Sudhir Phadke (, 25 July 1919 – 29 July 2002) was an Indian singer-

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. He was regarded as an icon of the

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

film industry and Marathi ''Sugam Sangeet'' (light music) for five decades. Apart from Marathi, Phadke sang and composed songs in several

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 ...

films as well. Phadke's nickname was Babuji.

Life

Sudhir Phadke was born in

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is kn ...

on 25 July 1919. His birth name was Ram Phadke, but he later changed his name to 'Sudhir' when he composed a song for

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

. Phadke acquired his primary tutelage in vocal classical music from the late Vamanrao Padhye in

. After beginning his career with HMV in 1941, he joined the

Prabhat Film Company Prabhat Film Company (popularly known as Prabhat Films) was an Indian film production company and film studios founded in 1929 by the noted film director V.Shantaram and his friends. It was formed in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India in 1929, towar ...

as music director in 1946. During his long career, he composed music for many Marathi and Hindi films. He was also an immaculate playback singer. Phadke married his fellow singer Lalita Deulkar. Their son

Shridhar Phadke Shridhar Phadke ( mr, श्रीधर फडके, born 9 September 1950) is a famous Marathi language music composer from Maharashtra, India. Early life Shridhar Phadke was born on 9 September 1950 in Mumbai. He is son of the famous Marathi ...

(born 1950) is also a composer and singer. '' Geet Ramayana'', based on poet G D Madgulkar's verses, is one of Phadke's most popular works. The programme ran on

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 ...

for a year, 1955–56. Stage performances of the program continue to draw huge crowds even today. Phadke set to music all 56 songs, and they were sung by different singers for radio (

Manik Varma Manik Varma (16 May 1926 – 10 November 1996) was an Indian classical singer from the Kirana and Agra gharanas (singing styles). Career Besides the pure classical khyal, she also sang semi-classical and light music like thumri, Marathi Naty ...

, lalita Deulkar,

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her con ...

, Phadke himself,

Vasantrao Deshpande Vasantrao Deshpande (2 May 1920 – 30 July 1983) was a Hindustani classical vocalist renowned for his contribution to Natya Sangeet (musical dramas). Early life Vasantrao Deshpande was born into a Deshastha Brahmin family in Murtizapur, Akol ...

, Ram Phatak,

Usha Atre Usha may refer to: Geography *Usha (city), an ancient city in western part of Galilee, Israel *Usha, Israel, a modern kibbutz *Usha, Bardhaman, a village in India Personal name Mythology *Ushas or Usha, a Vedic goddess *Uṣā, daughter of Asura ...

). All 56 songs were also recorded in Phadke's own voice. In his last days of life, Phadke was involved in producing a Hindi film on the life of the Indian

freedom fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (), Marathi pronunciation: �inaːjək saːʋəɾkəɾ also commonly known as Veer Savarkar (28 May 1883 – 26 February 1966), was an Indian politician, activist, and writer. Savarkar developed the Hindu nationali ...

. The movie

Veer Savarkar Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (), Marathi pronunciation: �inaːjək saːʋəɾkəɾ also commonly known as Veer Savarkar (28 May 1883 – 26 February 1966), was an Indian politician, activist, and writer. Savarkar developed the Hindu nationalis ...

was funded by public donations. Sudhir Phadke last sang and composed music for this movie. He was also actively involved with Goa Freedom Movement and in post freedom fight of India. Phadke was connected with

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family" ...

for over 60 years. He was the main inspiration and founder member of

India Heritage Foundation India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Filmography

As a composer

''(Partial filmography)'' # ''Gokul'' (1946) # ''Rukmini Swayamvar'' (1946) # ''

Aage Badho Aage Badho () is a 1947 Hindi language movie directed by Yeshwant Pithkar, starring Dev Anand, Khurshid, Vasant Thengdi, Kusum Deshpande, and Madhukar Apte. Cast *Dev Anand *Khurshid *Kamala Kotnis *Vasant Thengdi *Kusum Deshpande *Madhukar Apt ...

'' (1947) # ''Sita Swayamwar'' (1948) # ''Jivacha sakha'' (1948) # ''Sita Swayanwar'' (1948) # ''Vande Mataram'' (1948) # '' Aparadhi'' (1949) # ''Bheem'' (1949) # ''Maya Baazar'' (1949) # ''Ram Pratiggya'' (1949) # ''Sant Janabai'' (1949) # ''Shri Krishna Darshan'' (1950) # ''Johar Maibap'' (1950) # ''Pudhacha Paul'' (1950) # ''Vanshacha Diva'' (1950) # ''Jashas Tase'' (1951) # ''Vithal Rakhmai'' (1951) # ''Maalti Madhav'' (1951) # ''Murli Wala'' (1951) # ''Lakhaci Goshta'' (1952) # ''May Bahini'' (1952) # ''Narveer Tanaji'' (1952) # ''Pratapgad'' (1952) # ''Bolvita dhani'' (1953) # ''Kon Kunacha'' (1953) # ''Kuberacha Dhan'' (1953) # ''Soubhagya'' (1953) # ''Vahininchya bangadya''(1953) # ''Pehli Taarikh''(1954) # ''Ratna Ghar''(1954) # ''In meen sade teen''(1954) # ''Maharani Yesubai''(1954) # ''Un paus'' (1954) # ''Owalni'' (1954) # ''Postatil mulgi''(1954) # ''Rashmachya Gathi'' (1954) # ''

Shevagyachya Shenga ''Drumsticks'' ( mr, Shevagyachya Shenga) is a 1955 Indian film directed by Shantaram Athavale. It was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Baby Nanda * Balakram * Master Chhotu * Sumati Gupte Awards * 1955 - National Film Aw ...

'' (1955) # ''Ganget ghoda nhala''(1955) # ''Mi tulas tuzhya angani''(1955) # ''Devghar'' (1956) # ''Sajni'' (1956) # ''Andhala magato ek dola'' (1956) # ''Maza ghar mazi manasa''(1956) # ''Devagharcha lena'' (1957) # ''Gharcha zala thoda''(1957) # ''Utavala narad''(1957) # ''Gaj Gauri'' (1958) # ''Gokul Ka Chor'' (1959) # ''Jagachya pathiwar''(1960) # ''Lagnala jato mi''(1960) # ''Umaj padel tar'' (1960) # ''Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan'' (1961) # ''Adhi kalas mag paya''(1961) # ''Kalanka Shobha''(1961) # ''Mazi Aai'' (1961) # ''Nirupama ani parirani''(1961) # ''Prapancha''(1961) # ''Suwasini''(1961) # ''Pyar Ki Jeet'' (1962) # ''Bhintila kaan astat''(1962) # ''Char divas sasuche char divas suneche''(1962) # ''Chimnyanchi shala''(1962) # ''Gariba gharachi lek''(1962) # ''Soniyachi paule''(1962) # ''Bayko maheri jate''(1963) # ''Ha maza marga ekla''(1963) # ''Te maze ghar''(1963) # ''Devacha khel'' (1964) # ''Gurukilli''(1966) # ''Sant gora kumbhar''(1967) # ''Ekati'' (1968) # ''Aamhi jaato amuchchya gaava''(1968) # ''Aadhar'' (1969) # ''Dev manus'' (1970) # ''Dhakti bahin''(1970) # ''Mumbaicha jawai'' (Marathi original of

Basu Chatterjee Basu Chatterjee ( bn, বাসু চ্যাটার্জ্জী; 10 January 1927 – 4 June 2020) was an Indian film director and screenwriter. Through the 1970s and 1980s, Chatterjee became associated with what came to be known as mi ...

Hindi language 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 ...

film ''Piya ka ghar'')(1970) # ''Zala mahar pandharinath'' (1970) # ''Daraar'' (1971 film) # ''Bajiraocha beta ''(1971) # ''Zep ''(1971) # ''Lakhat ashi dekhani ''(1971) # ''Mi hi manus ahe''(1971) # '' Anolkhi''(1973) # ''Javai vikat ghene ahe ''(1973) # ''Kartiki''(1974) # ''Jyotibacha navas (1975)'' # ''Ya sukhano ya ''(1975) # ''Aram haram ahe ''(1976) # ''Chandra hota sakshila ''(1978) # ''Dost asava tar asa''(1978) # ''Sher Shivaji'' (1981) # ''Devghar Mar'' (1981) # ''Aplech dat amplech oth ''(1982) # ''Thorali Jau''(1983) # ''Chorachya manat chandane ''(1984) # ''Maherchi manasa ''(1984) # ''Dhakti soon ''(1986) # ''Pudhacha paul ''(1986) # ''Sher Shivaji'' (1987) # ''Reshim gathi ''(1988) # ''

'' (Hindi) (2001)

Popular songs

Geet Ramayan ( mr, गीत रामायण )

Composed and renditioned '

Geet Ramayan ''Geet Ramayan'' ( mr, गीत रामायण, en, The Ramayana in Songs) is a collection of 56 Marathi language songs chronologically describing events from the Indian Hindu epic, the ''Ramayana''. It was broadcast by All India Radio, ...

