{{Short description|Indian music director (1918–1982)}} {{Use Indian English|date=April 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = C. Ramchandra | image = | image_size = | caption = Ramchandra in 1949 | birth_name = Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar | other_names = C. Ramchandra, Chitalkar, Anna Sahib | birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1918|01|12}} | birth_place = Puntamba, Ahmednagar district, Bombay Presidency, British India | death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1982|01|05|1918|01|12}} | death_place = Mumbai, Maharashtra, India | occupation = Film music composer, Film producer | years_active = 1935–1971 | awards = }}
'''Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar''' (12 January 1918 – 5 January 1982), also known as '''C. Ramchandra''' or '''Chitalkar''' or '''Anna Sahib''', was an Indian music director and playback singer.<ref name=ICHF>{{cite web|url=https://www.cinemaazi.com/people/c-ramchandra |title=C Ramchandra - Music Director Profile|website= Indian Cinema Heritage Foundation website|access-date=28 March 2024|archive-date=6 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206183720/https://www.cinemaazi.com/people/c-ramchandra |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=MySwar/>
As a composer, he mostly used the name C. Ramchandra, though he also used the names Annasaheb (in the movies ''Bahadur Pratap'', ''Matwale'', and ''Madadgaar''), Ram Chitalkar (in the movies ''Sukhi Jeevan'', ''Badla'', ''Mr. Jhatpat'', ''Bahadur'', and ''Dosti''), and Shyamoo (in the movie ''Yeh hai duniya''). Further, he often sang and acted in Marathi movies under the name R. N. Chitalkar. For his career as an occasional playback singer he used only his surname Chitalkar. Chitalkar 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).<ref name=MySwar/>
==Biography== Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar was born on 12 January 1918 in Puntamba, a small town in Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra, India. He studied music under Vinayakbua Patwardhan at "Gandharva Mahavidyalaya" and also under Shankarrao Sapre of Nagpur where he studied music alongside Vasantrao Deshpande. He joined the movie industry playing the lead role in Y. V. Rao's movie, ''Naganand''. He also had some small roles at Minerva Movietone in the movies ''Said-e-Havas'' (1936) and ''Atma Tarang'' (1937).
Ramchandra provided harmonium accompaniment for Minerva composers Bundu Khan and Habib Khan. He debuted as music director in Tamil movies with Jayakkodi and ''Vana Mohini''. He received public notice as a good composer in Bhagwan Dada's ''Sukhi Jeevan'' (1942), and established a long association that culminated with the musical box office hit ''Albela'' (1951).<ref name=DNA/>
Influenced by Benny Goodman, Ramchandra introduced in his compositions the alto sax in combination with guitar and harmonica. He also included whistling in one of his famous songs, ''Aana meri jaan Sunday ke Sunday'' in film ''Shehnai'' (1947). He used a combination of a bongo, an oboe, a trumpet, a clarinet and a sax for the song ''Shola Jo Bhadke'' in film ''Albela''. He sang the title song "Shin Shinaki Boobla Boo" with Lata Mangeshkar, which included rock rhythms. He provided the musical score for the scat song "Ina mina dika" in ''Aasha'' (1957).
Perhaps C. Ramchandra's biggest success as a music composer was the 1953 movie ''Anarkali'' starring Beena Roy in the title role and Pradeep Kumar. The songs that he composed for this movie are today legendary. Songs of this movie like "Yeh Zindagi Usiki Hai", "Mujhse Mat Poochh Mere Ishq Main Kya Rakha Hai", "Mohabbat Aisi Dhadkan Hai", "Jaag Dard-E-Ishq Jaag" etc. went on to become huge hits and were highly acclaimed. ''Anarkali'' also perhaps saw the famed composer-singer combination of Ramchandra and Lata Mangeshkar at their best ever together. A film critic in London who watched the movie is said to have remarked that the heroine sang like an angel without knowing that the angel was actually Lata giving playback for the actress. Similarly, C. Ramchandra's compositions in V. Shantaram's ''Navrang'' (1959) and ''Stree'' (1961) were also quite popular and are still remembered.
