Santhosh Venky has found a distinctive place in Toxic. The film, starring Yash and produced by KVN Productions and Monster Mind Creations and directed by Geetu Mohandas, is set for an August 26 release. While different singers have been brought in for some of the film’s songs across its multilingual versions, the song 'Aura' has one constant: Santhosh Venky’s voice.
The Kannada playback singer recorded the song in English making him the only singer to retain his voice across all language versions of 'Aura'. At a time when pan-Indian films often use different singers for different language versions, Toxic has chosen to retain the same voice for this English track.
Venky’s association with Toxic comes after years of building a career in Kannada cinema. His musical journey began with Autograph Please, before he entered playback singing with Krishnan Marriage Story in 2011. His breakthrough came with ‘Raja Rani’ from Rhaatee, which earned him accolades and awards, and established his voice across more than 3,000 songs, including films like Gajakesari, Raajakumara and Yajamana, among others.
A major phase of his career came through his association with composer Ravi Basrur. Their collaboration on films including the KGF franchise took Venky’s voice to a much wider audience. He has since rendered his voice for films such as Salaar, Marco, Antim and the Hindi version of Drishyam. Working closely with Ravi Basrur also gave him opportunities to explore different aspects of music beyond playback singing, including composition and musical arrangements.
That association has continued to contribute to Venky’s growth as a musician. From being a playback singer in Kannada films, he has gradually become part of larger productions that demand voices capable of reaching audiences across multiple languages.