Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar(Marathi

Marathi language

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

: रामचंद्र नरहर चितळकर /सी.रामचंद्र ) (1918–1982) was a renowned music composer in the movie industry of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. In the composer's role, he mostly used the name C. Ramachandra, 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 language

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

 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 such as Kitna haseen hai mausam in film Azad or Shola jo bhadke in Albela.

Biography

Ramachandra was born in January 12 1918 in Puntamba

Puntamba

Puntamba | पुणतांबा is a market town with a very long history. The town is situated on the banks of the Godavari river in Rahata taluka, Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra in India...

, a small town in Ahmednagar district

Ahmednagar district

Ahmednagar district is the largest district of Maharashtra state in western India. The historical Ahmednagar city is the headquarters of the district. Ahmednagar was the seat of the Ahmednagar Sultanate of late medieval period . This district is also known for the towns of Shirdi associated with...

 in Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. He studied music under Vinayakbua Patwardhan at "Gandharva Mahavidyalaya" and also under Shankarrao Sapre of Nagpur where he studied music alongside Vasantrao Deshpande

Vasantrao Deshpande

Vasantrao Deshpande was a renowned Hindustani classical vocalist who was also a brilliant performer of Natya Sangeet. He had a unique style of singing which is still loved by many ardent fans.-Early life and background:...

. 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 "Saeed-e-Havas" and "Atma Tarang".

Ramachandra provided harmonium accompaniment for Minerva composers Bindu Khan and Habib Khan. He debuted as music director in Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 movies with Jayakkodi and Vanamohini. He received public notice as a good composer in Bhagwan Dada's "Sukhi Jeevan", and established a long association that culminated with the musical box office hit "Albela".

Influenced by Benny Goodman

Benny Goodman

Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...

, Ramachandra 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 "Shehnai". He used a combination of a bongo, an oboe, a trumpet, a clarinet and a sax for the song "Shola Jo Bhadke" in "Albela". He sang the title song "Shin Shinaki Boobla Boo" with Lata Mangeshkar

Lata Mangeshkar

Lata Mangeshkar is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional...

, which included rock rhythms. He provided the musical score for the scat song "Ina mina dika" in "Aasha

Aasha (1957 film)

Aasha, also transliterated as Asha, was a 1957 Hindi film. The film became a box office hit.- Plot :The story tells about Kishore who is good-hearted person and always helps poor people even though he is from Zamindar family. Then he travels to Bombay to stay with his cousin Raj who cheats lots of...

".

Perhaps C. Ramachandra's biggest success as a music composer was the 1953 movie Anarkali

Anarkali

Anarkali ; Anārkalī ) was a legendary slave girl from Lahore, Punjab . During the Mughal period, she was supposedly ordered to be buried alive between two walls by Mughal emperor Akbar for having an illicit relationship with the Prince Nuruddin Saleem later to become Emperor Jahangir...

 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 pooch mere ishq main kya rakha hai", "Mohabbat aise dhadkan hain", "Jaag dard-e-ishq jaag" etc.. went on to become huge hits and were also highly acclaimed as masterpieces. Anarkali also perhaps saw the famed composer-singer combine of Ramachandra and Lata Mangeshkar

Lata Mangeshkar

Lata Mangeshkar is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional...

 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.

The highly popular patriotic song "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo

Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo

"Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo" is an Indian patriotic song written in Hindi by Kavi Pradeep and composed by C. Ramchandra commemorating Indian soldiers who died during the Sino-Indian War...

", which was sung by Lata Mangeshkar

Lata Mangeshkar

Lata Mangeshkar is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional...

 and penned by poet Pradeep

Pradeep

Kavi Pradeep , born Ramchandra Baryanji Dwivedi, was a renowned poet and songwriter who is best known for his patriotic song, Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo, written as tribute to the soldiers who had died defending the country, during the Sino-Indian War.His first recognition came for his patriotic lyrics...

, was a composition of Ramachandra, it was later performed live, by Lata Mangeshkar

Lata Mangeshkar

Lata Mangeshkar is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional...