', 56 songs written by

Madgulkar Gajānan Digambar Mādguḷkar (1 October 1919 – 14 December 1977) was a Marāthi poet, lyricist, writer and actor from India. He is popularly known in his home state of Mahārāshtra by just his initials as Ga Di Mā (गदिमा). He w ...

. Geet Ramayan, collection of songs is summary of Indian epic of Ramayana in chronological sequence. The first of Geet Ramayan by Sudhir Phadke was broadcast by All India Radio Pune on Friday 1 April 1955 on the day of Raam Navami (celebration of the birth of Lord Rama). From 1 April 1955 for 56 weeks, every Sunday a new song of Geet Ramayana was broadcast. It was one of the most popular programs of that time. Geet Ramayan has been translated in 9 Indian languages Assamese,

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 ...

, English,

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

, Konkani, Sindhi,

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

and Oriya.

As a composer

* ''Jyoti kalash chalke'' (''

Bhabhi ki Chudiyan Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan is a 1961 Hindi film, a family drama directed by Sadashiv J. Row Kavi with Meena Kumari and Balraj Sahni in the lead roles. It is a remake of 1953 Marathi film ''Vahinichya Bangdya'', which was also remade in Telugu as ''Vadi ...

''), a song based on Raga

Bhupali Bhoopali, also known as ''Bhoop'', ''Bhopali,'' or ''Bhupali'', is a Hindustani classical raga. Bhupālī, is a raag in Kalyan Thaat. It is a pentatonic scale (uses 5 notes in ascending and descending scale). Most of the songs in this raga ar ...

sung by

* "Pehli Tarikh", sung by

Kishor Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He w ...

the song is till date played on Radio Ceylon-Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation on 1st of every month. * ''Maratha Sphurti Geet'' the regimental song of

Maratha Light Infantry The Maratha Light Infantry is a light infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It traces its lineage to the Bombay Sepoys, raised in 1768, making it the most senior light infantry regiment in the Indian Army. The class composition of the regiment ...

, was composed and arranged for the military band by Sudhir Phadke. The lyrics were written by G. D. Madgulkar. * ''Chahiye Ashish Madhav'' a homage to Second Sarsanghchalak Shri M S Golwalkar of the RSS. Other major creations of Phadke include: Ashi pakhare yeti, Dev devharyat nahi, Daav mandun mandun modu nako, Vikat ghetla shyam, Tujhe geet ganyasathi sur labhu de, Toch chandrama nabhaat.

Awards

Phadke won numerous awards, including: *

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of severa ...

at 11th National Film Awards (1963) for ''Ha Majha Marg Ekla''. *

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 ...

Award in 1991 * ''Sahyadri Swara Ratna Puraskar'' in April 2002, an award presented by DD Sahyadri

Death

He died in

Mumbai 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- ...

on 29 July 2002 at 10.30 AM after suffering a brain

haemorrhage Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, v ...

. His body was kept at

Memorial at

Dadar Dadar (Help:IPA/Marathi, ̪aːd̪əɾ is a densely populated residential and shopping neighbourhood in Mumbai. It is also a prominent railway and bus service hub with local and national connectivity. Dadar holds the distinction of being Mum ...

in central Mumbai, where many admirers came to pay their last tributes. A Flyover which goes over the railway line and

Dahisar Dahisar (Marathi pronunciation: ̪əɦisəɾ is the northernmost neighborhood (and railway station) of Mumbai. Dahisar is the first locality of Mumbai from the north. The suburb is a very cosmopolitan suburb, which has a large Gujarati popula ...

river in the Mumbai suburb between

Borivali Borivali (Pronunciation: oːɾiʋəliː is a suburb and is located at the north-western end of Mumbai and has a large Gujarati population followed by others. Traditionally the tribals and East Indians lived in Borivali. The attractions incl ...

and

connecting east and west was named after him. Bhandup Village Road in Mumbai suburb of Bhandup (West) was renamed as Sangeetkar Sudhir Phadke Marg by BMC.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phadke, Sudhir 1919 births 2002 deaths Indian film score composers Indian male playback singers Marathi people People from Kolhapur Recipients of the Rashtrapati Award Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Marathi-language singers Musicians from Maharashtra Marathi playback singers Goa liberation activists 20th-century Indian singers Indian male film score composers 20th-century Indian male singers