Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar (12 January 1918 – 5 January 1982), also known as C. Ramchandra or Chitalkar or Anna Sahib, was an Indian

music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

and

playback singer A playback singer, as they are usually known in South Asian cinema, or ghost singer in Western cinema, is a singer whose performance is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and the performers lip-sync the ...

. As a composer, he mostly used the name C. Ramchandra, though he also used the names Annasaheb (in the movies ''Bahadur Pratap'', ''Matwale'', and ''Madadgaar''), Ram Chitalkar (in the movies ''Sukhi Jeevan'', ''Badla'', ''Mr. Jhatpat'', ''Bahadur'', and ''Dosti''), and Shyamoo (in the movie ''Yeh hai duniya''). Further, he often sang and acted in

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

movies under the name R. N. Chitalkar. For his career as an occasional playback singer he used only his surname Chitalkar. Chitalkar sang some renowned and unforgettable duets with

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar (; born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. He ...

such as "Kitna Haseen Hai Mausam" in the film '' Azaad'' (1955) and "Shola Jo Bhadke" in '' Albela'' (1951).

Biography

Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar was born on 12 January 1918 in

Puntamba Puntamba is a market town situated on the banks of the Godavari River in Rahata taluka, Ahmednagar District in the state of Maharashtra in India. The village contains the 14th and the final resting place of the sage Changdev. The town is known f ...

, a small town in

Ahmednagar district Ahmednagar district (Marathi pronunciation: �ɦ(ə)məd̪nəɡəɾ, officially Ahilyanagar district, is the largest district of Maharashtra state in western India. The historical city of Ahmednagar is the headquarters of the district. Ahmednagar ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He studied music under Vinayakbua Patwardhan at "Gandharva Mahavidyalaya" and also under Shankarrao Sapre of Nagpur where he studied music alongside Vasantrao Deshpande. He joined the movie industry playing the lead role in Y. V. Rao's movie, ''Naganand''. He also had some small roles at Minerva Movietone in the movies '' Said-e-Havas'' (1936) and '' Atma Tarang'' (1937). Ramchandra provided harmonium accompaniment for Minerva composers Bundu Khan and Habib Khan. He debuted as music director in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

movies with Jayakkodi and '' Vana Mohini''. He received public notice as a good composer in Bhagwan Dada's ''Sukhi Jeevan'' (1942), and established a long association that culminated with the musical box office hit '' Albela'' (1951). Influenced by

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

, Ramchandra introduced in his compositions the alto sax in combination with guitar and harmonica. He also included whistling in one of his famous songs, ''Aana meri jaan Sunday ke Sunday'' in film ''

Shehnai The ''shehnai'' is a type of oboe from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end. It was one of the nine instruments found in the royal court. The shehnai is sim ...

'' (1947). He used a combination of a bongo, an oboe, a trumpet, a clarinet and a sax for the song ''Shola Jo Bhadke'' in film '' Albela''. He sang the title song "Shin Shinaki Boobla Boo" with

, which included rock rhythms. He provided the musical score for the scat song "Ina mina dika" in '' Aasha'' (1957). Perhaps C. Ramchandra's biggest success as a music composer was the 1953 movie '' Anarkali'' starring Beena Roy in the title role and Pradeep Kumar. The songs that he composed for this movie are today legendary. Songs of this movie like "Yeh Zindagi Usiki Hai", "Mujhse Mat Poochh Mere Ishq Main Kya Rakha Hai", "Mohabbat Aisi Dhadkan Hai", "Jaag Dard-E-Ishq Jaag" etc. went on to become huge hits and were highly acclaimed. ''Anarkali'' also perhaps saw the famed composer-singer combination of Ramchandra and

at their best ever together. A film critic in London who watched the movie is said to have remarked that the heroine sang like an angel without knowing that the angel was actually Lata giving playback for the actress. Similarly, C. Ramchandra's compositions in V. Shantaram's '' Navrang'' (1959) and '' Stree'' (1961) were also quite popular and are still remembered. Residence and blue plaque of C

The highly popular patriotic song ''" Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon"'', which was sung by

and penned by poet Pradeep, was a composition of Ramchandra. It was later performed live, by

, in the presence of

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

at the

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, in

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in 1963. It is said

became so sentimental that tears rolled down his cheeks. On 27 Jan 2014,

was felicitated by the then chief minister of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

