Dookudu (soundtrack)

The film marked Thaman's maiden collaboration with Babu and Vaitla; he also replaced the latter's usual music composer Devi Sri Prasad as he could not accommodate the dates for the project.^[1] The songs were recorded during March–July 2011. In mid-June 2011, Thaman planned to record two songs in China and one more song in Czech Republic during the re-recording as some special instruments were not available in India and were exclusively available there.^[2] Initially, Thaman composed the song "Champakamala" for the film, but as Vaitla required a "massy tune" for the romantic song, he composed "Dethadi Dethadi" instead while the former was used in Kandireega.^[3] The re-recording of the film began on 31 August 2011.^[4]

Aditya Music acquired the audio rights.^[5] The soundtrack was unveiled by hosting a promotional event at Shilpakala Vedika on 19 August 2011.^[6] The event was aired live on MAA TV and on the film's official website from 7:30 pm.^[5]

The soundtrack was successful in its collections, but received mixed response from critics.^[7] Sify wrote "Thaman's music sounded average in the theatres, though a couple of numbers – 'Guruvaram' and 'Dethadi' – could enliven the mood of the spectators. The background score and the music during some romantic moments are dull."^[8] IndiaGlitz termed it the first passable album of Thaman and called it a forgettable one.^[9] Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff.com felt that Thaman's score is "a lot of sound and fury" but only "Nee Dookudu" and "Guruvaram" "linger in one's memory for a while".^[10]

Contrarily, Suresh Kavirayani of The Times of India called the film's music impressive.^[11] A reviewer from IANS felt that "Nee Dookudu" and "Guruvaram" were well shot and composed while the overall music could have been better.^[12] Karthik Srinivasan of Milliblog said that Thaman "has figured how to catch our attention within commercial limits".^[13] Mahesh K. S. of 123Telugu called the album as an "all-round winner" and selected "Nee Dookudu", "Guruvaram", "Dethadi Dethadi" and "Poovai Poovai" as his picks;^[14] he further praised the picturization of the other songs, except for the item number "Poovai Poovai".^[15] Critic based at The New Indian Express wrote "Thaman’s music is justified with artistic picturization of songs, especially the title track, 'Dethadi Dethadi' and 'Poovai Poovai' [...] his background elevated most of the scenes when necessary."^[16] Regarding the trends in Telugu film music in the 2010s, Krishna Sripada of The Hindu mentioned the album having both "melodious" and "peppy" numbers.^[17]