{{short description|Indian composer and singer (born 1989)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} {{Use Indian English|date=August 2018}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Varun Unni | image = File:Photo_of_Malayalam_Music_Composer_Varun_Unni.jpg | caption = | image_size = | birth_name = | birth_place = Kochi, Kerala, India | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} | spouse = {{marriage|Devika Ashok|2019}} | origin = | instrument = {{Flatlist| * Keyboard * piano * drums }} | occupation = {{Flatlist| * Film composer * music director * singer }} | genre = {{hlist|Film score|OST|soundtrack|jazz|rock|blues|Indian music|Hindustani music}} | years_active = 2012{{Endash}}present | website = | label = }}
'''Varun Unni''' is an Indian composer and singer, who predominantly composes for television commercials. He has also composed for a few feature films, having debuted with the 2012 Malayalam film ''Annum Innum Ennum''.
==Early life and career== Varun Unni was born on 15 July 1989 in Kochi, Kerala. He did his schooling at Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Vaduthala in Kochi and went on to graduate from engineering at Adi Shankara College of Engineering, Kalady.
Although devoid of any background in films, Varun's first priority was always film music. After training at Kalabhavan, he went on to work with bands like ''Highway Haze'' and ''Flying Squad''. He lists Bob Marley, Eric Clapton, Hans Zimmer and A. R. Rahman as his greatest influences.<ref name=www.thehindu.com>{{cite news |author= K. Pradeep |year=2013 |title = On Song|newspaper=The Hindu |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/music/on-song/article4504810.ece|access-date=2 May 2013 }}</ref>
== Film composing career == Though his debut film bombed at the box office, Varun's debut work "Ayyo" from Annum Innum Ennum was noticed.<ref name="www.thehindu.com"/> His second film with the same team failed again at the box-office. He shifted focus to composing jingles for advertisement films and associated with famous brands like Chemmanur and MCR. In 2017, he was offered the Kannada film ''Kempegowda-2'', a spin-off of ''Kempe Gowda'', the Kannada remake of ''Singam''. The film opened to a favourable response and Varun subsequently signed more films in Kannada, including ''Kongka Pass'' with the same team. However he shifted focus to jingles until 2025, when he signed four films, each in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.
==Music videos== ===''Smile''=== In 2013, Varun produced a social cause album titled ''Smile'' featuring five singles by Shwetha Mohan as well as songs by upcoming singers Suchith Suresan and Yazin Nizar. It was released by the indie music label Tune4 Music.<ref name=DeccanChronicle>{{cite web |author= Serin Sam |year=2013 |title = A reason to smile for Varun Unni|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/131209/entertainment-mollywood/article/reason-smile-varun-unni|access-date=2 February 2016 }}</ref>
===''Second Rain''=== In 2017, Varun Unni composed the music for the music movie ''Second Rain'' (Peyyum Mazhaye), produced and directed by Lijo Augustin, with cinematography by A. Kumaran of ''Thanga Magan'' fame.
The video also featured Arundhati, who starred in the Tamil film ''Saithan''. The lyrics and video of the song narrate a tale of romance where rain acts as the predominant backdrop to important moments in the love story of a young couple. The video also features a short climactic fight sequence, for which Varun composed the background score.
