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 highest award in Indian cinema, given by Government of India, in 1978, and also in the same year, the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, 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. His father, Lal Chand Boral, was a classical musician (expert of '' Dhrupad''). He had three sons, and Rai Chand was the youngest. Musicians from Rampur and Gwalior 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,

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.

Career

Raichand Boral is often credited to be the pioneer of Indian film music. Along with Pankaj Mullick, he was in charge of New Theatres' music department. New Theatres set standards in film music 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 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 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 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 New Theatres. 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 Hindi and

films. He received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award the highest award in Indian cinema, given by Government of India, in 1978 at the age of 75. Also in the same year he received the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in the Creative and Experimental music category, the highest award for a performing artist, conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, 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 (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 (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 autho ...

(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 Pankaj Mullick) *Inquilab (1935) * Manzil (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 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 1954 *Amar Saigal 1955 (with Pankaj Mullick and Timir Baran) * ''

Nilachale Mahaprabhu ''Nilachaley Mahaprabhu'' was a 1957 Indian Bengali biographical film directed by Kartik Chattopadhyay, based on the life of 15th-century mystic Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who started his spiritual journey and Hindu reform movement, part of the Bhak ...

'' (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