Vasant Desai (1912–1975) was an Indian film music composer, most remembered for his score in

V. Shantaram Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre (18 November 1901 – 30 October 1990), referred to as V. Shantaram or Shantaram Bapu, was an Indian filmmaker, film producer, and actor known for his work in Hindi and Marathi films. He is most known for films such ...

films like ''

Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje ''Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje'' () is a 1955 Indian Hindi-language dance film directed by V. Shantaram. It stars Shantaram's wife Sandhya and dancer Gopi Krishna in lead roles. One of the earlier Technicolor films made in India, the film won t ...

'' (1955), ''

Do Aankhen Barah Haath ''Do Aankhen Barah Haath'' () is a 1957 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by V. Shantaram, who also starred. It is considered to be one of the classics of Hindi cinema and is based on humanistic psychology. It won a Silver Bear at the ...

'' (1957),

Vijay Bhatt Vijay Bhatt (born Vrajlal Jagneshwar Bhatt; 12 May 1907 – 17 October 1993) was a producer-director-screenwriter of Hindi cinema, who made such films as '' Ram Rajya'' (1943), ''Baiju Bawra'' (1952), ''Goonj Uthi Shehnai'' (1959) and ''Himalay ...

's ''

Goonj Uthi Shehnai ''Goonj Uthi Shehnai'' () is a 1959 Hindi film directed by Vijay Bhatt, with Rajendra Kumar, Ameeta, Anita Guha and I. S. Johar as leads. The film has music by Vasant Desai and lyrics by Bharat Vyas, and the duo created numerous hits such as "Jiv ...

'' (1959), ''Sampoorna Ramayan'' (1961), ''Ashirwad'' (1968) and

Hrishikesh Mukherjee Hrishikesh Mukherjee (30 September 1922 – 27 August 2006) was an Indian film director, editor and writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema. Popularly known as ''Hrishi-da'', he directed 42 films during his car ...

's '' Guddi'' (1971).

Early life

Desai was born in 1912 into a wealthy family in Sonawade village,

Savantwadi Sawantwadi is a taluka (a unit of administration) in the Sindhudurg district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The taluka headquarters is Sawantwadi which has a municipal council, which is a local civic body. Sawantwadi was formerly the capita ...

state, ruled by the

Bhonsale The Bhonsle (or Bhonsale, Bhosale, Bhosle) are a prominent group within the Maratha clan system of kunbi origin. They claimed descent from the Sisodia Rajputs but were likely Kunbi tiller-plainsmen. History Earliest members The earliest ac ...

clan, and grew up in

Kudal Kudal is a census town in Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra, India. It is situated on River Karli in southwest Maharashtara. Kudal is the fourth largest town in Sindhudurg after Sawantwadi, Malvan and Kankavli. As of 2011, the population is 16 ...

area, also in

Konkan The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...

belt,

Sindhudurg district Sindhudurg district (Marathi pronunciation: in̪d̪ʱud̪uɾɡ is an administrative district of the Konkan division in India, which was carved out of the erstwhile Ratnagiri district. The district headquarters are located at Oros and the dis ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

in western India.

Career

Desai was with the famous

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 ...

since it started making talkies. He acted, sang, and sometimes composed songs in Prabhat's films like ''Dharmatma'' and ''Sant Dnyaneshwar''. After learning the craft of music composition, he stuck solely to it since the 1940s. Desai scored music for a majority of

's films when the latter broke away from Prabhat to form his own film studio. Their relations soured in late 1950s after which Vasantrao Desai never worked for his former mentor again. Desai's memorable songs are, Hindi Filmi Devotional song, '' Ae malik tere bande hum'' from

, 1957, and play back singer, Vani Jairam's debut song, ''Bol re papihara'' from Guddi (1971).Nostalgia unlimited: Vani Jairam's songs in Malayalam continue to enchant a new generation of music lovers

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

, 2 December 2005. '' Maithreem Bhajata'' is a benediction composed in Sanskrit by Sant Jagadguru Shri

Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Jagadguru Shri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Mahaswamigal (born Swaminathan Sharma; 20 May 1894 – 8 January 1994) also known as the Sage of Kanchi or Mahaperiyavar (meaning, "The great elder") was the 68th Jagadguru Shankaracharya of the Kanc ...

of the Kanchi Mutt. The song was set to a Ragamalika by composer Shri Vasant Desai. It was rendered at the United Nations on Oct. 23, 1966 on the occasion of the UN day, by Bharat Ratna Smt.

M. S. Subbulakshmi Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004) was an Indian Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. She is ...

