C. Ramchandra, a creative genius, initially pursued acting in the city of dreams but transitioned into a celebrated music director. C Ramchandra’s “Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon, Zara Aankh Mein Bhar Lo Paani” is nothing less than another national anthem for the nation.
His genius marked him as a pioneer, introducing diverse and trendsetting music that etched lasting memories. Versatile in his craft, he composed everything from lively club tunes to soothing lullabies and soulful ghazals. Unconstrained by classical norms, his flamboyant personality reflected in his simple yet captivating compositions.
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Willum Skeener
C. Ramchandra was born as Ramachandra Narhar Chitalkar in Puntambe village (Ahmednagar), on January 12, 1918. As a child his ambition was to become a soldier or a musician. He learnt classical music for six years under Sri Shankerrao Sapre.
A handsome man with 6 feet of height and a spate of curly hair, bagged the lead role in Hindi film Naganand (1935) which was a huge flop, the faliure of his subsequent films Said-e-Hawas (1936) and Atma Tarang (1937) forced him to leave acting and his focus shifted toward music.
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He debuted as full-fledged music director in the Tamil film ‘Jayakkodi’ and soon found success through films like “Sukhi Jeevan, 1942”, “Safar, 1946”, “Leela, 1947” and “Shehnai, 1947, which ‘Mar katari marjana’ and ‘Meri Jaan, Sunday Ke Sunday’ “. He achieved tremendous success with Patanga (1949) which has nuggets like ‘Dil Se Bhula Do..’; ‘Jane Wale Tune..’ and the evergreen duet ‘Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon’.
He used various pseudonyms like Anna Sahib (in the movies Bahadur Pratap, Matwale, and Madadgaar), Ram Chitalkar (in the movies Sukhi Jeevan, Badla, Mr. Jhatpat, Bahadur, and Dosti), P Ramakant, Shyamoo (in the movie Yeh hai duniya), and finally C Ramachandra.
For his career as an occasional playback singer, he used only his surname Chitalkar and sang some renowned and unforgettable duets with Lata Mangeshkar, such as “Kitna Haseen Hai Mausam” in the film Azaad (1955) and “Shola Jo Bhadke” in Albela (1951). He gave playback for the great trinity Raj Kapoor (Sargam), Dilip Kumar (Azaad) and Dev Anand (Barish), displaying his prowess as a playback singer. He also sung in films like Jhamela, Sargam, Nadiya Ke Paar, Khazana, Sagai, Sanwariya, Shin Shinaki Boobla Boo, Sharda, Shagufta etc.
C Ramchandra transformed Hindi film music by infusing Western influences during an era dominated by mellow tunes. His timeless and upbeat track, “Aana Meri Jaan Meri Jaan, Sunday Ke Sunday,” was nothing short of a rebellion in those times, He continued to make the silly, juvenile songs, influenced by western music which can still force a smile on listeners faces.
Samadhi (1950) had the dance number, ‘Gore Gore, O Baanke Chhorey.., a direct lift from Edmundo Ros’s Chico-Chico, became a cult and chartbuster song. He created nostalgic music of Albela (1951), displaying his wide range from the deeply soulful ‘Dhreere Se Aa Ja..’ to peppy ‘Shola Jo Bhadke..’ to a qawwali-style song ‘Haseeno Se Mohabbat’.
His biggest success came with Anarkali (1953) and all its songs especially ‘Yeh Zindagi Usiki Hai..’, ‘Mujhse Mat Poochh..’, ‘Mohabbat Aisi Dhadkan Hai..’ and ‘Jaag Dard-e-Ishq Jaag..’ were acclaimed as masterpieces. In 1955 for “Azaad” he made ‘Aplam Chaplam..’, ‘Na Bole Na Bole..’ and ‘Kitna Haseen Mausam’.
He replaced V. Shgantaram’s long time collaborator Vasant Desai, another genius in Navrang(1956) and made timeless ragbased tunes like “Aadha hai chandrama” , “Shyamal Shyamal Baran” and “Tu chhupi hai kahan”.
He brought the vibrant beats of rock ‘n’ roll to India before it swept through Europe. In “Meri Jaan..Sunday Ke Sunday…” (Shehnai), he infused the Benny Goodman style of jazz clarinet, blending Western instruments with traditional Indian ones. The result was mesmerizing, especially in energetic tunes like “Shola Jo Bhadke…” and “Ye Diwana Ye Parwana…”. A maestro in innovation, he crafted “Eena Meena Deeka” (Asha) with scat singing, a playful collaboration with his assistant John Gomes, showcasing his dynamic approach to music.
C. Ramachandra ventured into film production with “New Sai Productions,” a collaboration with comedian Om Prakash. The banner witnessed the creation of three Hindi films – Jhanjhar, Lehren, and Duniya Gol Hai. Additionally, he produced two Marathi movies, Dhananjay and Gharkul. Passionate about music, he also established an Academy of Indian Music.
In 1977, he penned his autobiography, ‘Mere Jeevan Ki Sargam,’ The Symphony of My Life (माझ्या जीवनाची सरगम in Marathi) in Marathi.
His final contribution to Hindi cinema was ‘Rootha Na Karo’ in 1970. Over his prolific career, he composed music for 112 films in Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, and Bhojpuri. C. Ramachandra passed away on January 5, 1982.
