Rai Chand Boral (19 October 1903 – 25 November 1981) was an Indian composer, considered by music connoisseurs to be the Bhishma Pitamah, the father of film music in India. He was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award in

Indian cinema The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...

, given by

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

, in 1978, and also in the same year, the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English language, English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture (India) ...

award, given by the

, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama.

Early life and training

( Bengali: রায চন্দ্র বরাল) Boral was born in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

. His father, Lal Chand Boral, was a classical musician (expert of ''

Dhrupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music (for example in the Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampradaya), and is als ...

''). He had three sons, and Rai Chand was the youngest. Musicians from Rampur and

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

were invited for lessons. These include Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan of Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, Masit Khan (tabla player), and Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan (sarod player). Rai Chand learnt "Sath Sangat" on the tabla and attended music conferences in

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

, and

Benares Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges, Ganges river in North India, northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hinduism, Hindu world.* * * * The city ...

Career

Raichand Boral is often credited to be the pioneer of Indian film music. Along with Pankaj Mullick, he was in charge of New Theatres' music department. New Theatres set standards in

film music A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

which have rarely been approached since. They also shaped film music in its early days and their format was followed for the most part for first 20–30 years in Hindi film music. He was also responsible for shaping Saigal's budding career. Anil Biswas called Boral 'Bhishma Pitamah of film music'. Boral joined the Indian Broadcasting Company in the year of its inception, 1927. In 1931, he shifted to the New Theatres in the silent era for supporting the stage with live music. He dissolved the

Ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

style of singing from Northern India into the 19th Century Bengali tunes with string instrument medium. In 1935, he introduced playback singing for the first time in the

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 ...

feature film ''Dhoop Chhaon'' (1935). The song, "Main Khush Hona Chahun", had an all women chorus led by Parul Ghosh with Suprabha Sarkar and Harimati picturised in a dance sequence. After arriving in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

in 1953, Boral composed music for ''Dard-e-Dil'' (1953) with Lata's songs. Music for some basic records were composed by him. ''Anjangarh'' (1948) was his last famous film with New Theatres. He is correctly complimented by late Anil Biswas as the Father of Indian Cinema Music. He had directed the music of 70–75 (?) films (excluding live scores of silent movies) including

and Bengali films. He received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award the highest award in

, given by

, in 1978 at the age of 75. Also in the same year he received the

award in the Creative and Experimental music category, the highest award for a performing artist, conferred by the

, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama. He died in 1981 at the age of 78.

Hindi filmography

* Mohabbat Ke Ansu (1932) * Zinda Lash (1932) * Subah Ka Sitara (1932) * Puran Bhagat * Rajrani Meera (1933) (Hindi) *Meerabai (1933) (Bengali) * Dulari Bibi (1933) * Chandidas (1934) * Daku Mansoor (1934) * Mohabbat Ki Kasauti (1934) *After the Earthquake (1935)? * Karwan-E-Hayat (1935) (with Mihirkiron Bhattacharya) * Dhoop Chhaon (1935) (with Pankaj Mullick) *Inquilab (1935) *

Manzil For the convenience of those who read the Quran in a week the text may be divided into seven portions, each known as Manzil. The following division to 7 equal portions is by Hamzah az-Zaiyyat (d.156/772): # Al-Fatiha (chapter 1) through an-Ni ...

(1936) (with Pankaj Mullick) * Karodpati a.k.a. Millionaire (1936) (with Pankaj Mullick) *Anath Aashram 1937 * Vidyapati 1937 *

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

1937 (with Pankaj Mullick) *Abhagin 1938 * Street Singer 1938 * Sathi 1938 Bengali version of Street Singer *Jawani Ki Reet 1939 *Sapera 1939 *Haar Jeet 1940 * Lagan 1941 *Nari 1942 (not sure Bengali or Hindi) *Saugand 1942 *Waapas 1943 *'' Hamrahi'' (1945) *Wasiatnaama 1945 *Anjangarh 1948 *Pahela Admi 1950 *Swami Vivekanand 1950 (1955?) *Dard-e-Dil 1953 * Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu 1953 *Amar Saigal 1955 (with Pankaj Mullick and Timir Baran) * '' Nilachale Mahaprabhu'' (1957)

Bengali filmography

* Dena Paona (1931) *Punarjanma 1932 *Chirakumar Sabha 1932 *Palli Samaj 1932 *Chandidas 1932 *Rajrani Meera 1932 *Mastuto Bhai 1933 *Kapalkundala 1933 *Meerabai 1933 *Ruplekha 1934 *Excuse Me Sir 1934 *Debdas 1935 (with Pankaj Mullick) *Bhagyachakra 1935 *Grihadaha 1936 (with Pankaj Mullick) *Maya 1936 (with Pankaj Mullick) *Barababu 1937 *Didi 1937 (with Pankaj Mullick) *Bidypati 1937 *Abhigyan 1938 *Sathi 1938 *Sapudey 1939 *Rajat Jayani 1939 *Parajay 1939 *Abhinetri 1940 *Parichay 1941 *Prastisruti 1941 *Udayer Pathey 1944 *Biraj Bou 1946 *Anjangarh 1948 *Mantramugda 1949 *Bishnupriya 1949 *Mantramugdha 1949 *Bara Bou 1950 *Sparshamani 1951 *Paritran 1952 *Maa 1952 *Neelachaley Mohaprabhu 1957 *Sagar Sangame 1959 *Natun Fasal 1960

References

External links

*
MusiciansA short history
of Bengali cinema {{DEFAULTSORT:Boral, Raichand 1903 births 1981 deaths Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients Indian male musicians University of Calcutta alumni Bengali musicians Hindi film score composers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 20th-century Indian composers 20th-century Indian musicians Indian male film score composers 20th-century Indian male musicians Musicians from Kolkata