. In Marathi, some of Desai's memorable songs are ''Sanga mukund kuni ha pahila'', ''Uthi uthi Gopala'' from

Amar Bhoopali ''Amar Bhoopali'' (English: ''The Immortal Song'', French: ''Le Chant Immortel'') is a 1951 Indian film, produced and directed by V. Shantaram and written by Vishram Bedekar. It is a true story about a simple cow herder who has an innate gift of ...

(1951), ''Manuskichya shatrusange yuddha amuche suru'' from Chota Jawan (1963), ''Deh devache mandir'' from Preeti Sangam (1972), ''Ramya hi swargahuni Lanka'' from Swayamwar Zale Siteche (1974).

Last recording

Vasant Desai went back home on December 22, 1975 after a full-day recording of a special musical programme at HMV Studios attended by high-profile musicians as it was in praise of

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

. He stepped into the elevator of his apartment building and due to a technical glitch, the lift began to move, crushing him to death.http://www.bookganga.com/Preview/Preview.aspx?BookId=170912115720&PreviewType=ebooks (p. 23)

Partial filmography

Hindi Films

* Shobha (1942) *

Shakuntala Shakuntala (Sanskrit: ''Śakuntalā'') is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the '' Adi Parva'' of the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata'' and dramatized by many writers, the most famous adaption bein ...

(1943) * Aankh Ki Sharm (1943) * Mouj (1943) * Subhadra (1946) * Jeevan Yatra (1946) * Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946) * Parbat Pe Apna Dera (1946) * Matwala Shair Ram Joshi (1947) * Andhon Ki Duniya (1947) * Sona (1948) * Mandir (1948) * Uddhaar (1949) *

Narasinha Avatar ''Narasinha Avatar'' (The Incarnation of Narsinha) is a 1949 Hindi mythological film produced and directed by Sohrab Modi. Made under the Minerva Movietone banner, it had music composed by Vasant Desai with lyrics by Narendra Sharma. The story ...

(1949) * Nai Taleem (1949) *

Dahej Dahej is a cargo port situated on the South-west coast of Gujarat, India in Bharuch district. There is 17.5 million tonnes per year capacity LNG terminal operated by Petronet in Dahej. Port Information General The Port of Dahej is located in t ...

(1950) * Sheesh Mahal (1950) * Hindustan Hamara (1950) * Jeevan Taara (1951) * Hyderabad Ki Nazneen (1952) * Jhansi Ki Rani (1953) * Dhuaan (1953) * Anand Bhavan (1953) * Savdhan (1954) *

(1955) *

Toofan Aur Deeya ''Toofan Aur Deeya (Storm and Lamp)'' is a 1956 Bollywood film directed by Prabhat Kumar and starring Satish Vyas, Nanda, Rajendra Kumar, Vatsala Deshmukh, Shanta Kumari, Krishna Kumar, Keshavrao Date, and Ulhas. Plot Summary of Toofan Aur ...

(1956) *

(1957) * Mausi (1958) * Do Phool (1958) * Do Behnen (1959) * Ardhangini (1959) * Goonj Utthi Shehnai (1959) * School Master (1959) * Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan (1959) * Amar Shaheed (1959) *

Sampoorna Ramayana ''Sampoorna Ramayana'' () is a 1961 Indian Hindi-language Hindu mythological film directed by Babubhai Mistry, based on the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' by Valmiki, starring Mahipal and Anita Guha as Rama and Sita respectively. The film was a box of ...

(1961) * Pyar Ki Pyas (1961) * Yaadein (1964) * Rahul (1964) * Bharat Milap (1965) * Ladki Sahyadri Ki (1966) * Amar Jyoti (1967) * Ram Rajya (1967) * Ashirwad (1968) * Guddi (1971) * Achanak (1973) * Jai Radhakrishna (1974) * Rani Aur Laal Pari (1975) * Grahan (1976) * Shaque (1977)

Marathi Films and Plays

(Marathi) * ''

Shyamchi Aai Shyamchi Aai ( mr, श्यामची आई; en, Shyam's Mother) is an autobiography of social activist Pandurang Sadashiv Sane (known as ''Sane Guruji''). Its regarded as one of the greatest tributes to mother's love in Marathi literature. ...

'' (1953) (Marathi) * Molkarin (Marathi) * Swayamwar Zale Siteche (Marathi) * Laxmanrekha (Marathi) * Tooch Mazi Rani (Marathi) * Kanchanganga (Marathi) * Chota Jawan (Marathi) * Dev Deenaghari Dhavala (Marathi Drama) * Panditraj Jagganath (Marathi musical drama) * Jai Jai GauriShankar (Marathi musical drama) * Sangeet Mandarmala (Marathi musical drama)

References

External links

*
Vasant Desai
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desai, Vasant 1912 births 1975 deaths People from Maharashtra Hindi film score composers 20th-century composers 20th-century Indian musicians