Ninne Premistha (2001), Santosham (2002) and Lakshmi (2006). In Tamil, his song "Megamai Vandhu Pogiren" for the film Thullatha Manamum Thullum (1999) was received with wide appreciation.

Acting

Rajesh made his first onscreen appearance with a Telugu film, Ori Nee Prema Bangaram Kaanu in 2003. He played the lead character which was not well received by critics who criticized his acting skills.. This was followed by yet another failed appearance in the Kannada film, Santhosha in 2004.
Later in 2008, Rajesh was roped in to play one of the lead characters in Yogaraj Bhat's multi-starrer Kannada film, Gaalipata.. He played the role Kitty, an engineer and one of the three main friends alongside Ganesh and Diganth. The film met with positive reviews from critics and also appreciation for all the lead actors. Rajesh was nominated at the Filmfare Awards South under Best Supporting Actor category. After Gaalipata, Rajesh took a break from acting and focussed on his singing career. However, upon insistence of his friend and fellow singer, L. N. Shastri, he took up the lead role offer in the 2015 musical film, Melody. The film met with mixed reviews and underperformed at the box-office.

Personal life

Rajesh Krishnan has been married and divorced to Sowmya Raoh (singer), Haripriya (dentist) and Ramya Vasishta (TV anchor and singer).

Television

Rajesh began his television journey as a judge on Zee Kannada's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, the Kannada adaptation of the national singing reality franchise. He joined the judging panel from its early seasons and has since become a recurring presence, bringing his extensive playback experience to mentor emerging talent. Over the years, Krishnan has shared the judges’ seat alongside musicians Vijay Prakash, Arjun Janya, and, in earlier seasons, Hamsalekha. He has been part of multiple seasons, including Season 13 (2017), Season 17 (2020–2022), and the Season 21 (2024–2025).