Roshan Lal Nagrath (14 July 1917 – 16 November 1967), known mononymously as Roshan, was an Indian esraj player and

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 ...

. He was the father of actor and film director

Rakesh Roshan Rakesh Roshan (born 6 September 1949) is an Indian film producer, director, screenwriter and actor who works in Bollywood, Hindi films. He appeared in 84 films in the 1970s and 1980s. As an actor, he is mostly known for his supporting roles in ...

and music director Rajesh Roshan and paternal grandfather of

Hrithik Roshan Hrithik Roshan (; born 10 January 1974) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He has portrayed a variety of characters and is known for his dancing skills. One of the highest-paid actors in India, he has won many awards, including si ...

Early life and education

Roshan was born on 14 July 1917 in

Gujranwala Gujranwala is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fourth most-populous city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in northern-central Punjab's Rachna Doab, it serves as the headquarters of its Gujranwala District, epony ...

in the Punjab Province of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(now in

Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (, ) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. With a population of over 127 million, it is the Demographics of Pakistan, most populous province in Pakistan and the List of first-level administrative divisions by popu ...

) into a Punjabi

Saraswat Brahmin Saraswat Brahmins are spread over widely separated regions spanning from Kashmir and Punjab in North India to Konkan in West India to Kanara (coastal region of Karnataka) and Kerala in South India. In places such as western and southern India, ...

family. He began music lessons at a young age and later attended Marris College 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 ...

United Provinces of Agra and Oudh The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 22 March 1902 to 1937; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces (UP), by which the province ...

under the training of Pandit S N Ratanjankar (principal of the institute). Roshan became an accomplished sarod player under the guidance of Allauddin Khan, the renowned sarod player from Maihar. In 1940, Khawaja Khurshid Anwar, programme producer/music,

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

Delhi, hired Roshan as staff artist for esraj, the instrument he used to play. He gave up this job in 1948 to seek fame and fortune 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 ...

Career

In 1948, Roshan came to

to find work as a Hindi film music director and became assistant of music composer Khawaja Khurshid Anwar in film '' Singaar'' (1949). He somewhat struggled until he met the producer-director Kidar Sharma, who gave him the job of composing for his film '' Neki Aur Badi'' (1949), a film co-produced by Munshiram Varma and distributed by Varma Films. While this film was a flop, Kidar Sharma gave him another chance in his next film. Roshan emerged as a player on the Hindi film music scene with ''Baawre Nain'' (1950) which became a big musical hit. In the early 1950s, Roshan worked with singers Mohammad Rafi,

Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It is commonly used as a male given name in India. People with the name Mukesh include: * Mukesh (singer) (1923–1976), Indian playback singer from ...

and Talat Mahmood. ''Malhar'' (1951), ''Shisham'', and Anhonee (1952 film) were some of the movies that he scored during the 1950s. During this time, he also composed the Meera bhajan which became a run-away hit, "Aeiri main to prem diwani mera dard na jane koyi" sung by

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 ...

for the movie ''Naubahar'' (1952). He was not always commercially successful. He gave Indeewar and

Anand Bakshi Anand Bakshi (21 July 1930 – 30 March 2002) was an Indian poet and lyricist. He won Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist 4 times during his career. He wrote over 6000 film songs in more than 300 films. Early life Anand Bakshi (Bakshi Anand Pr ...

their first breaks in the

Indian film industry The cinema of India, consisting of Film, 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 #Cinema by language, film indus ...

as lyricists. Later, they became two of the most sought-after songwriters in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

from the late 1960s onwards. Anand Bakshi was given his first break in 1956 by the music director Nisar Bazmi in his film ''Bhala Aadmi'' (1956). Roshan gave Bakshi the film ''CID Girl'' (1959), after Anand Bakshi wrote the four songs of ''Bhala Aadmi'' in 1956. ''Bhala Aadmi'' was released in 1958 after some delay. Together, Anand Bakshi and Roshan made a super hit musical film ''

Devar ''Devar'' is a 1966 Hindi film directed by Mohan Sehgal. It stars Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Deven Verma and Shashikala. The music is by Roshan and the lyrics by Anand Bakshi; this is their only film together that met with success. The fi ...

'' (1966). The 1960s proved to be the golden age for Roshan and his music. His ability to mould folk music with Hindustani classical music became his trademark and resulted in successful movie musicals. During this time, Roshan gave hits such as "Na to karavan ki talaash hai from Barsat Ki Raat" and "Zindagi bhar nahi bhoolegi woh barsaat ki raat" ('' Barsaat Ki Raat'', 1960). ''Barsaat Ki Raat'' also was a "super hit" film of 1960s. "Ab kya misaal doon" and "Kabhi to milegi, kahi to milegi" (

Aarti ''Arti'' () or ''Aarati'' () is a Hindu ritual employed in worship, part of a ''Puja (Hinduism), puja'', in which light from a flame (fuelled by camphor, ghee, or oil) is ritually waved to venerate Hindu deities, deities. ''Arti'' also refers t ...

, 1962), "Jo vada kiya vo nibhana padega", "Paao chhoon lene do", "Jo baat tujhmein hai" and "Jurm-e-ulfat pe" (''

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

'', 1963), "Nigahen milane ko jee chahata hai" and "Laaga chunari mein daag" (''Dil Hi To Hai'', 1963), "Sansaar se bhaage phirte ho" and "Man re tu kaahe" ('' Chitralekha'', 1964), and "Oh re taal mile" and "Khushi khushi kar do vida" ('' Anokhi Raat'', 1968). He composed some melodies for the movie '' Mamta'' (1966) with lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri, "Rehte the kabhi jinke dil mein" and "Rahen Na Rahen Hum" sung by

and her hit duet, "Chuppa Lo Yun Dil Mein Pyar Mera" with

Hemant Kumar Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989), known professionally as Hemanta Mukherjee and Hemant Kumar, was an Indian music director and a playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, along with several other India ...

. ''Devar'' (1966): "Aaya hai mujhe phir yaad woh zalim, guzara zamana bachpan ka"; "Baharon ne mera chaman loot kar"; "Duniya mein aisa kahan sab ka naseeb hai".

Personal life and death

Roshan married Ira Moitra, his second wife, in 1948 and moved to Bombay. Their sons are

(born 1949) and Rajesh Roshan (born 1955). Roshan had been suffering from chronic heart trouble for over 20 years. He had a sudden heart attack while attending a social gathering, and died in

Mumbai, Maharashtra Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12.5& ...

, India on 16 November 1967, aged 50.

Filmography and popular songs

Popular film qawwalis

* ''Naa Tau Kaarvan Ki Talaash Hai'' film Barsaat Ki Raat (1960) * ''Yeh Hai Ishq Ishq'' film ''Barsaat Ki Raat'' (1960) * ''Nigahein Milane Ko Jee Chahta Hai'' film Dil Hi To Hai (1963 film) * "Waqif Hoon Khoob Ishq Ke Tarz-E-Bayaan Se Main" film Mohammed Rafi, Manna Dey and "Dhundhke Laoon Kahan Se Main" Mohammed Rafi, Manna Dey '' Bahu Begum'' Roshan's marked speciality was the film

qawwali Qawwali is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing originating in the Indian subcontinent. Originally performed at Sufi shrines throughout the Indian subcontinent, it is famous throughout Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and has ...

. He was widely hailed for their composition.

Awards

* Filmfare Best Music Director Award for film ''Taj Mahal'' (1963)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roshan 1917 births 1967 deaths Filmfare Awards winners Hindi film score composers 20th-century Indian composers 20th-century Indian musicians People from Gujranwala