The song was released via Muzik 247. The vocals were by Shweta Mohan and Ranjith, with programming by Ashwin Sivadas.<ref name=DeccanChronicle2>{{cite web |author= Vidya Nair |year=2017 |title = Striking the right chord |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/music/110717/striking-the-right-chord-1.html|access-date=11 July 2017 }}</ref> <ref name=NewIndianExpress>{{cite web |author= Express News Service |year=2017 |title = 'Second Rain' makes a splash on Social Media|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/2017/jul/11/second-rain-makes-a-splash-on-social-media-1626894.html|access-date=12 July 2017 }}</ref><ref name=Mathrubhumi>{{cite web |author= Mathrubhumi News |year=2017 |title = സോഷ്യല് മീഡിയയില് തരംഗമായി മ്യൂസിക് മൂവി 'സെക്കന്ഡ് റെയിന്' |url=http://www.mathrubhumi.com/movies-music/music/second-rain-malayalam-music-movie-music-album-1.2080783|access-date=12 July 2017 }}</ref>
==Return to feature films== As of 2025, Varun has signed films Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu and Kannada languages. His first release of 2025 was the Tamil film ''The Door'', directed by Jaiidev starring Bhavana in the lead role.<ref name="auto">{{Cite news |date=2023-06-14 |title=Bhavana plays lead in brother Jaiiddev's directorial, The Door |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/bhavana-plays-lead-in-brother-jaiiddevs-directorial-the-door/articleshow/100963577.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2023-07-20 |issn=0971-8257}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-06 |title=Bhavana to return to Tamil industry after 13 years with horror film The Door |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/tamil/actor-bhavana-return-tamil-industry-horror-film-the-door-jaiiddev-naveen-8648314/ |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> His next was the Kannada film ''Rakshasa'' starring Prajwal Devaraj. Both films tanked at the box-office. His third release, the Malayalam film Azadi opened to mixed reviews, but the music received an overwhelmingly positive response.<ref>{{cite web | title=Azadi movie review: Sreenath Bhasi's jailbreak drama struggles to break free of clichés, is shackled to a terrible twist | date=24 May 2025 | url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/azadi-movie-review-sreenath-bhasi-jailbreak-drama-struggles-to-break-free-of-cliches-is-shackled-to-terrible-twist-10025371/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title='Azadi' review: Sreenath Bhasi stars in an engaging prison break film with strong performances | url=https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/2025/05/23/azadi-movie-review-malayalam-film-sreenath-bhasi-raveena-ravi-lal-vani-viswanath.html }}</ref> Varun was praised for elevating the movie experience to another level with his background score.<ref>{{cite web | title=ത്രില്ലടിപ്പിക്കുന്ന ജയിൽ ബ്രേക്ക്, ഞെട്ടിക്കുന്ന ക്ലൈമാക്സ്; പ്രതീക്ഷകൾക്കപ്പുറം 'ആസാദി' | date=23 May 2025 | url=https://www.mathrubhumi.com/movies-music/reviews/malayalam-movie-azadi-review-1.10607494 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | title=ചിത���രച്ചേച്ചി പാടി, ഞാനാണ് ഈ പാട്ടിന്റെ കമ്പോസര് എന്ന് മറന്ന് നിന്നുപോയി {{!}} വരുണ് ഉണ്ണി അഭിമുഖം, Varun Unni, Music director Varun Unni, Varun Unni composer, Azadi music director, the door composer, news | url=https://www.mathrubhumi.com/movies-music/interview/azadi-music-director-varun-unni-interview-1.10623051 | access-date=2025-08-11 | website=www.mathrubhumi.com | date=30 May 2025 }}</ref>
==Film discography== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" ! width=30 | Year ! width=180 | Film ! width=70 | Language ! width=65 | Songs ! width=65 | Background score ! Notes |-align="center" |- | rowspan="1"|2013 || ''Annum Innum Ennum'' || Malayalam || {{yes}} ||{{no}} || One song |- | rowspan="1"|2013 || ''Escape from Uganda'' || Malayalam || {{yes}} ||{{no}} || Three songs |- | rowspan="1"|2019 || ''Kempegowda 2'' || Kannada|| {{yes}} ||{{yes}} || Kannada debut<ref name="NIE">{{cite web| url = https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/kannada/2019/apr/13/komal-back-with-kempegowda-2-1963650.html| title = Komal back with Kempegowda 2- The New Indian Express| date = 13 April 2019}}</ref><br />Spin-off of ''Kempe Gowda'', the Kannada remake of ''Singam'' |- | rowspan="4"|2025 || ''The Door''<ref name="auto"/>|| Tamil|| {{yes}} ||{{yes}} || Tamil debut. |- |''Rakshasa''<ref>{{Cite web | title=I will have a packed 2025: Prajwal Devaraj | url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/kannada/2024/Dec/13/i-will-have-a-packed-2025-prajwal-devaraj | access-date=2025-08-11 | website=www.newindianexpress.com | date=13 December 2024 }}</ref> || Kannada || {{yes}} ||{{no}} || |- |''Azadi''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.mathrubhumi.com/movies-music/news/azadi-malayalam-cinema-jo-george-vani-viswanath-sreenath-bhasi-1.8991415 | title=ആസാദി ടൈറ്റിൽ ലോഞ്ച് | date=16 October 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cinemaexpress.com/malayalam/news/2023/aug/02/sreenath-bhasi-lal-and-saiju-kurup-headline-new-thriller-46203.html | title=Sreenath Bhasi, Lal and Saiju Kurup headline new thriller | website=Cinema Express | date=2 August 2023 }}</ref> || Malayalam || {{yes}} ||{{yes}} || |- |''Kothapallilo Okappudu''|| Telugu || {{No}} ||{{Yes}} || |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Unni, Varun}} Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Kochi Category:Indian male playback singers Category:Film musicians from Kerala Category:Malayalam film score composers Category:1989 births Category:Indian male film score composers