Bakshi Mohinder Singh Sarna (24 February 1925 – 6 September 2020), known professionally as S. Mohinder, was an Indian music composer.

Early life

He was born in Sillanwali Tehsil,

Sargodha District Sargodha District (Punjabi language, Punjabi and ), is a district of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. The capital of the district is Sargodha. It is an agricultural district with wheat, rice, sugarcane and kinnow being its main crops. The Sa ...

in 1925. Mohinder's father Bakhsi Sujan Singh was a sub-inspector in the police forces. Later, his father also served in Sahiwal (old name Montgomery area). He was a student of a famous musician at that time in

Sahiwal Sahiwal ( Punjabi / ; ; ), formerly known as Montgomery, is a city in central Punjab, Pakistan. It is the administrative capital of both Sahiwal District and Sahiwal Division. It is the 19th largest city of Pakistan by population accordin ...

named Pandat Ratan Moorti who lived at Babay Wala Chowk. His father Bakshi Sujan Singh was transferred and the family moved to a comparatively larger city

Lyallpur Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

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

Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

, in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, where young Mohinder, in the 1930s, started an apprenticeship with an accomplished

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

religious

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

Sant Sujan Singh. He honed his skills for several years in accordance with classical music in the tutelage of Sant Sujan Singh. Initially, he strived to be a singer. Later, his family moved to

Sheikhupura Sheikhupura (Punjabi language, Punjabi / ; ) also known as Qila Sheikhupura, is a city and district in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. Founded by the Mughal Empire, Mughal Emperor Jahangir in 1607, Sheikhupura is the List of ...

(now in Pakistan), close to

Nankana Sahib Nankana Sahib (; ) is a city and capital of Nankana Sahib District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is named after the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak, who was born in the city and first began preaching here. Nankana Sahib is among ...

, the birthplace of the founder of

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

(

Guru Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also known as ('Father Nanak'), was an Indian spiritual teacher, mystic and poet, who is regarded as the founder of Sikhism and is t ...

). He later received his further training in classical music from Sikh religious musician Bhai Samund Singh. Frequent transfers of his father kept the family on the move. Since Mohinder's education suffered, his father enrolled him in Khalsa High School during the 1940s in the village Kairon in

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

. S. Mohinder was fluent both in Urdu and Punjabi languages. It took him some time to learn the Hindi language.

Career

In 1947, the rest of his family moved to

East Punjab East Punjab was a state of Dominion of India from 1947 until 1950. It consisted parts of the Punjab Province of British India that remained in India following the partition of the state between the new dominions of Pakistan and India by the ...

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 ...

. The love for classical music brought S. Mohinder to

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 ...

, the Mecca of Indian Classical Music. After some years of grooming, S. Mohinder moved to

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 ...

, the centre of the film industry. His first successful film was ''Nili'' (1950), which was a musical hit but the film was a disaster at the box office. Mohinder Singh eventually managed to become a music director in Filmistan Studio, which then was making films. He composed music for them for almost half a decade. In the early 1980s, he migrated the US, often attending meetings with local music enthusiasts to offer his insights into the 1990s and early 2000s. He returned to Mumbai, India in 2013. According to his daughter Nareen Chopra, he was helped in his career development by

Suraiya Suraiya Jamal Sheikh (15 June 1929 – 31 January 2004), mononymously known as Suraiya, was an Indian actress and playback singer who worked in Hindi films. She is regarded as one of the greatest and finest actresses in the history of Indian c ...

, film producer and director K. Asif, S. Mukherjee and Madhubala. His daughter also added that he was close to Madhubala's family and Prithviraj Kapoor.

Death

He died in Mumbai at the age of 95 on 6 September 2020.

Awards

National Film Award The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

as 'Best Music Director of the year' (1969) for film Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai (1969), a Punjabi-language film.

Filmography

Unreleased films – Geet Aur Aansoo (1940s), Do Dost (1950s), Maa Di Godh (Punjabi), 1970s * ''Sehra'' (1948) * ''Jeevan Saathi'' (1949) * ''Nili'' (1950) * ''Shrimati Ji'' (1952) - music an background music also * ''Veer Arjun'' (1952) * ''Bahadur'' (1953) * ''Paapi'' (1953) * '' Naata'' (1955) * '' Alladin Ka Beta '' (1955) * ''Sau Ka Note'' (1955) * ''Shahzaada'' (1955) * ''Sultaan-E-Alam'' (1956) * ''

Shirin Farhad Shirin Farhad or Shirin Farhaad may refer to: * A version of the classic Persian story of Khosrow and Shirin * Shirin Farhad (1931 film), ''Shirin Farhad'' (1931 film), an Indian musical film directed by J.J. Madan, the second Indian film with soun ...

'' (1956) * ''Karwan'' (1956) * ''Paataal Pari'' (1957) * ''Sun To Le Hasina'' (1958) * '' Naya Paisa '' (1958) * ''Khoobsurat Dhoka'' (1959) * ''Pardesi Dhola'' (1959) (Punjabi movie as a producer & music director) * ''Bhagwaan Aur Shaitaan'' (1959) * ''Do Dost'' (1960) * ''Ek Ladki Saat Ladke'' (1961 with Vinod) * '' Zameen Ke Tare'' (1960) * '' Mehlon Ke Khwab '' (1960) * ''Jai Bhavaani'' (1961) * ''Baanke Saawariya'' (1962) * ''Reporter Raju'' (1962) * ''Zarak Khan'' (1963) * ''Captain Sheroo'' (1963) * ''Sarfarosh'' (1964) * ''Bekhabar'' (1965) * ''Sunehre Kadam'' (1966) * ''Professor-X'' (1966) * ''Picnic'' (1966) * '' Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai'' (1969) (He won the

for this Punjabi-language movie) * '' Man Jeete Jag Jeet '' (1973) (Punjabi movie) * '' Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam '' (1974) Punjabi movie * Shabads And Shlokas Of Guru Tegh Bahadur Singh Ji Vol 1 Album had Various Artistes got 10 Tracks (1975) * ''SHABAD GURBANI'' (1975) private album for singer KANWAL SIDHU * ''Sis Ganj'' (1975) Guru Teg Bahadur - Hind Di Chadar) private album with Mahendra Kapoor, Manna Dey, S. Mohinder, Ragi Tirlochan Grewal * '' Teri Meri Ik Jindri'' (1975) * ''Papi Tarey Anek'' (1976) Punjabi movie * '' Santo Banto'' (1976) Punjabi movie * Laadli (1978) Punjabi movie * ''Sukhi Pariwar'' (1979) Punjabi movie * ''Fauji Chacha'' (1980) Punjabi movie * ''Dahej'' (1981) Punjabi movie * Shabads And Shlokas Of Guru Tegh Bahadur Singh Ji Vol. 2 private album with

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and range of voice ...

, Neelam Sahni Label on Saregama Releasing on 06 Jan, (1985) * ''Sandli'' (1985) * ''Maula Jatt'' (1990) (Punjabi movie)

References

External links

S. Mohinder Soulful Musician – Academy of the Punjab in North America website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mohinder, S. 1925 births 2020 deaths Best Music Direction National Film Award winners Hindi film score composers People from Sahiwal District