alt=blue plaque in the foreground and a bungalow in background|thumb|Former residence and blue plaque of Ramchandra in Pune The highly popular patriotic song ''"Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon"'', which was sung by Lata Mangeshkar and penned by poet Pradeep, was a composition of Ramchandra.<ref name=DNA>{{cite news |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/column-bollywood-retrospect-composer-c-ramchandra-s-10-most-memorable-songs-2161441 |newspaper=DNA India website |author=Param Arunachalam |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220091400/https://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/column-bollywood-retrospect-composer-c-ramchandra-s-10-most-memorable-songs-2161441|date=2 January 2016 |title=Bollywood Retrospect: Composer C Ramchandra's 10 most memorable songs |access-date=1 April 2024|archive-date=20 December 2023|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was later performed live, by Lata Mangeshkar, in the presence of Jawaharlal Nehru at the National Stadium, in New Delhi on Republic Day in 1963. It is said Jawaharlal Nehru became so sentimental that tears rolled down his cheeks.<ref name=MySwar>{{cite web|url=http://myswar.co/artist/c-ramchandra|title= C. Ramchandra (profile)|website=MySwar.com website|access-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206042442/http://myswar.co/artist/c-ramchandra|archive-date=6 December 2023|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 27 January 2014, Lata Mangeshkar was felicitated by the then chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi at Mumbai to commemorate the 51st anniversary of this song.
Ramchandra similarly provided a memorable musical score accompanying a competition between two dancers whose roles were played by Padmini and Vyjayanthimala for the song ''Kannum Kannum Kalanthu'' lyrics penned by Kothamangalam Subbu, sung by P. Leela and Jikki in the Tamil movie ''Vanjikottai Valiban'' (1958). He remade the song in Hindi as "Aaja Tu Raja Aaja" from ''Raj Tilak'' (1958) written by P. L. Santoshi where Asha Bhosle and Sudha Malhotra rendered their voice.
Ramchandra provided music compositions for a few Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, and Bhojpuri movies besides Hindi movies. He also produced three Hindi movies with New Sai Productions namely ''Jhanjhar'' (1953), ''Lehren'' (1953), ''Duniya Gol Hai'' (1955).
In the late 1960s, Ramchandra produced two Marathi movies, ''Dhananjay'' (1966) and ''Gharkul'' (1970). Apart from composing music, he also acted in them. Ramchandra wrote his autobiography ''The Symphony of My Life'' (''माझ्या जीवनाची सरगम'' in Marathi) in 1977.
==Death== C. Ramchandra died on 5 January 1982, at age 63, in Mumbai, India.<ref name=MySwar/>
==Awards and recognition== Ramachandra was nominated for 'Best Music Director' twice for Filmfare Awards for the films Azaad (1955) and Aasha (1957).
==Popular songs== Though Ramchandra used a number of ragas in his compositions, his favourite remained raga "Bageshri" (Radha na bole - Azad, 1955). In a 1978 interview at BBC studios with Mahendra Kaul, he ascribed the reason to Bageshri's simplicity. However, he also composed songs in other ragas including Malkauns (''Aadha hai chandrama raat aadhi- Navrang'').<ref name="int">{{cite news |last1=Kaul |first1=Mahendra |title=Interview with C Ramchandra |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/bbcone/london/1979-09-02 |access-date=11 April 2019 |publisher=BBC Studios |date=2 February 1978 |archive-date=11 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411064435/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/bbcone/london/1979-09-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The following is a short list of some of Ramchandra's best compositions: * ''Yeh Zindagi Usi Ki Hai'' (''Anarkali'')<ref name=DNA/><ref name=MySwar/><ref name=ICHF/> * ''Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo''<ref name=DNA/><ref name=MySwar/><ref name=ICHF/> * ''Dheere Se Aaja Ri Ankhiyan Mein'' (''Albela'')<ref name=ICHF/> * ''Bholi soorat dilke khote, naam bade aur darshan chhote'' (''Albela'') * ''Mere dilki ghadi karen tiktiktik O baje raatke baaraa'' (''Albela'') * ''Katatay hain dukh mein yeh din'' (''Parchhaain'')<ref name=ICHF/> * ''Tum kya jaano, tumhari yaad mein'' (''Shin Shinaki Bubala Boo'')<ref name=ICHF/> * ''Aankhon mein sama jao is dil mein raha karana'' (''Yasmin'')<ref name=ICHF/> * ''Kitna haseen hai mausam'' (''Azaad'')<ref name=ICHF/> * ''Shola Jo Bhadke, Dil Mera Dhadke'' (''Albela'') (1951)<ref name=DNA/> * ''Mohabbat Hi Na Jo Samjhe, Woh Zalim Pyar Kya Jane'' (''Parchhain'') (1952)<ref name=DNA/> * '' Ina Meena Dika '' (''Aasha'') * ''Qismat Ki Hawa Kabhi Naram'' (''Albela'') * ''Chhed Sakhi Sargam'' (''Sargam'')<ref name=DNA/> * ''Koi kisi ka deewaana na bane'' (''Sargam'') * ''Jaag dard-e-ishq jaag'' (''Anarkali'') * ''Mehfil mein jal uthi shama'' (''Nirala'')<ref name=MySwar/> * ''Aye pyar teri duniya se hum'' (''Jhanjar'') * ''Wafaaon ka majboor daman bichha kar dua kar gume dil khuda se dua kar'' (''Anarkali'') * ''Muhobbat aisi dhadkan hai jo samjhayi nahi jati'' (''Anarkali'') * ''Main jagu sari rain'' (''Bahu Rani'') * ''Ab woh raate kahan ab woh baate kahan'' (''Yasmin'') * ''Kannum Kannum Kalanthu'' (''Vanjikottai Valiban'') (Tamil film) * ''Jo mujhe bhula ke chale gaye'' (''Sangeeta'') * ''Mujh se mat poochh mere ishq mein kya rakha hai'' (''Anarkali'') * ''Dekho ji bahar aayi'' (''Azad'') * ''Jo dil ko jalaye sataye dukhaye aisi muhobbat se hum baaz aaye'' (''Nirala'') * ''Mujh pe ilzaam-e-bewafaai hai'' (''Yasmin'') * ''Aye chand pyar mera tujh se ye kah raha hai'' (''Khazana'') * ''Muhobbat mein aise zamane bhi aaye'' (''Sagai'') * ''Aa ja ab to aa ja'' (''Anarkali'') * ''Tere dar se khushi mangi magar gum de diya tu ne'' (''Hungama'') * ''Tere phoolon se bhi pyar'' (''Nastik'') * ''Kali kali ratiyan yaad sataye'' (''Ghungaroo'') * ''O nirdayi pritam'' (''Stree'') * ''Balma bada nadan'' (''Albela'')<ref name=ICHF/> * ''Dil se bhula do tum humen'' (''Patanga'') * Sipayee O Sipayee (Akbar Salim Anarkali) (Telugu film) * ''Kaghaz ki thi woh nao jis main ham jarahe the'' (''Zaban'') * ''Dil ki duniya basa ke sawariyan'' (''Amardeep'') * ''Jab Dil Ko Sataave Gham, Chhed Sakhi Sargam'' (Sargam) (1950)<ref name=DNA/><ref name=MySwar/> * ''Dekh Tere Sansaar Ki Haalat Kya Ho Gai Bhagwan'' (''Nastik'') (1954)<ref name=DNA/> * ''Naa Bole Naa Bole Naa Bole Re'' (Azad)<ref name=DNA/> * ''Aplam chaplam chaplai re'' * '' Mere man ka baanvra panchhi kyon baar baar dole'' * ''Dekh hamen awaaz na dena'' (''Amardeep'') * ''Aapka chehra mashalla'' (''Rootha Na Karo'') * ''Bechain Nazar Betaab Jigar'' (Yasmin) * ''Kehte Hai pyar kisko panchi jara bata de'' (Baarish) * ''Kitna Badal Gaya Insaan'' (Nastik)<ref name=DNA/>
C Ramchandra composed music for some Marathi songs, which are liked as well. * ''Malamali Tarunya Maze'' – ''Gharkul'' (1970) Singer – Asha Bhosle / Lyrics – Suresh Bhat * ''Pachole Amhi Ho Pachole'' – Singer Chitalkar / Lyrics – Anna Joshi {The tune was later reused in Damini (1993) as ‘Gawah Hai Chand Taare’ by Nadeem Shravan} * ''Achandrasurya Nando Swatantrya Bharatache'' – ''Gharkul'' (1970) / Singer – Rani Verma & Chorus, Lyrics – Ga Di Madgulkar Gajanan Digambar Madgulkar * House of Bamboo – ''Gharkul'' (1970) Singers – Manna Dey, Pramila Datar and Chorus / Lyrics – Shanta Shelke * ''Aai Bagh Na Kasa Ha Dada'' – Balgeet/Song for kids (1972) / Singer – Sushma Shrestha, Lyrics – Shanta Shelke * ''Roop Pahta Lochani'' – ''Sant Nivrutti Dnyandev'' (1964) / Singer – Asha Bhosle, Lyrics – Sant Dnyaneshwar
==Filmography== Movies for which Ramchandra provided musical scores are listed below in alphabetical order: {{div col|colwidth=22em}} # Aanchal (1960) # Azaad (1955)<ref name=upperstall>{{cite web|url=http://www.upperstall.com/people/chitalkar-ramchandra|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 September 2011|access-date=8 October 2023|website=Upperstall.com website|title=C. Ramchandra filmography|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110909085257/http://www.upperstall.com/people/chitalkar-ramchandra}}</ref><ref name=citwf/> # Ahinsa (1947) # Albela (1951)<ref name=citwf/><ref name=ICHF/> # Amar Rahe Yeh Pyar (1961) # Amar Deep (1958) # Anarkali (1953)<ref name=upperstall/> # Aasha (1957)<ref name=ICHF/> # Akbar Salim Anarkali (1979)<ref name=citwf>{{cite web|url=https://www.citwf.com/person350534.htm |url-status=dead|archive-date=6 December 2019|access-date=8 October 2023|title=C. Ramchandra filmography|website=Complete Index To World Film (CITWF) website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206004138/https://www.citwf.com/person350534.htm}}</ref> # Baarish (1957) # Bachchon Ka Khel (1946) # Badla (1943) # Bahadur (1944 film) # Bahadur Pratap (1947) # Bahurani (1963)<ref name=citwf/> # Balram Shri Krishna (1968) # Bhakt Raj (1943) # Chhatrapati Shivaji (1952) # Daal Me Kaala (1964) # Devta (1956) # Dil Ki Baat (1944) # Dosti (1946) # Duniya (1949) # Duniya Gol Hai (1955) # Ghungroo (1952)<ref name=upperstall/> # Girls School (1949), with Anil Biswas # Hanso Hanso Ae Duniya Walo (1942) # Hum Diwane (1965) # Hungama (1952)<ref name=upperstall/> # Insaniyat (1955)<ref name=citwf/> # Jhaanjhar (1953) # Jhamela (1953)<ref name=citwf/> # Jitne Door Utne Paas (1960) (Unreleased) # Kaarigar (1965) # Kavi (1954) # Khazana (1951) # Khidki (1948) # Labelaa (1966) # Lahren (1953) # Lalkar (1944) # Leela (1947)<ref name=ICHF/> # Lutera (1955) # Madadgaar (1947) # Madam Zapata (1962) # Manorama (1944) # Matwale (1947) # Meenar (1954) # Mera Munna (1948) # Mr. Jhatpat (1943) # Muskurahat (1943)<ref name=ICHF/> # Nastik (1954)<ref name=upperstall/><ref name=citwf/> # Nadiya Ke Par (1948) # Naghma-e-Sehra (1945) # Namoona (1949) # Nausherwan-E-Adil (1957)<ref name=upperstall/><ref name=ICHF/> # Navrang (1959)<ref name=upperstall/><ref name=citwf/><ref name=ICHF/> # Nazrana (1948) (Unreleased) # Nirala (1950)<ref name=citwf/> # Payal Ki Jhankar (1968) # Paigham (1959)<ref name=citwf/> # Parchhain (1952) # Patanga (1949) # Pehli Jhalak (1954) # Raj Tilak (1958) # Raunaq 1944 # Rootha Na Karo (1970) # Roshni (1949) # Sajan (1947)<ref name=ICHF/> # Sanwaria (1949) # Saqi (1952)<ref name=citwf/> # Savdhan (1954) # Sawan (1945) # Safar (1946)<ref name=ICHF/> # Sagai (1951)<ref name=upperstall/><ref name=ICHF/> # Samadhi (1950)<ref name=ICHF/> # Samrat Chandragupt (1945) # Sangeeta (1950) # Sangram (1950) # Sargam (1950)<ref name=citwf/> # Sarhad (1960) # Saudagar (1951), with Hanuman Prasad # Shabistan (1951) # Shadi Se Pehle (1947)<ref name=citwf/> # Shagoofa (1953) # Sharda (1957)<ref name=upperstall/> # Shatranj (1956) # Shehnai (1947)<ref name=ICHF/> # Sher Dil (1965) # Shin Shinaki Bublaa Boo (1952)<ref name=upperstall/> # Siphaiya (1949) # Stree (1961) # Subah Ka Tara (1954) # Sukhi Jivan (1942)<ref name=ICHF/> # Talaq (1958) # Talash (1957) # Tasveer (1966) # Teerandaaz (1955) # Toofani Takkar (1978) # Tulsi Vivah (1971) # Ustad Pedro (1951) # Vana Mohini (1941) # Veer Bhimsen (1964) # Wahan Ke Log (1967) # Yasmin (1955)<ref name=upperstall/><ref name=citwf/> # Zaban (1943) # Zindagi Aur Maut (1965) {{div col end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category}} * {{IMDb name|0708128}} * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rotxefs5s9U A Tribute To C. Ramchandra, Biography, The Greatest Music Composer Of Indian Cinema on YouTube] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HfPjevUjAM Commentary And Interview of C. Ramchandra with Ameen Sayani on YouTube]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramchandra, C}} Category:1918 births Category:1982 deaths Category:Indian film score composers Category:Marathi people Category:People from Maharashtra Category:People from Ahmednagar district Category:20th-century Indian composers Category:20th-century Indian musicians Category:Films scored by C. Ramchandra