Robin Ghosh ( bn, রবিন ঘোষ, ur, ; 13 September 1939 – 13 February 2016) was a Pakistani-Bangladeshi playback singer and film music composer, best known for singing and composing music for

Lollywood Lollywood ( ur, , translit=lâli vuḍ) refers to Pakistan's film industry based in Lahore, previously the base for both Punjabi and Urdu language film production. Lahore has been the center of Pakistani cinema since the partition of ...

films from 1961 to 1986. Playback singer

Ahmed Rushdi ), Rushdi Sahab ( ur, ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Hyderabad Deccan, British India , death_date = , death_place = Karachi, Pakistan , origin = Pakistani , instrument = Vocalist , genre = ...

has a notable contribution to Ghosh's success. Ghosh gained fame in the mid-1960s when Rushdi sang his compositions in films like ''

Chakori ''Chakori'' ( bn, চকোরী ur, چکوری), is a Pakistani Urdu feature film. This film was released on 22 March 1967 on Eid-ul-Azha Day in Dhaka, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The film was directed by Captain Ehtesham. It was Nadeem' ...

(1967)'', ''Jahan Tum Wahan Hum'', ''Paisa'', etc.

Early life

Robin Ghosh's father worked for the

International Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...

and was posted at

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

during the

Second world war World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, where Ghosh was educated in a

convent school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

. His father was a Bengali Hindu, who had never converted to Christianity and his mother was an Arab Catholic Christian named Asnat Zia Ghosh, a Baghdadi Catholic Christian. When Ghosh was young, his father S.M Ghosh left the family and married another woman leaving the family to Asnat, which she raised all by herself in Wari, Old Dhaka. His brother, Ashok Ghosh, was a film director in Bangladesh and directed the film Nacher Putol 1972, which has the famous song “”Rup Nogorer Rajkonna. When the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

ended in 1945, the six-year-old Ghosh along with his family moved to

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

, in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

(in pre-partitioned India). He showed interest in music, collecting gramophone records and playing the

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

, and finally graduated with music major in Dhaka.

Family life

In the late 1950s, Ghosh was offered a job at the Dhaka Radio Station by a friend. This friend's sister,

Shabnam Jharna Basak (born 17 August 1946), known by her stage name Shabnam, is a Bangladeshi–Pakistani stage and film actress. Actor Waheed Murad introduced her to the Pakistani film industry by offering her a lead role in his film ''Samundar'' in 1 ...

who occasionally played in various Bengali films, became friends with him. The two finally got married. Together they had a son, Ronnie (born 1966).

Film career

Since Robin Ghosh was a Christian, he had exposure to 'choir singing' at his church. When he was young, he had also worked with veteran film music composer

Salil Chowdhury Salil Chowdhury (19 November 1925 – 5 September 1995) was an Indian music director, songwriter, lyricist, writer and poet who predominantly composed for Bengali, Hindi and Malayalam films. He composed music for films in 13 languages. This incl ...

. Later he also worked, as an assistant, with a Pakistani film music composer from Bengal, Muslahuddin. In the early 1960s, film director Ehtesham visited Dhaka Radio Station, and offered Ghosh a contract as a composer for his films. His debut was for the Bengali film ''Raj Dhanir Bookay'' in 1960, and followed by numerous other Bengali and Urdu films, including ''

Chanda Sanskrit prosody or Chandas refers to one of the six Vedangas, or limbs of Vedic studies.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Chandas" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A-M, Rosen Publishing, , page 140 It is the study of poetic metr ...

'' (1962), ''Talash (1963)'', ''Paisa'' (1964), ''

(1967)'' and ''Bhaiya'' (1966). After the release of the film ''Tum Meray Ho'', Ghosh moved to

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

continuing to compose film music into the 1980s. He composed songs for the film '' Aaina (1977)'' one of the greatest films ever made in the

Pakistani film industry Cinema of Pakistan, popularly known as Lollywood ( ur, ), refers to the filmmaking industry in Pakistan. Pakistan is home to several film studios centres, primarily located in its three largest cities – Karachi, Lahore, and Faisalabad. ...

. This film celebrated its

Platinum Jubilee A platinum jubilee is a celebration held to mark an anniversary. Among monarchies, it usually refers to a 70th anniversary. The most recent monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee is Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and the other C ...

at the Pakistani cinemas.

discography

Awards and recognition

Robin Ghosh won a total of 6 Nigar Awards for the following films: *

Nigar Award The Nigar Awards ( ur, , translit=Inʿām Negār, lit=Picture Awards) were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The Nigar Awards a ...

for best film composer for Talash (1963) *

for best film composer for

(1967) *

for best film composer for ''Chahat'' (1974) *

for best film composer for Aaina (1977) *

for best film composer for

Bandish Bandish, cheez or gat is a fixed, melodic composition in Hindustani vocal or instrumental music. It is set in a specific raga, performed with rhythmic accompaniment by a tabla or pakhawaj, a steady drone, and melodic accompaniment by a sarangi, vi ...

(1980) *

for best film composer for ''Dooriyan'' (1984)

Death and legacy

On 10 February 2016, Ghosh became ill and was admitted to a hospital in

, Bangladesh. He died on 13 February 2016 due to

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise ...

. He was 78 years old.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghosh, Robin 1937 births 2016 deaths Bangladeshi Christians Bangladeshi people of Arab descent Bengali musicians Musicians from Baghdad Bangladeshi film score composers Pakistani film score composers Male film score composers 20th-century composers 21st-century composers Nigar Award winners Pakistani composers Pakistani Christians Pakistani emigrants to Bangladesh Pakistani people of Bengali descent Pakistani people of Iraqi descent 20th-century male musicians 21st-century male musicians