Name	Vasant Desai
Birth date	June 09, 1912
Birth place	Sonwad village, Savantwadi, Maharashtra
Death date	1975
Occupation	film score composer
Nationality	}}

Vasant Desai (1912–1975) was a Indian film music composer, most remembered for his score in V. Shantaram film, like '' Do Aankhen Barah Haath'' (1953), ''Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje'' (1955), Vijay Bhatt's ''Goonj Uthi Shehnai'' (1959) and Hrishikesh Mukherjee's ''Guddi'' (1971) .

Early life[link]

He born in 1912 into a wealthy family in Sonwad village, Savantwadi state, ruled by the Bhonsale clan, and grew up in Kudal area, also in Konkan belt, Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra in western India.

Career[link]

He was with the famous Prabhat Film Company 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 1940s.

He scored music for a majority of V. Shantaram'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.

He memorable songs are, Hindi Filmi Devotional song, ''Ae Malik Tere Bande Ham'' ''Do Aankhen Barah Haath'', 1957. and launched play back singer, Vani Jairam with the song, ''Bole re papihara'' in ''Guddi'' (1971) .

In Marathi, some of his memorable songs are Sanga Mukund kuni ha pahila, Uthi Uthi Gopala from Amar Bhoopali, Ramya hi swargahuni Lanka from Swayamwar zale Seeteche, Deh devache mandir from Preetisangam, Manuskichya shatrusange yuddha amuche suru from Chota jawan

Last recording[link]

Vasant Desai went back home on 22nd December 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. He stepped into the elevator of his apartment building and due to some technical hitch, the lift began to move, crushing him to death.

Partial filmography[link]

''Shakuntala''

Amar Bhoopali (Marathi)

''Shyamachi Aai'' (Marathi)

Molkarin (Marathi)

Swayamwar zale Seeteche (Marathi)

Laxmanrekha (Marathi)

Tooch mazi rani (Marathi)

Kanchanganga (Marathi)

Chota jawan (Marathi)

Dev Deenaghari Dhavala (Marathi Drama)

''Do Phool''(1958)

''Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje'' (1955)

'' Do Aankhen Barah Haath'' (1953)

''Toofan Aur Deeya'' (1956)

''Gunj Uthi Shehnai'' (1959)

'' Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani'' (1946)

''Yaadein (1964 film)

'' Guddi''(1971)

''Achanak'' (1973 film)

References[link]

External links[link]

Vasant Desai, Biography

Category:1912 births Category:1975 deaths Category:People from Maharashtra Category:Indian film score composers

kn:ವಸಂತ್ ದೇಸಾಯಿ mr:वसंत देसाई

Bharat Vyas (1918–1982) was a noted Indian lyricist who wrote the songs for Hindi films in 1950s and 1960s.

He is the writer of the immortal prayer song, ‘Ae Malik Tere Bande Hum’ and 'ye kaun chitrakar hai'. He also directed a Bollywood film of Rangeela Rajasthani.

Early life[link]

He was born in Churu in Rajasthan in 1918 and studied B Com at Calcutta. After completing his studies he came to Bombay. His first film as lyricist was Duhaai of 1943.

Discography[link]

Some of films for which he wrote songs are: Ziddi

Sawan Aya Re

Bijali

Tamasha

Muqaddar

Shri Ganesh Janma

Aankhen

Hamara Ghar

Raj Mukut

Janmashtami

Nakhre

Bhola Shankar

Tamasha

Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Parineeta

Jagaduru Shankaracharya

Andher Nagari Chaupat Raja

Oonchi Haweli

Toofan Aur Diya

Janam Janam Ke Phere

Do Aankhen Barah Haath

Fashion

Kavi Kalidas

Suvanra Sundari

Mausi

Navrang

Rani Roopmati

Anguli Maal

Chandramukhi

Goonj Uthi Shehnai

Mahabharat(1965)

Sati Savitri

Personal life[link]

He died on 4 July 1982 in Mumbai.

References[link]

Category:1918 births Category:1982 deaths Category:Rajasthani people Category:Indian lyricists Category:People from Churu district

hi:भरत व्यास

name	Lata Mangeshkar
background	solo_singer
birth date	September 28, 1929
Birth place	Indore, Central India Agency, British India
instrument	Vocals
genre	Film music (playback singing)
occupation	Singer
years active	1942–present }}

Lata Mangeshkar (born September 28, 1929) is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional Indian languages and foreign languages, though primarily in Hindi. She is the elder sister of singer Asha Bhosle, Hridayanath Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar and Meena Mangeshkar. She is the second vocalist to have ever been awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.

Mangeshkar was featured in the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' from 1974 to 1991 for having made the most recordings in the world. The claim was that she had recorded approximately 25,000 solo, duet, and chorus-backed songs in 20 Indian languages between 1948 to 1974. Over the years, while several sources have supported this claim, others have raised concerns over its veracity, claiming that this number was highly exaggerated and that Mangeshkar's younger sister, Asha Bhosle, had more song recordings than she had. In 2011 ''Guinness'' officially acknowledged Bhosle as the most recorded artist in music history.

Early life[link]

Lata Mangeshkar was born in Sikh Mohalla, Indore, in the Central India Agency (now part of Madhya Pradesh). Her father, Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar who belonged to a Gomantak Maratha Samaj family from Goa, was a classical singer and theater actor. Her mother Shevanti (Shudhamati) who was from Thalner, Maharashtra, was Deenanath's second wife. The family's last name used to be Hardikar; Deenanath changed it to Mangeshkar in order to identify his family with his native town, Mangeshi in Goa. Lata was named "Hema" at her birth. Her parents later renamed her Lata after a female character, Latika, in one of her father's plays, ''BhaawBandhan''. Lata is the eldest child of her parents. Meena, Asha, Usha and Hridayanath are her siblings in sequence.

Mangeshkar took her first lessons from her father. At the age of five, she started to work as an actress in her father's musical plays (''Sangeet Natak'' in Marathi). On the first day in the school, she started teaching songs to other children. When the teacher stopped her, she was so angry that she stopped going to the school. Other sources cite that she left school because they would not allow her to bring Asha with her, as she would often bring her younger sister with her.

Singing career[link]

Early career in the 1940s[link]

In 1942, when Mangeshkar was 13, her father died of heart disease. Master Vinayak (Vinayak Damodar Karnataki), the owner of Navyug Chitrapat movie company and a close friend of the Mangeshkar family, took care of them

Mangeshkar sang the song "Naachu Yaa Gade, Khelu Saari Mani Haus Bhaari" which was composed by Sadashivrao Nevrekar for Vasant Joglekar's Marathi-language movie ''Kiti Hasaal'' (1942), but the song was dropped from the final cut. Vinayak gave her a small role in Navyug Chitrapat's Marathi movie ''Pahili Mangalaa-gaur'' (1942), in which she sang "Natali Chaitraachi Navalaai" which was composed by Dada Chandekar. Her first Hindi song was "Mata Ek Sapoot Ki Duniya Badal De Tu" for the Marathi film, ''Gajaabhaau'' (1943). Mangeshkar moved to Mumbai in 1945 when Master Vinayak's company moved its headquarters there. She started taking lessons in Hindustani classical music from Ustad Amanat Ali Khan . She sang “Paa Lagoon Kar Jori” for Vasant Joglekar's Hindi-language movie ''Aap Ki Seva Mein'' (1946), which was composed by Datta Davjekar. Mangeshkar and her sister Asha played minor roles in Vinayak's first Hindi-language movie, ''Badi Maa'' (1945). In that movie, Lata also sang a bhajan, “Maata Tere Charnon Mein.” She was introduced to music director Vasant Desai during the recording of Vinayak's second Hindi-language movie, ''Subhadra'' (1946).

Following the partition of India in 1947, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan migrated to newly formed Pakistan, so Mangeshkar started to learn classical music under Amanat Khan Devaswale. Pandit Tulsidas Sharma, a pupil of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, also trained her.

After Vinayak's death in 1948, music director Ghulam Haider mentored her as a singer. Haider introduced Mangeshkar to producer Sashadhar Mukherjee, who was working then on the movie ''Shaheed'' (1948), but Mukherjee dismissed Mangeshkar's voice as "too thin." An annoyed Haider responded that in the coming years the producers and the directors would "fall at Lata's feet" and "beg her" to sing in their movies. Haider gave Lata her first major break with the song “Dil Mera Toda,” from the movie ''Majboor'' (1948).

Initially, Mangeshkar is said to have imitated the acclaimed singer Noor Jehan, but later she developed her own style of singing. Lyrics of songs in Hindi movies are primarily composed by Urdu poets and contain a higher proportion of Urdu words, including the dialogue. Actor Dilip Kumar once made a mildly disapproving remark about Mangeshkar's Maharashtrian accent while singing Hindi/Urdu songs; so for a period of time, Lata took lessons in Urdu from an Urdu teacher named Shafi.

One of her first major hits was “Aayega Aanewaala,” a song in the movie ''Mahal'' (1949), which was composed by music director Khemchand Prakash and lip-synced on screen by actress Madhubala.

1950s[link]

In the 1950s, Mangeshkar sang songs composed by various music directors of the period, including Anil Biswas (in films such as Tarana and Heer), Shankar-Jaikishan, Naushad, S. D. Burman, C. Ramchandra, Hemant Kumar, Salil Chowdhury, Khayyam, Ravi, Sajjad Hussain, Roshan, Kalyanji-Anandji, Vasant Desai, Sudhir Phadke, Hansraj Behl, Madan Mohan, and Usha Khanna.

Mangeshkar sang many raga-based songs for Naushad in movies such as ''Baiju Bawra'' (1952), ''Mughal-E-Azam'' (1960), and ''Kohinoor'' (1960). ''Ae Chorre Ki Jaat Badi Bewafa'', a duet with G. M. Durrani, was her first song for composer, Naushad. The duo, Shankar-Jaikishan, chose Mangeshkar for ''Aag'', ''Aah'' (1953), ''Shree 420'' (1955), and ''Chori Chori'' (1956). Before 1957, composer Sachin Dev (S. D.) Burman chose Mangeshkar as the leading female singer for his musical scores in ''Sazaa'' (1951), ''House No. 44'' (1955), and ''Devdas'' (1955). However a rift developed between Lata and Burman in 1957, and Lata did not sing Burman's compositions again until 1962.

Mangeshkar won a Filmfare Best Female Playback Award for Salil Chowdhury's composition “Aaja Re Pardesi,” from ''Madhumati'' (1958). In the early fifties, Lata Mangeshkar's association with C. Ramchandra produced songs in movies such as Anarkali, Albela, Asha, Pehli Jhhalak, Shin Shinkai Bublaa Boo, Azad and Amardeep. For Madan Mohan, she performed for films like Adalat, Railway Platform, Dekh Kabira Roya and Chacha Zindabad.

1960s[link]

Mangeshkar's song "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" from ''Mughal-E-Azam'' (1960), composed by Naushad and picturized on Madhubala, still remains famous . The Hawaiian-themed number "Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh" from ''Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai'' (1960) was composed by Shankar-Jaikishan and picturized on Meena Kumari.

In 1961, Mangeshkar recorded two popular bhajans, "Allah Tero Naam" and "Prabhu Tero Naam", for Burman's assistant, Jaidev. In 1962, she was awarded her second Filmfare Award for the song "Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil" from ''Bees Saal Baad'', composed by Hemant Kumar.

On June 27, 1963, against the backdrop of the Sino-Indian War, Mangeshkar sang the patriotic song "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo" (literally, "Oh, People of My Country") in the presence of Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India. The song, composed by C. Ramchandra and written by Pradeep, is said to have brought the Prime Minister to tears.

In 1963, Mangeshkar returned to collaboration with S. D. Burman. She also sang for R. D. Burman's very first film ''Chhote Nawaab'' and later for his films such as ''Bhoot Bangla'' (1965), ''Pati Patni'' (1966), ''Baharon ke Sapne'' (1967) and ''Abhilasha'' (1969). She also recorded several popular songs for S. D. Burman, including "Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai", "Gata Rahe Mera Dil" (duet with Kishore Kumar) and "Piya Tose" from ''Guide'' (1965), and "Hothon Pe Aisi Baat" from ''Jewel Thief'' (1967).

During the 1960s, Lata Mangeshkar continued her association with Madan Mohan which included the songs "Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha" from ''Anpadh'' (1962), "Lag Ja Gale" and "Naina Barse Rim Jhim" from ''Woh Kaun Thi?'' (1964), "Woh Chup Rahen To" from ''Jahan Ara'' (1964), and "Tu Jahan Jahan Chalega" from ''Mera Saaya'' (1966).

The 1960s also witnessed the beginning of Mangeshkar's association with Laxmikant-Pyarelal, the music directors for whom she sang the most popular songs in her career. She sang for ''Parasmani'' (1963) which was their first film together.

She also sang several playback songs for Marathi films, composed by Marathi music directors including Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Vasant Prabhu, Srinivas Khale, Sudhir Phadke and herself (under the name ''Anandghan''). During the 1960s and 1970s, she also sang several Bengali songs, composed by music directors like Salil Chowdhury and Hemant Kumar.

In this period Lata Mangeshkar has recorded duets with Mukesh, Manna Dey, Mohammed Rafi, and Kishore Kumar.

1970s[link]

In 1972, Meena Kumari's last film, ''Pakeezah'' released. It featured popular songs including "Chalte Chalte" and "Inhi Logon Ne" sung by Lata Mangeshkar, and composed by Ghulam Mohammed. She recorded many popular songs for S. D. Burman's last films, including "Rangeela Re" from ''Prem Pujari'' (1970), "Khilte Hain Gul Yahaan" from ''Sharmeelee'' (1971), and "Piya Bina" from ''Abhimaan'' (1973).

Lata Mangeshkar's most notable songs in 1970s were composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal (Laxmi-Pyare) and Rahul Dev Burman. She recorded several songs composed by Laxmi-Pyare in 1960s and 1970s, many of them written by the lyricist Anand Bakshi. She also recorded many hit songs with Rahul Dev Burman in the films ''Amar Prem'' (1972), ''Caravan'' (1971), ''Kati Patang''(1971), and ''Aandhi'' (1975). The two are noted for their songs with the lyricists Majrooh Sultanpuri, Anand Bakshi and Gulzar.

In 1973, she won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song "Beeti Na Bitai" from the film ''Parichay'', composed by R. D. Burman, and written by Gulzar. In 1974, she sang her only Malayalam song "Kadali Chenkadali" for the film ''Nellu'', composed by Salil Chowdhury, and written by Vayalar Ramavarma. In 1975, she again won the national award, this time for the song "Roothe Roothe Piya" from the film ''Kora Kagaz'', composed by Kalyanji-Anandji.

From 1970s onwards, Lata Mangeshkar has also staged many concerts in India and abroad, including several charity concerts. Her first concert overseas was at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1974. She also released an album of Mirabai's bhajans, ''Chala Vaahi Des'', composed by her brother Hridayanath Mangeshkar. Some of the bhajans in the album include "Saanware Rang Raachi" and "Ud Jaa Re Kaaga". In the early 70s, she released other non-film albums, such as her collection of Ghalib ghazals, an album of Marathi folk songs (koli-geete), an album of Ganesh aartis (all composed by her brother Hridaynath) and an album of ''abhangs'' of Sant Tukaram composed by Shrinivas Khale.

In late 1970s and early 1980s, she worked with the children of composers she had earlier worked with. Some of these composers included Rahul Dev Burman (son of Sachin Dev Burman), Rajesh Roshan (son of Roshan), Anu Malik (son of Sardar Malik), and Anand-Milind (sons of Chitragupt).

1980s onwards[link]

From 1980s onwards, Lata Mangeshkar worked with music directors including Shiv-Hari, Ram Laxman, and A. R. Rahman. She recorded some non-film songs, including ghazals with Jagjit Singh.

In 1990, Mangeshkar launched her own production house for Hindi movies which produced the Gulzar-directed movie ''Lekin...''. She won her third National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for her rendition of the song "Yaara Sili Sili" from the film, which was composed by her brother Hridayanath. During the 1990s, she recorded with music directors including Jatin-Lalit and Nadeem-Shravan. She has sung for Rajshri Productions, including ''Maine Pyar Kiya'' (1989) and ''Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'' (1994).

Mangeshkar has sung for almost all the Yash Chopra films and films from his production house Yash Raj Films at that time, including ''Chandni'' (1989), ''Lamhe'' (1991), ''Darr'' (1993), ''Yeh Dillagi'' (1994), ''Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge'' (1995), ''Dil To Pagal Hai'' (1997) and later on ''Mohabbatein'' (2000), ''Mujhse Dosti Karoge'' (2002) and ''Veer Zaara'' (2004).

A. R. Rahman recorded a few songs with Mangeshkar during this period, including "Jiya Jale" (''Dil Se..''), "Khamoshiyan Gungunane Lagin" (''One Two Ka Four''), "Ek Tu Hi Bharosa" (''Pukar''), "Pyaara Sa Gaon" (''Zubeidaa''), "Lukka chuppi" (''Rang de Basanti'') and "O Paalanhaare" (''Lagaan''). She made an appearance in the film ''Pukar'' singing this song.

In 1999, Lata Eau de Parfum, a perfume brand named after her, was launched.

In 1999, Mangeshkar was nominated as a member of Rajya Sabha. However, she did not attend the Rajya Sabha sessions regularly, inviting criticism from several members of the House, including the Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptullah, Pranab Mukherjee and Shabana Azmi. She stated the reason for her absence as ill-health; it was also reported that she had not taken a salary, allowance or a house in Delhi for being a Member of Parliament.

In 2001, Lata Mangeshkar was awarded Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. In the same year, she established the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune, managed by the Lata Mangeshkar Medical Foundation (founded by the Mangeshkar family in October 1989). In 2005, she designed a jewellery collection called Swaranjali, which was crafted by Adora, an Indian diamond export company. Five pieces from the collection raised £105,000 at a Christie's auction, and a part of the money was donated for the 2005 Pakistan earthquake relief. Also in 2001, she recorded her first Hindi song with the composer Ilaiyaraaja, for the film ''Lajja''; she had earlier recorded Tamil and Telugu songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja.

Lata Mangeshkar's song "Wada Na Tod" is in the film ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (2004) and on the film's soundtrack.

On June 21, 2007, she released an album ''Saadgi'', featuring eight ghazal-like songs written by Javed Akhtar and composed by Mayuresh Pai.

Lata Mangeshkar records songs for Madhur Bhandarkar ''Kitne Ajeeb Rishte Hain Yahan Par'' for ''Page 3'' (2005), ''Daata Sun Le'' for ''Jail'' (2009) and, ''Kyun Yahan Hota Hai'' was recorded years ago for ''Corporate'' (2006), but is only being used in ''Heroine'' (2012).

Non-singing career[link]

Music direction[link]

Lata Mangeshkar composed music for the first time in 1955 for Marathi movie ''Ram Ram Pavhane''. Later in 1960s, she composed music for following Marathi movies under the pseudonym of ''Anand Ghan''.

1960 - ''Ram Ram Pavhana''

1963 - ''Maratha Tituka Melvava''

1963 - ''Mohityanchi Manjula''

1965 - ''Sadhi Manase''

1969 - ''Tambadi Mati''

She won Maharashtra State Government's Best Music Director Award for the film ''Sadhi Manase''. The song "Airanichya Deva Tula" from the same film received best song award.

Production[link]

Lata Mangeshkar has produced four films:

1953 - ''Vaadal'' (Marathi)

1953 - ''Jhaanjhar'' (Hindi), co-produced with C. Ramchandra

1955 - ''Kanchan'' (Hindi)

1990 - ''Lekin...'' (Hindi)

Awards and recognitions[link]

Lata Mangeshkar has won several awards and honors, including Bharat Ratna (India's Highest Civilian Award), Padma Bhushan (1969), Padma Vibhushan (1999), Dada Saheb Phalke Award (1989), Maharashtra Bhushan Award (1997), NTR National Award (1999), Bharat Ratna (2001), ANR National Award (2009), three National Film Awards, and 12 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards. She has also won four Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards. In 1969, she made the unusual gesture of giving up the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award, in order to promote fresh talent. She was later awarded Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993.

In 1984, the State Government of Madhya Pradesh instituted the ''Lata Mangeshkar Award'' in honour of Lata Mangeshkar. The State Government of Maharashtra also instituted a Lata Mangeshkar Award in 1992.

In 1974, The Guinness Book of Records listed Lata Mangeshkar as the most recorded artist in the history, stating that she had reportedly recorded "not less than 25,000 solo, duet and chorus backed songs in 20 Indian languages" between 1948 and 1974. Her record was contested by Mohammed Rafi, who was claimed to have sung around 28,000 songs. After Rafi's death, in its 1984 edition, the Guinness Book of World Records stated Lata Mangeshkar's name for the "Most Recordings", but also stated Rafi's claim. The later editions of Guinness Book stated that Lata Mangeshkar had sung no fewer than 30,000 songs between 1948 and 1987.

Although the entry has not been printed in Guinness editions since 1991, several sources claim that she has recorded thousands of songs, with estimates ranging up to figures as large as 50,000. However, even the earliest Guinness claim of 25,000 songs (between 1948–1974) was claimed to be exaggerated by several other sources, with one of them stating that the number of songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar in Hindi films till 1991 was found to be 5250. Mangeshkar herself stated that she does not keep a record of the number of songs recorded by her, and that she did not know from where Guinness Book editors got their information. In 2011 Asha Bhosle was officially acknowledged by ''Guinness'' as the most recorded artist in music history, surpassing Mangeshkar.

See also[link]

Playback singer

Asha Bhosle

List of Indian playback singers

Bollywood songs

References[link]

Further reading[link]

. A collection of articles written by Lata Mangeshkar since 1952. . . A collection of articles written by Lata Mangeshkar since 1952.

External links[link]

Category:1929 births Category:Indian female singers Category:Indian film singers Category:Recipients of the Bharat Ratna Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan Category:Living people Category:Bollywood playback singers Category:Marathi people Category:Kollywood playback singers Category:People from Indore Category:Marathi playback singers Category:Telugu playback singers Category:Kannada playback singers Category:Hindi-language singers Category:Marathi-language singers Category:Bengali-language singers Category:Gujarati-language singers Category:Tamil-language singers Category:English-language singers Category:Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients Category:Recipients of the Maharashtra Bhushan Award Category:Malayalam playback singers Category:Bhojpuri cinema

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name	Vani Jayaram
background	solo_singer
birth date	November 30, 1945
born	Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
instrument	Vocals
genre	playback singing
occupation	Singer
years active	1971-current
Website	Official website }}

Vani Jayaram (born November 30, 1945 in Tamil Nadu) is a prominent Indian female playback singer. She has thrice won the National Film Awards for Best Female Playback Singer and widely regarded as the unmatched Nightingale of India. She is also acclaimed for her in-depth knowledge of both forms of Indian classical music : Carnatic and Hindustani.

She has recorded more than 8,000 film songs in 14 different languages including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi and Hindi.

Personal life and background[link]

Vani Jayaram was born in Vellore in Tamil Nadu, in a family of musicians. Her mother is the disciple of Ranga Ramunaja Iyengar, a great veena exponent. Kadaloor Sreenivasa Iyengar, who taught Vani’s sister music, was fascinated by her observation and grasping power. He taught her a few Dikshitar kritis when she was hardly five. The fifth daughter in a family of six daughters and three sons, Vani always secretly yearned for a career in film playback singing. Considered to be a child prodigy, Vani Jayaram claims to have recognized the different ragas of Indian classical music before the age of five. Her voice was first heard on All India Radio, Madras, at the age of eight.

Vani Jayaram studied Carnatic music under the tutelage of Kadalur Srinivasa Iyengar, T. R. Balasubramanian and R. S. Mani. Her Hindustani classical music guru was Ustad Abdul Rahman Khan.

After her marriage to Jayaram she settled in Mumbai, where she realized her dream.

Career [link]

In 1971, she realized her childhood ambition of becoming a playback singer when Hindi film music director Vasant Desai chose her voice for the Hindi feature film ''Guddi''. She recorded three songs for ''Guddi'', and "Bol Re Papi Hara," a song based on the Hindustani raga Miyan Malhar, instantly made her an household name in India. For that song she was awarded the Tansen Samman (for best classical-based song in a Hindi film), the Lions International Best Promising Singer award, the All India Cinegoers Association award, and the All India Film-goers Association award for the Best Playback Singer in 1971. She went on to sing a few songs each for music directors of Hindi cinema, including Chitragupt, Naushad (a classical song in Pakeezah and a duet with Asha Bhosle in ''Aaina''), Madan Mohan (a duet with Kishore Kumar in the film ''Ek Mutthi Aasmaan''), O.P. Nayyar (several songs from the film ''Khoon Ka Badla Khoon'' including duets with Mohammed Rafi and also with Uttara Kelkar and Pushpa Pagdhare), R. D. Burman (a duet with Mukesh in ''Chhalia''), Kalyanji Anandji, Laxmikant Pyarelal, and Jaidev (a duet with Manna Dey in Parinay and a solo in Solwa Saawan). Her songs in ''Meera'' (1979), composed by Pandit Ravi Shankar, won her the Filmfare Award.

Around 1974, she shifted her base to Chennai and soon became a sought-after singer in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam cinema. She worked with almost all the leading music directors of south namely M. S. Viswanathan, M. B. Sreenivasan, K. V. Mahadevan, M. K. Arjunan, Jerry Amaldev, Salil Chowdhary and Ilayaraaja. With the Academy award winner, A. R. Rahman, she recorded a duet with S. P. Balasubramanyam in the song "Sugam sugam athu" for the film ''Vandicholai Chinnarasu'' in 1994.

Besides Hindi and Tamil, Vani Jayaram has recordings in other languages of India. These include some songs in Gujarati, Marathi, Marwari, Haryanvi, Bengali and Tulu, and a huge repertoire in Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and Oriya. For her work in some of these languages, she has been awarded many prestigious awards, among them are Best Female Playback Singer for states of Gujarat (1975), Tamil Nadu (1980) and Orissa (1984).

One of her most famous Marathi songs, "Runanubandhachya," is a duet with the classical Hindustani singer Kumar Gandharva. This song was composed by Vani's mentor Vasant Desai for a Marathi drama called ''Dev Deenaghari Dhaavlaa''. The lyrics were written by Bal Kolhatkar.

Awards [link]

Vani Jayaram was chosen for the Indian President's National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer of 1975, for her work in M. S. Viswanathan's ''Apoorva Raagangal''. ''Shankarabharanam'' (Telugu), the film scored by K. V. Mahadevan, gave Vani Jayaram her second National Award as Best Playback Singer of 1980. Once again, she was awarded her third National Award for Best Playback Singer of 1991 for K. V. Mahadevan's ''Swathi Kiranam''.

Her songs in the Pandit Ravi Shankar scored film ''Meera'' brought her the Film World (1979) Cine Herald (1979) and Filmfare Award (1980) for Best Playback Singer for "Mere To Giridhar Gopal".

She was awarded Tanzen Award in 1972, which she won for "Bole Re Pappihara" (from the film ''Guddi), one of the most popular songs in her career.

She is also the youngest artist to be awarded the Sangeet Peet Samman.

Other titles[link]

2004: Kamukara Award 2007: South Indian Meera

References[link]

External links[link]

Official website

All 583 Malayalam songs of Vani Jairam

Vani Jairam at MSI

[ml:വാണി ജയറാം] Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Tamil people Category:Bollywood playback singers Category:Filmfare Awards winners Category:Indian female singers Category:Indian film singers Category:Tamil playback singers Category:Telugu playback singers Category:Kannada playback singers Category:Kollywood playback singers Category:Malayalam playback singers Category:National Film Award winners Category:People from Tamil Nadu Category:Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners

kn:ವಾಣಿ ಜಯರಾಂ ml:വാണി ജയറാം mr:वाणी जयराम sa:वाणी जयरामः ta:வாணி ஜெயராம் te:వాణీ జయరామ్

name	Ashok Kumar
birth date	October 13, 1911
birth place	Bhagalpur, Bengal Presidency, British India
death date	December 10, 2001
death place	Mumbai, Maharastra, India
death cause	Heart Failure
residence	Chembur, Mumbai, India
occupation	Actor, painter
spouse	Shobha Devi
Relatives	Anoop Kumar, Kishore Kumar(Brothers), Sati Devi (Sister)
birth name	Kumudlal Kunjilal Ganguly
other names	Sanjay Ashok Kumar
years active	1936–1997 }}

Ashok Kumar ( Bengali অশোক কুমার গানগুলি, 13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001) also fondly called Dadamoni in Bengali, was an Indian film actor. Born Kumudlal Ganguly in Bhagalpur, Bengal Presidency he attained iconic status in Indian cinema. The Government of India honoured him with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award and the Padma Bhushan in 1998 for his contributions to Indian cinema.

Ashok kumar was a Bengali hindu belonged to Kulin Brahmin.

Family[link]

His father Kunjalal Ganguly was a lawyer and his mother Gouri Devi came from a wealthy Bengali family. The "Ganguly family" was based in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh. His brothers Anoop Kumar and Kishore Kumar also acted in films. The three brothers worked together in the comedies ''Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'' and ''Badhti Ka Naam Dadhi''. Ashok, though the eldest of the three by quite a margin, survived them both. In fact, he stopped celebrating his birthday after the youngest brother, Kishore, died on that day in 1987. His sister, Sati Devi, was married to Sashadhar Mukherjee of the Mukherjee-Samarth family.

Ashok Kumar married Shobha. They had a troubled marriage due to his wife being an alcoholic. His daughter, Preeti Ganguly acted in numerous Hindi film, during 1970s, later she started the 'Ashok Kumar's Academy of Dramatic Arts', Mumbai in 1993. His other daughter, Rupa Ganguly and son Arun Ganguly never joined films, Rupa is married to actor Deven Verma

Early career[link]

Reverently called ''Dadamoni'' (affectionate term for elder brother), he was born in Bhagalpur and educated at Presidency College of the University of Calcutta, Kolkata). He started his career in Bombay (Mumbai), albeit accidentally, with the Bombay Talkies production ''Jeevan Naiya'' in 1936. The male lead, Najam-ul-Hussain, went absconding with the heroine Devika Rani, the director's wife who returned later on. The director and studio head, Himanshu Rai, in retaliation dismissed the hero and called upon his laboratory assistant Ashok Kumar to take the part and thus began a six-decade-long acting career. However, it was his subsequent venture with Devika Rani in Achhut Kanya in the same year that set him up for the big league. The movie itself stands out as one of the heralding social dramas of pre-independence Indian film. It was the story of a Brahmin boy falling in love with a girl from the so-called untouchables in Indian society. It was a big hit and started the trend of socially committed films.

Devika Rani and Ashok Kumar did a string of films after this including ''Izzat'' (1937), ''Savitri'' (1937) and 'Nirmala' (1938). But she was the bigger star and Ashok Kumar was definitely in her shadow. He came into his own with three films opposite Leela Chitnis: ''Kangan'' (1939), ''Bandhan'' (1940), ''Jhoola'' (1941), singing his own songs as was the custom then. He came away with several hits including most famously ''Main Ban ka Panchhi''.

He was one of the first anti-heroes of Indian Cinema with his role in ''Kismet'' in 1943. This movie went on to create a record for the highest grossing film in India at the time of its release.

He produced several films for Bombay Talkies during the final years of the company including the famous ''Mahal'' in 1949 in which he co-starred with Madhubala. In the 1950s, he played the suave cigarette-smoking criminal or police officer in several films of what was the Indian film-noir movement. In the late 1960s he switched to character roles playing the parent, grandparent, dirty old man and suave criminal, being careful never to be typecast. He paired up 20 times with the 'queen of tragedy' ''Meena Kumari'', in films such as ''Parineeta'', ''Bahu Begum'', ''Pakeezah'', ''Ek Hi Raasta'', ''Bandish'' and ''Aarti'' and ''Chitralekha'' (1964).

Later career and death[link]

He acted in fewer films in the 1980s and 1990s and occasionally appeared on television, most famously anchoring the first Indian soap opera ''Hum Log'' and appearing as the title character in the unforgettable Bahadur Shah Zafar. His last film role was in ''Aankhon Mein Tum Ho'' in 1997. Besides acting, he was an avid painter and a practitioner of homeopathy. Altogether, he starred in over 275 films. He has done more than 30 Bengali dramas in Dhakuria.

Ashok Kumar died at the age of 90 in Mumbai on 10 December 2001 of heart failure at his residence in Chembur. The then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee described him as "an inspiration... for many generations of aspiring actors."

Awards and recognition[link]

1959 - Sangeet Natak Akademi Award

1962 - Filmfare Best Actor Award, ''Rakhi''

1963 - Bengal Film Journalists' Association - Best Actor Award (Hindi), ''Gumrah''

1966 - Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award, ''Afsana''

1969 - Filmfare Best Actor Award, ''Aashirwaad''

1969 - National Film Awards for Best Actor, ''Aashirwaad''

1969 - Bengal Film Journalists' Association - Best Actor Award (Hindi), ''Aashirwaad''

1988 - Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award for cinematic excellence

1994 - Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award

1995 - Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award

1998 - Padma Bhushan

2001 - Awadh Samman by the Government of Uttar Pradesh

2007 - "Special Award" by Star Screen Awards

Filmography[link]

Some of his most remembered films include:

''Achhut Kanya'' (1936)

''Kismet'' (1943)

''Parineeta'' (1953)

''Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'' (1958)

''Chitralekha'' (1964)

''Hatey Bazarey'' (1967)

''Aashirwad'' (1968)

''Choti Si Baat'' (1975)

''Mili'' (1975)

''Khoobsurat'' (1980)

''Khatta Meetha'' (1981)

''Mr. India'' (1987)

''Sangram''

References[link]

External links[link]

A Good article by Anuradha Choudhary

Complete list of Ashok Kumar Movies (over 250)

Category:1911 births Category:2001 deaths Category:Indian film actors Category:Hindi film actors Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Ashok Category:People from Bhagalpur Category:People from Khandwa Kumar, Ashok Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Category:National Film Award winners Category:Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan Category:People from Mumbai Category:Indian actors

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