Ajit Merchant was an Indian music composer and director.
Early life
Ajit Merchant was born to lawyer of Mumbai. His family was natively belonged to
Bet Dwarka
Bet Dwarka (also spelled Beyt Dwarka) or Shankhodhar is an inhabited island at the mouth of the Gulf of Kutch, situated off the coast of the town of Okha, Gujarat, India, and north of the city of Dwarka. Northeast to southwest, the island measur ...
. He was introduced to music by his father who used to take him to concerts of various musicians like
Abdul Karim Khan
Ustad Abdul Karim Khan (Devanagari: उस्ताद अब्दुल करीम ख़ान, Persian: ) (11 November 1872 – 27 October 1937)Shivkumar Shukla.
He was married to Nilamben.
Career
Merchant was a stage actor before venturing into music. He received the best actors award in Mumbai State Drama Festival for his role in Pragji Dosa's play ''Anahat Naad''.
He was invited by
Chandravadan Mehta
Chandravadan Chimanlal Mehta (6 April 1901 – 4 May 1991), popularly known as C. C. Mehta or Chan. Chi. Mehta, was a Gujarati playwright, theatre critic, bibliographer, poet, story writer, autobiographer, travel writer and broadcaster from Vadoda ...
for his radio programme ''Ek Daayro'' in 1945. He presented some songs like ‘Ekvar Ghogha Jajo Re Gheriya’ and ‘Pandadi Shi Hodi'. He impressed radio station director and started performing on radio. After leaving
All India Radio
All or ALL may refer to:
Language
* All, an indefinite pronoun in English
* All, one of the English determiners
* Allar language (ISO 639-3 code)
* Allative case (abbreviated ALL)
Music
* All (band), an American punk rock band
* ''All'' (All a ...
, he was involved with ''Navi Rangbhoomi''. He composed music of more than 250 Gujarati, Hindi and Marathi stage plays.
He reached his popularity with his film ''Divadandi'' (1950). He produced the film with story written by
Chandravadan Mehta
Chandravadan Chimanlal Mehta (6 April 1901 – 4 May 1991), popularly known as C. C. Mehta or Chan. Chi. Mehta, was a Gujarati playwright, theatre critic, bibliographer, poet, story writer, autobiographer, travel writer and broadcaster from Vadoda ...
and screenplay by
Barkat Virani
Barkat Ali Ghulam Hussain Virani, known by his pen name Befām, was Gujarati author and poet especially known for his ghazals.
Life
Barkat Ali was born on 25 November 1923 in Ghanghali village near Sihor in Bhavnagar district. He was interested ...
'Befam'. Though the film was moderately successful, a song ''Taro Aankhno Afeeni'' was huge hit. The music was composed by Ajit himself and was sung by
Dilip Dholakia
Dilip Dholakia (15 October 1921 – 2 January 2011), often credited as D. Dilip or Diliprai in Hindi films, was an Indian music composer and singer. Born and educated in Junagadh, he was introduced to music in early life due to his family. Starti ...
. The song is still popular across Gujarat.
He was neighbor of Hindi playback singer,
Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It also means god of 3 worlds, heaven, hell & earth, which in turn represents Hindu god Shiva. It is commonly used as a male given name in India. Peopl ...
and he agreed him to sing for his compositions in some Gujarati films like ''Kariyavar'' and ''Lagna Mandap.'' He composed a
gazal
The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...
, ''Raat Khamosh Hai'' which was later sung by
Jagjit Singh
Jagjit Singh (born Jagmohan Singh Dhiman; 8 February 1941 – 10 October 2011) was an Indian composer, singer and musician. He composed and sang in numerous languages and is credited for the revival and popularity of ghazal, an Indian c ...
and included in his album, ''Muntazir''.
He died on 18 March 2011.
Filmography
He composed and directed music of several Hindi films like ''Sapera'' (1961), ''Refugee'' (1948), ''Indra Leela'' (1956), ''Challenge'' (1964), ''Chandi Pooja'' (1957), ''Lady Killer'' (1968), ''Ram Bhakta Vibhishan'' (1958), ''Raj Kumari'' (1955); and Gujarati films like ''Divadandi'' (1950), ''Kariyavar'' (1948), ''Lagna Mandap'', ''Bahurooi''.
Awards
He was awarded Lifetime Achievement award by Maharashtra Rajya Gujarati Sahitya Akademi in 2007.