, in the presence of Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...

 at the Ramlila grounds, in New Delhi

New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

 on Republic Day, 26 January 1963. Jawaharlal Nehru became so sentimental that tears rolled down his cheeks. He similarly provided a memorable musical score accompanying a competition between two dancers whose roles were played by Padmini

Padmini (actress)

Padmini was an Indian actress and trained Bharathanatyam dancer who has acted in over 250 Indian films. She has acted in the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi language films...

 and Vyjayanthimala

Vyjayanthimala

Vyjayanthimala Bali is an Indian film actress, Bharathanatyam dancer, carnatic singer, dance choreographer, golfer and a Parliamentarian....

 in the Tamil movie "Vanjikottai Vaaliban".

Ramachandra provided music compositions for a few Marathi

Marathi language

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

, Telugu

Telugu language

Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...

, Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

, and Bhojpuri

Bhojpuri language

Bhojpuri is a language spoken in parts of north-central and eastern India. It is spoken in the western part of state of Bihar, the northwestern part of Jharkhand, and the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh , as well as adjoining parts of the Nepal Terai. Bhojpuri is also spoken in Guyana,...

 movies besides Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

movies. In 1953, he also produced with "New Sai Productions" three Hindi movies: "Jhanjhar", "Lehren", "Duniya Gol Hai".

In the late 1960s, Ramachandra produced two Marathi movies, "Dhananjay" and "Gharkul". He also acted in them and composed music for them. C. Ramchandra died of acute peptic ulcer on the 5th January 1982 at Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai.

Ramchandra wrote his autobiography in Marathi in 1977.

Mumbai based troupe Musicolor,which is promoting vintage music, presented an exclusive tribute programmes featuring the gems of C Ramchandra at Dinanath Mangeshkar auditorium on 22 January 2010.

Compositions

The following is a short list of some of Ramachandra's best compositions:

• Yeh zindagi usi ki hai jo kisi ka ho gaya (Anarkali)
• Dheere se aaja re akhiyan mein (Albela)
• 'Katatay hain dukh mein ye 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)
• 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)
• 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 (Sagaai)
• 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)
• Kaghaz ki thi woh nao jis main ham jarahe the (Zaban)
• Dil ki duniya basa ke sawariyan (Amardeep)

Filmography

Movies for which Ramachandra provided musical scores are listed below in chronological order:
 26 January
 Aanchal
 Aazad
 Ahinsa
 Albela
 Amar Rahe Ye Pyar
 Amardeep
 Anarkali
 Asha
 Baarish
 Bachchon Ka Khel
 Badla
 Bahadur
 Bahadur Pratap
 Bahu Rani
 Balram Shri Krishna
 Bhakt Raaj
 Chhatrapati Shivaji
 Daal Me Kaala
 Devta
 Dil Ki Baat
 Dosti
 Duniya
 Duniya Gol Hai
 Ghungroo
 Girls School
 Hanso Hanso Ae Duniya Walo
 Hum diwane [as Annasahib]
 Hungama
 Insaniyat
 Jhaanjhar
 Jhamela
 Jitne Door Utne Paas
 Kaarigar
 Kavi
 Khazana
 Khidki
 Labelaa
 Lahren
 Lalkaar
 Leela
 Lutera
 Madadgaar
 Madam Zapazta
 Manorama
 Matwaale
 Meenar
 Mera Munna
 Mr. Jhatpat
 Muskurahat
 Naastik
 Nadiya Ke Paar
 Naghma-e-Sehra
 Namoona
 Naushervan-e-Dil
 Navrang
 Nazrana
 Nirala
 Paayal Ki Jhankar
 Paigham
 Parchhain
 Patangaa
 Pehli Jhalak
 Raj Tilak
 Raunaq
 Rootha Na Karo
 Roshni
 Saajan
 Saanwaria
 Saaqi
 Saavdhan
 Saawan
 Safar
 Sagaai
 Samadhi
 Samrat Chandragupt
 Sangeeta
 Sangraam
 Sargam
 Sarhad
 Saudagar
 Shabistaan
 Shadi Se Pehle
 Shagoofa
 Sharda
 Shatranj
 Shehnai
 Sher Dil
 Shin Shinaki Bublaa Boo
 Siphaiya
 Stree
 Subah Ka Tara
 Sukhi Jivan
 Talaaq
 Talaash
 Tasveer
 Teerandaaz
 Toofani Takkar
 Tulsi Vivaah
 Ustaad Pedro
 Veer Bhimsen
 Wahaan Ke Log
 Yasmeen
 Zabaan
 Zindagi Aur Maut

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