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 Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in the field of cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadca ...

, the highest award in

Indian cinema The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ko ...

, given by

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

, 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) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

award, given by the

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

Early life and training

(

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

: রায চন্দ্র বরাল) Boral was born in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, 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, Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampraday and also related to the South Ind ...

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

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

were invited for lessons. These include Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan of

Rampur-Sahaswan gharana Rampur-Sahaswan gharana is a gharana (musical heritage) of Hindustani classical music centred in the North-Uttar Pradesh towns of Rampur and Sahaswan. Ustad Inayat Hussain Khan (1849–1919) was the founder of this gharana. History The gharan ...

, Masit Khan (tabla player), and Ustad

Hafiz Ali Khan Hafiz Ali Khan (1888–1972) was an Indian sarod player.Brick, mortar & false notes
Dawn (newspaper), Published 29 Ap ...

(sarod player). Rai Chand learnt "Sath Sangat" on the tabla and attended music conferences in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

, and

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

Career

Raichand Boral is often credited to be the pioneer of Indian film music. Along with

Pankaj Mullick Pankaj Kumar Mullick (10 May 1905 – 19 February 1978) was an Indian music composer, playback singer and actor, who was a pioneer of film music in Bengali cinema and Hindi cinema at the advent of playback singing, as well as an early exponent ...

, 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 e ...

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 Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

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 Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

in the year of its inception, 1927. In 1931, he shifted to the

New Theatres New Theatres is an Indian film studio. It was formed in Calcutta by producer B. N. Sircar (Birendranath Sircar, the recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke Award of 1970). It was formed on 10 February 1931. Motto of this company was– ''Jivatang Jyotire ...

in the silent era for supporting the stage with live music. He dissolved the

Ghazal 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 ...

style of singing from Northern India into the 19th Century

tunes with string instrument medium. In 1935, he introduced playback singing for the first time in the

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

feature film ''Dhoop Chhaon'' (1935). The song, "Main Khush Hona Chahun", had an all women chorus led by

Parul Ghosh Parul Ghosh (; 1915–13 August 1977) was an Indian playback singer. Career Ghosh sang in Hindi and Bengali movies from 1935 to 1951. Hailing from Barisal (now in Bangladesh), she was introduced to playback singing by her brother Anil Biswas ...

with

Suprabha Sarkar Suprabha Beckjord (born 1956) is an ultramarathon runner from Washington, D.C. She is an owner of a gift shop and a disciple of Sri Chinmoy. History In 1986, she began with a 7 km run. Her first Marathon was the Inspiration Marathon in Verm ...

and Harimati picturised in a dance sequence. After arriving in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

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

. 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

films. He received the

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 ''Mohabbat Ke Ansu'' () is a 1932 Indian Urdu-language social romantic film. It was directed by Premankur Atorthy for New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta. The music for the film was directed by R. C. Boral. The film starred K. L. Saigal in his debut ro ...

(1932) * Zinda Lash (1932) *

Subah Ka Sitara ''Subah Ka Sitara'' is a 1932 Urdu/Hindi romantic costume film from India. It was directed by Premankur Atorthy for New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta. Subah Ka Sitara was the third of the three films with which K. L. Saigal started his acting career in ...

(1932) *

Puran Bhagat Puran Bhagat (later became Sri Chauranginatha) was a Punjabi Nath Saint and prince of Sialkot. As per unauthenticated history, he had been exiled and lived the last days of his life in a village located in the suburbs of Sialkot city. His temple ...

Rajrani Meera ''Rajrani Meera'' (Rajrani Mira) is a 1933 Hindi devotional film. It was directed by Debaki Bose for New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta. The cinematographer was Nitin Bose with music composed by R. C. Boral. The film was a bilingual, made in Bengali a ...

(1933) (Hindi) *Meerabai (1933) (Bengali) *

Dulari Bibi ''Dulari Bibi'' is a 1933 Hindi/Urdu comedy film. It was directed by Debaki Bose and produced by New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta. A short 3 reel film it centred on the story of Our Wives. The film starred K. L. Saigal, Molina Devi, Mir Jan and the m ...

(1933) *

Chandidas Chandidas (born 1408) was a medieval poet of Bengal, or possibly more than one. Over 1250 poems related to the love of Radha and Krishna in Bengali with the ''bhanita'' of Chandidas are found with three different sobriquets along with his name, ...

(1934) *

Daku Mansoor ''Daku Mansoor'' (Mansoor The Dacoit) also called ''Karishma-E-Kudrat'' is a 1934 Hindi/Urdu costume action drama film directed by Nitin Bose. The film was produced by New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta and the music director was R. C. Boral. The cast o ...

(1934) *

Mohabbat Ki Kasauti ''Mohabbat Ki Kasauti'' also called ''Rooplekha'' in Bengali was a 1934 Indian "semi-historical" bilingual film in Hindi and Bengali, directed by P. C. Barua for New Theatres. Though Barua is consistently mentioned as director, according to auth ...

(1934) *After the Earthquake (1935)? *

Karwan-E-Hayat ''Karwan-E-Hayat'' is a 1935 Urdu/Hindi costume action-adventure film. The film is directed by Premankur Atorthy, with assistance by Hemchandra, for New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta; and it was produced by Lahore branch of New Theatres. The cast includ ...

(1935) (with Mihirkiron Bhattacharya) * Dhoop Chhaon (1935) (with

) *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 Hamza Al-Zayyat (d.156/772): # Al-Fatihah (chapter 1) through An-Nis ...

(1936) (with Pankaj Mullick) *

Karodpati ''Karodpati'' (also called ''Millionaire'') is a Hindi 1936 comedy film directed by Hemchander Chunder. The film was produced by New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta, and the music was composed by R. C. Boral with the assistance of Pankaj Mullick. The ly ...

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

Vidyapati Vidyapati ( – 1460), also known by the sobriquet ''Maithil Kavi Kokil'' (the poet cuckoo of Maithili), was a Maithili and Sanskrit polymath-poet-saint, playwright, composer, biographer, philosopher, law-theorist, writer, courtier and ...

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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

1937 (with Pankaj Mullick) *Abhagin 1938 *

Street Singer Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuity, gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performa ...

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 Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; born Vishvambhar Mishra) was a 15th-century Indian saint who is considered to be the combined avatar of Radha and Krishna by his disciples and various scriptures. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna ...

1954 *Amar Saigal 1955 (with Pankaj Mullick and Timir Baran) * '' Nilachale Mahaprabhu'' (1957)

Bengali filmography

Dena Paona ''Dena Paona'' ( bn, দেনা পাওনা) () is a 1931 Bengali language, Bengali film directed by Premankur Atorthy, starring Amar Mullick, Durgadas Bannerjee, Jahar Ganguly, Nibhanani Devi, and Bhanu Bandopadhyay. Based on a novel ...

(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 composers 20th-century Indian musicians Indian male film score composers 20th-century male musicians Musicians from Kolkata