Telugu music composer S Thaman has opened up about one of the most difficult periods of his life, revealing how the death of his father forced him to abandon his education after just the fifth grade, and how a later financial betrayal wiped out everything he had earned since childhood.

Speaking candidly about his early life in an interaction with Honest Townhall, Thaman recalled that his schooling came to an abrupt halt right as he was set to move from fifth to sixth grade. His father’s sudden death meant the young Thaman had to step up as the family’s provider, taking on responsibility for his mother and sister at an age when most children are focused on studies and friendships.

“At that time, I didn’t really realize what I was missing out on in life. But later on, I felt like I missed a lot, especially making friends,” Thaman said, adding that commuting by bus made him acutely aware of the milestones he had skipped. Still, he credited the experience with shaping him. “Life taught me so much,” he said.

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A pivotal moment came when the family received a life insurance payout following his father’s death, support that arrived unexpectedly and, by Thaman’s account, without much help from extended family. “None of the family members came to support. LIC came for support,” he recalled, noting that the sum of Rs 60,000 in 1994 was substantial for the family at the time. Determined to honour that support, Thaman used part of the money to buy a musical instrument and repaid his mother within a year. ” I wanted to give my mom something to buy, showing how her son is living and wants to take care of his mother,” he added.

Years into his career, Thaman faced another major crisis,  this time financial rather than personal. He revealed that he was defrauded by someone close to him, resulting in the loss of everything he had built up over the years. “I trusted someone and invested money. An old friend cheated me in open daylight. I lost everything that I had earned from childhood,” he said, describing the period between 2016 and 2017 as one where he hit rock bottom. “I was completely zero. I didn’t even have money to buy rice,” he added.

Despite the setback, Thaman rebuilt his career step by step, crediting a chain of successful film projects for his resurgence. He traced his comeback directly through a sequence of films: “Mahanubhavudu led to Bhaagamathie. Bhaagamathie led to Tholi Prema. Tholi Prema led to Chalo Mohan Ranga. Chalo Mohan Ranga led to Aravind Sametha. From there, I didn’t stop,” he said.

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Who is S Thaman?

Born Ghantasala Sai Srinivas Sivakumar, S Thaman hails from a family of musicians rooted in Andhra Pradesh, and raised in Chennai. His father, Siva Kumar, was a drummer. He made his solo debut as a composer with Malli Malli and found his breakthrough with Kick, going on to score more than 100 films across Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada cinema. In 2022, he won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo.