Vasantrao Deshpande (2 May 1920 – 30 July 1983) was a

Hindustani classical Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

vocalist renowned for his contribution to

Natya Sangeet ''Sangeet Natak'' in Marathi language literally means Musical Drama. As the name suggests, this form of drama combines prose as well as poetry in form of songs to convey the story. In a manner, they are very much similar to Musicals. ''Sangeet ...

(musical dramas).

Early life

Vasantrao Deshpande was born into a Deshastha Brahmin family in Murtizapur,

Akola District Akola district (Marathi pronunciation: �kolaː is a district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city of Akola is the district headquarters. Akola district forms the central part of Amravati Division, which was the former British Raj Ber ...

, in the

Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the east of the Indian state of Maharashtra and a proposed state of central India, comprising the state's Amravati and Nagpur divisions. Amravati Division's former name is Ber ...

region of Maharashtra in India. At the age of eight, Vasantrao Deshpande's ability was observed by

Bhalji Pendharkar Bhalji Pendharkar (3 May 1897 – 26 November 1994) was a film personality in India, and recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the most prestigious award in the field. Early life and family Born to Radhabai and her husband Dr Gopal Pendharkar ...

, who cast him in the role of Krishna in the Hindi movie '' Kaliya Mardan'' (1935). He obtained his PhD in Music.

Training

Vasantrao Deshpande got trained under several gurus, in various different schools of singing. He began his musical training with Shankarrao Sapre of

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 ...

, a disciple of V. D. Paluskar, in

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nagpur is projected to ...

. After this, he studied under several musicians including Sureshbabu Mane (son of

Ustad Abdul Karim Khan Ustad Abdul Karim Khan (Devanagari: उस्ताद अब्दुल करीम ख़ान, Persian language, Persian: ) (11 November 1872 – 27 October 1937)Kirana gharana Kirana gharana is one of the Indian classical khyal gharanas, and is concerned foremost with perfect intonation of notes (swara). Singing style The central concern of the Kirana style is swara, or individual notes, in particular precise tunin ...

, Asad Ali Khan of

Patiala gharana The Patiala ''gharana'' (, ) is one of the vocal (tradition, school, or style of music) of Hindustani classical music, named after the city of Patiala in Punjab, India where it was established. The ''gharana'' was founded in the mid to late 19th ...

, Aman Ali Khan and Anjanibai Malpekar of

Bhendibazaar gharana The Bhendibazaar gharana is one of the vocal gharanas of Indian classical music, which originated in Bhendi Bazaar area of Mumbai in 1890. History and features The Bhendibazaar gharana was founded around 1890 by brothers Chhajju Khan, Nazir Kh ...

, and

Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze, also known as Vazebuwa, (28 November 1871 – 5 May 1945) was a Hindustani Classical musician of the Gwalior tradition known for his impact on popularizing classical music and its impression on Natyageet in the early half ...

(Vazebuwa) of the Gwalior gharana.

Dinanath Mangeshkar Deenanath Mangeshkar (; 29 December 1900 – 24 April 1942) was a well-known Marathi theatre actor, a Natya Sangeet musician and a Hindustani classical vocalist. He is also the father of well-known singers Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Meena ...

, a direct disciple of Vazebuwa, had a particularly strong influence over Deshpande, who is regarded as Mangeshkar's musical heir, having adopted his signature mercurial and dramatic style of singing.

Career

Deshpande performed classical and semi-classical music, appearing in movies including '' Kaliya Mardan'', '' Dudh Bhaat'', and ''

Ashtavinayak Ashtavinayaka ( mr, अष्टविनायक) literally means "eight Ganeshas" in Sanskrit. Ganesh is the Hinduism/Hindu deity of unity, prosperity, learning, and removing obstacles. The term refers to eight Ganeshas. Ashtavinayaka yat ...

''. He issued several commercial releases under his name, and created raga Raj Kalyan, a variant of Yaman without pancham. Deshpande's students included

Chandrakant Limaye Pandit Chandrakant Limaye (चंद्रकांत लिमये) (born 19 August 1950) is a Hindustani Classical Singer from India, and the successor disciple of the well known vocalist Late Dr.Vasantrao Deshpande. Chandrakant Limaye is ...

Vijay Koparkar Vidyadhar Koparkar (born 1962) is a Hindustani classical singer. He himself is a guru and is a disciple of Pt. Dr. Vasantrao Deshpande and Pt. Jitendrabuwa Abhisheki. He sings khyal, tarana, thumri, tappa, dadra, bhajan, abhang and natyageet amon ...

and Pt Padmakar Kulkarni.

Family

His grandson,

Rahul Deshpande Rahul Deshpande is an Indian classical music singer. He is the recipient of the 68th national award of the best playback singer for ''Me Vasantrao''. He is the grandson of Vasantrao Deshpande. Education and career Rahul developed his interes ...

, is also a singer, and has also reprised some of his roles on stage and screen, such as Khansaheb in '' Katyar Kaljat Ghusali''.

has portrayed Vasantrao in a film entitled '' Me Vasantrao'', that is based on Deshpande's life.

Legacy

A foundation, the Dr. Vasantrao Deshpande Pratishthan, organizes ''Vasantotsav'', an annual music festival at

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

in his memory. The annual festival is held over three days during January. During the festival, two awards, the "Vasantotsav Youth Award" for Promising Artists and the "Vasantotsav Award" for veteran artists, are given out. In 2011, a three-day music and dance festival in

was organized by the Indian government's South-Central Zone Cultural Centre (SCZCC) in Deshpande's memory. A film entitled '' Me Vasantrao'', based on Deshpande's life, was scheduled to be released on 1 May 2020, but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Later it was released on 1st April 2022.

Awards

* 1982 – Sangeet Natak Akademi Award

Filmography

Film

Theatre

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deshpande, Vasantrao Hindustani singers 1920 births 1983 deaths People from Akola district Marathi-language singers Marathi playback singers 20th-century Indian male classical singers Indian male musical theatre actors Male actors in Marathi theatre Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 20th-century Indian male actors Patiala gharana Singers from Maharashtra 20th-century Khyal singers