A Hyderabadi Whistles His Way to Books of Records

Hyderabad: Whistling is just a casual pastime for many of us. But for some people like J.V. Sridhar, it's a serious art form. He has taken his love for whistling to new heights, by getting his name a place in the Magic Book of Records. His feat? Whistling to the tunes of seven songs in seven different languages in less than three minutes.

He also found a place for his name in the ‘Indian Book of Records’ by whistling to 25 Bollywood tunes, and secured a spot in the ‘Asia Book of Records’ for whistling the most Bollywood tunes in just one minute. He even got a place in the ‘International Book of Records’ for his rendition of 26 songs.

Recalling the initial days when his whistling videos on YouTube garnered little attention, Sridhar said, “Some friends discouraged me and also made me a laughing stock. People made fun of me. I had already posted 200 songs with very little response. On the advice of a friend, I posted my videos on various social media platforms, until finally I got recognition.”

"Whistling is my passion," declares Sridhar, who is also known as Eelapata Raghu Ramaiah, a renowned whistler from the 1970s.

Explaining the process, Sridhar reveals the meticulous preparation behind his performances. He said he meticulously studies the lyrics of each song until they're ingrained in his mind. “I whistled many songs of Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Mohd Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, and other famous singers. However, I always prefer to whistle melodious, romantic, and happy songs only.”