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at Mumbai to commemorate the 51st anniversary of this song. Ramchandra similarly provided a memorable musical score accompanying a competition between two dancers whose roles were played by Padmini and

Vyjayanthimala Vyjayanthimala Bali ( Raman; born 13 August 1933), known mononymously as Vyjayanthimala, is an Indian parliamentarian, dancer and former actress. Regarded as one of Hindi cinema's greatest actresses and dancers, she is the recipient of sever ...

for the song '' Kannum Kannum Kalanthu'' lyrics penned by

Kothamangalam Subbu Kothamangalam Subbu (born S. M. Subramanian, 10 November 1910 – 15 February 1974) was an Indian poet, lyricist, author, actor and film director based in Tamil Nadu. He wrote the cult classic Tamil novel ''Thillana Mohanambal'' and was awarded ...

, sung by P. Leela and

Jikki Pillavalu Gajapathy Krishnaveni (3 November 1935 – 16 August 2004), more famously known as Jikki, was an Indian playback singer from Andhra Pradesh. She sang around 10,000 songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Sinhalese, and Hindi lan ...

in the Tamil movie '' Vanjikottai Valiban'' (1958). He remade the song in Hindi as "Aaja Tu Raja Aaja" from '' Raj Tilak'' (1958) written by P. L. Santoshi where

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; ; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur, actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the media as one of the ...

and Sudha Malhotra rendered their voice. Ramchandra provided music compositions for a few

, Telugu,

, and

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri may refer to: * Bhojpuri language, an Indo-Aryan language of India and Nepal * Bhojpuri grammar, grammatical rules of the language * Bhojpuri nouns, nouns of the language * Bhojpuri people, people who speak the language * Bhojpuri region ...

movies besides

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

movies. He also produced three Hindi movies with New Sai Productions namely ''Jhanjhar'' (1953), ''Lehren'' (1953), ''Duniya Gol Hai'' (1955). In the late 1960s, Ramchandra produced two Marathi movies, ''Dhananjay'' (1966) and ''Gharkul'' (1970). Apart from composing music, he also acted in them. Ramchandra wrote his autobiography ''The Symphony of My Life'' (''माझ्या जीवनाची सरगम'' in Marathi) in 1977.

Death

C. Ramchandra died on 5 January 1982, at age 63, in Mumbai, India.

Awards and recognition

Ramachandra was nominated for 'Best Music Director' twice for

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Times G ...

for the films Azaad (1955) and Aasha (1957).

Popular songs

Though Ramchandra used a number of ragas in his compositions, his favourite remained raga " Bageshri" ( Radha na bole - Azad, 1955). In a 1978 interview at BBC studios with Mahendra Kaul, he ascribed the reason to Bageshri's simplicity. However, he also composed songs in other ragas including

Malkauns Malkauns, known also as rag Malkosh, is a raga in Indian classical music. It is one of the oldest ragas of Indian classical music. The equivalent raga in Carnatic music is called Hindolam, not to be confused with the Hindustani Hindol. Accor ...

('' Aadha hai chandrama raat aadhi- Navrang''). The following is a short list of some of Ramchandra's best compositions: * ''Yeh Zindagi Usi Ki Hai'' ('' Anarkali'') * ''Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo'' * ''Dheere Se Aaja Ri Ankhiyan Mein'' ('' Albela'') * ''Bholi soorat dilke khote, naam bade aur darshan chhote'' (''Albela'') * ''Mere dilki ghadi karen tiktiktik O baje raatke baaraa'' (''Albela'') * ''Katatay hain dukh mein yeh din'' (''Parchhaain'') * ''Tum kya jaano, tumhari yaad mein'' (''Shin Shinaki Bubala Boo'') * ''Aankhon mein sama jao is dil mein raha karana'' (''Yasmin'') * ''Kitna haseen hai mausam'' (''Azaad'') * ''Shola Jo Bhadke, Dil Mera Dhadke'' (''Albela'') (1951) * ''Mohabbat Hi Na Jo Samjhe, Woh Zalim Pyar Kya Jane'' (''Parchhain'') (1952) * '' Ina Meena Dika '' ('' Aasha'') * ''Qismat Ki Hawa Kabhi Naram'' ('' Albela'') * ''Chhed Sakhi Sargam'' (''Sargam'') * ''Koi kisi ka deewaana na bane'' (''Sargam'') * ''Jaag dard-e-ishq jaag'' (''Anarkali'') * ''Mehfil mein jal uthi shama'' (''Nirala'') * ''Aye pyar teri duniya se hum'' (''Jhanjar'') * ''Wafaaon ka majboor daman bichha kar dua kar gume dil khuda se dua kar'' (''Anarkali'') * ''Muhobbat aisi dhadkan hai jo samjhayi nahi jati'' (''Anarkali'') * ''Main jagu sari rain'' (''Bahu Rani'') * ''Ab woh raate kahan ab woh baate kahan'' (''Yasmin'') * '' Kannum Kannum Kalanthu'' ('' Vanjikottai Valiban'') (Tamil film) * ''Jo mujhe bhula ke chale gaye'' (''Sangeeta'') * ''Mujh se mat poochh mere ishq mein kya rakha hai'' (''Anarkali'') * ''Dekho ji bahar aayi'' (''Azad'') * ''Jo dil ko jalaye sataye dukhaye aisi muhobbat se hum baaz aaye'' (''Nirala'') * ''Mujh pe ilzaam-e-bewafaai hai'' (''Yasmin'') * ''Aye chand pyar mera tujh se ye kah raha hai'' (''Khazana'') * ''Muhobbat mein aise zamane bhi aaye'' ('' Sagai'') * ''Aa ja ab to aa ja'' ('' Anarkali'') * ''Tere dar se khushi mangi magar gum de diya tu ne'' (''Hungama'') * ''Tere phoolon se bhi pyar'' (''Nastik'') * ''Kali kali ratiyan yaad sataye'' (''Ghungaroo'') * ''O nirdayi pritam'' (''Stree'') * ''Balma bada nadan'' (''Albela'') * ''Dil se bhula do tum humen'' (''Patanga'') * Sipayee O Sipayee ( Akbar Salim Anarkali) (Telugu film) * ''Kaghaz ki thi woh nao jis main ham jarahe the'' (''Zaban'') * ''Dil ki duniya basa ke sawariyan'' (''Amardeep'') * ''Jab Dil Ko Sataave Gham, Chhed Sakhi Sargam'' (Sargam) (1950) * ''Dekh Tere Sansaar Ki Haalat Kya Ho Gai Bhagwan'' (''Nastik'') (1954) * ''Naa Bole Naa Bole Naa Bole Re'' ( Azad) * ''Aplam chaplam chaplai re'' * '' Mere man ka baanvra panchhi kyon baar baar dole'' * ''Dekh hamen awaaz na dena'' (''Amardeep'') * ''Aapka chehra mashalla'' (''Rootha Na Karo'') * ''Bechain Nazar Betaab Jigar'' (Yasmin) * ''Kehte Hai pyar kisko panchi jara bata de'' (Baarish) * ''Kitna Badal Gaya Insaan'' (Nastik) C Ramchandra composed music for some Marathi songs, which are liked as well. * ''Malamali Tarunya Maze'' – ''Gharkul'' (1970) Singer –

/ Lyrics –

Suresh Bhat Suresh Bhat (15 April 1932 – 14 March 2003) was a Marathi poet from the state of Maharashtra, India. Personal life Bhat was born in a Karhade Brahmin family in Amravati, Maharashtra to Shridhar Bhat, a physician. His mother was fond of po ...

* ''Pachole Amhi Ho Pachole'' – Singer Chitalkar / Lyrics – Anna Joshi * ''Achandrasurya Nando Swatantrya Bharatache'' – ''Gharkul'' (1970) / Singer – Rani Verma & Chorus, Lyrics – Ga Di Madgulkar

Gajanan Digambar Madgulkar Gajānan Digambar Mādguḷkar (1 October 1919 – 14 December 1977) was a Marathi language, Marāthi poet, lyricist, writer and actor from India. He is popularly known in his home state of Maharashtra, Mahārāshtra by just his initials as Ga ...

* House of Bamboo – ''Gharkul'' (1970) Singers –

Manna Dey Prabodh Chandra Dey (; 1 May 1919 − 24 October 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an Indian playback singer, music director, and musician. He had a classical music background, being part of the Bhendibazaar gharana, Bhendibazaar Gh ...

, Pramila Datar and Chorus / Lyrics – Shanta Shelke * ''Aai Bagh Na Kasa Ha Dada'' – Balgeet/Song for kids (1972) / Singer – Sushma Shrestha, Lyrics – Shanta Shelke * ''Roop Pahta Lochani'' – ''Sant Nivrutti Dnyandev'' (1964) / Singer – Asha Bhosle, Lyrics – Sant Dnyaneshwar

Filmography

Movies for which Ramchandra provided musical scores are listed below in alphabetical order: # Aanchal (1960) # Azaad (1955) # Ahinsa (1947) # Albela (1951) #

Amar Rahe Yeh Pyar ''Amar Rahe Yeh Pyar'' is a 1961 Hindi/Urdu family drama film directed by Prabhu Dayal. Produced by Radha Kishan and Prabhu Dayal (R. P. Films), it had music by C. Ramchandra. The story, screenplay and dialogues were by written by Radha Kishan. ...

(1961) # Amar Deep (1958) # Anarkali (1953) # Aasha (1957) # Akbar Salim Anarkali (1979) # Baarish (1957) # Bachchon Ka Khel (1946) # Badla (1943) # Bahadur (1944 film) # Bahadur Pratap (1947) # Bahurani (1963) # Balram Shri Krishna (1968) # Bhakt Raj (1943) # Chhatrapati Shivaji (1952) # Daal Me Kaala (1964) # Devta (1956) # Dil Ki Baat (1944) # Dosti (1946) # Duniya (1949) # Duniya Gol Hai (1955) # Ghungroo (1952) # Girls School (1949), with Anil Biswas # Hanso Hanso Ae Duniya Walo (1942) # Hum Diwane (1965) # Hungama (1952) # Insaniyat (1955) # Jhaanjhar (1953) # Jhamela (1953) # Jitne Door Utne Paas (1960) (Unreleased) # Kaarigar (1965) # Kavi (1954) # Khazana (1951) # Khidki (1948) # Labelaa (1966) # Lahren (1953) # Lalkar (1944) # Leela (1947) # Lutera (1955) # Madadgaar (1947) # Madam Zapata (1962) # Manorama (1944) # Matwale (1947) # Meenar (1954) # Mera Munna (1948) # Mr. Jhatpat (1943) # Muskurahat (1943) # Nastik (1954) # Nadiya Ke Par (1948) # Naghma-e-Sehra (1945) # Namoona (1949) # Nausherwan-E-Adil (1957) # Navrang (1959) # Nazrana (1948) (Unreleased) # Nirala (1950) # Payal Ki Jhankar (1968) # Paigham (1959) # Parchhain (1952) # Patanga (1949) # Pehli Jhalak (1954) # Raj Tilak (1958) # Raunaq 1944 # Rootha Na Karo (1970) # Roshni (1949) # Sajan (1947) # Sanwaria (1949) # Saqi (1952) # Savdhan (1954) # Sawan (1945) # Safar (1946) # Sagai (1951) #

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(1950) # Samrat Chandragupt (1945) # Sangeeta (1950) # Sangram (1950) # Sargam (1950) # Sarhad (1960) # Saudagar (1951), with Hanuman Prasad # Shabistan (1951) # Shadi Se Pehle (1947) # Shagoofa (1953) # Sharda (1957) # Shatranj (1956) # Shehnai (1947) # Sher Dil (1965) # Shin Shinaki Bublaa Boo (1952) # Siphaiya (1949) # Stree (1961) # Subah Ka Tara (1954) # Sukhi Jivan (1942) #

Talaq Divorce according to Islamic law can occur in a variety of forms, some initiated by a husband and some by a wife. The main categories of Islamic customary law are ''talaq'' ( repudiation), ''khulʿ'' (mutual divorce) and ''faskh'' (dissolution o ...

(1958) # Talash (1957) # Tasveer (1966) # Teerandaaz (1955) # Toofani Takkar (1978) # Tulsi Vivah (1971) # Ustad Pedro (1951) # Vana Mohini (1941) # Veer Bhimsen (1964) # Wahan Ke Log (1967) # Yasmin (1955) # Zaban (1943) # Zindagi Aur Maut (1965)

References

External links

*
A Tribute To C. Ramchandra, Biography, The Greatest Music Composer Of Indian Cinema on YouTube

Commentary And Interview of C. Ramchandra with Ameen Sayani on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramchandra, C 1918 births 1982 deaths Indian film score composers Marathi people People from Maharashtra People from Ahmednagar district 20th-century Indian composers 20th-century Indian musicians Films scored by C. Ramchandra