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5 songs by which to remember Salil Chowdhury, the man of many instruments

Influenced by Western classical music, he played the flute, piano, harmonium and esraj and gave us some of Bollywood's most-loved tunes.

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New Delhi: Composer, lyricist, poet, writer — Salil Chowdhury wore many hats. Even within his career as a composer, he created music for more than 100 films across Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Gujarati, Telugu, Oriya and Assamese.

Born on 19 November 1925 in Gazipur, in Bengal presidency, Chowdhury spent much of his childhood in the tea gardens of Assam, where his father staged plays with coolies and other staff of the tea garden community.

He grew up listening to his father’s collection of Western classical music, as well as local folk music. A talented instrumentalist himself, he used all of these influences to write music that would be loved and remembered by future generations. On his birth anniversary, ThePrint rewinds to five of his most iconic songs.

Kahin Door Jab Din Dhal Jaaye (Anand, 1971)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soyWYejOQyg

The voice of Mukesh, the words of Yogesh and the lilting melody by Chowdhury, this song is the one that really takes listeners and viewers through the sadness of the titular character, Anand (Rajesh Khanna), who is otherwise determinedly cheerful in the face of his terminal illness.

Ae Mere Pyare Watan (Kabuliwala, 1961)

In the Bimal Roy-directed adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s classic story, Manna Dey’s haunting vocals match the heartbreaking lyrics and melody of this beautiful, gently patriotic song.

Dil Tadap Tadap Ke Keh Raha Hai (Madhumati, 1958)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5B5QHq_TLc

The paranormal romance starring Dilip Kumar and Vyjanthimala was the biggest hit of 1958, and won a number of awards, including for its music. The soundtrack by Salil Chowdhury had 11 songs, including Ghadi Ghadi Mera Dil Dhadke, Aaja Re Pardesi, Suhana Safar Aur Yeh Mausam Haseen and the melodious Dil Tadap Tadap, sung by Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar.

Dharti Kahe Pukaar Ke (Do Bigha Zamin, 1953)

Chowdhury not only composed the music for this critically acclaimed Bimal Roy film about a debt-ridden farmer dealing with a famine, but also wrote the story. In an interview with All India Radio, Chowdhury spoke of how this song was inspired by a marching song of the Red Army as well as by Raag Bhairavi.

Na Jaane Kyon (Chhoti Si Baat, 1976)

The sweet, simple rom com starring Amol Palekar, Vidya Sinha, Asrani and Ashok Kumar featured some great tracks, such as this gorgeous melody sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Bombay’s bustling bylanes, old bungalows, BEST buses and iconic restaurants form the perfect backdrop for this story.


Also read: Jailed for anti-Nehru poem & celebrated for Bollywood songs, Majrooh Sultanpuri had it all


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7 COMMENTS

  1. “Kahin door jab din dhal Jaaye” is my favourite song…..long live …Salil daa…..is living in our hearts…..

  2. Salil Chaudhari’s song ‘ O sajana barkha bahar aai’ matches skills of Pandit Ravishankar ji almost equally. He was a gem of musician who gave many melodious songs
    N would remembered for a long time like Madan Mohan,C Ramchandra n N Dutta.(Dutta Naik)
    Arun Paturkar
    Pune

  3. Salilda like versatile music director you rarely find .i like all his compositions especially mukeshji and lataji starting from alltime favourite Madathi.His songs are immortal like jaa re jaare udh,aha rimjim,it na na mujh,kai baar yuhi dekha,aaja re pardesi,kahi door,mere man ke diye,sham ko aankh nami nami so on…
    Countless.

  4. Salilda was born in 1922 – not 1925. Please learn about him and his other compositions (there are around 1000 in 10 languages) and not copy/paste the same stuff. That is not journalism. If you want to know more visit salilda dot com.

  5. Remembering Salil Da, …
    Thanks for reminding
    In addition to these five songs, one can go on and on and on …
    Classic songs from movies like Parakh (Who can forget “O sajna barkha bahar ayee*…), Usne Kaha Tha, Chhaya, Maya, PoonamKi Raat. Rajanigandha, …. the list goes on
    Peaked during the fifties and sixties and up to the mid seventies

    *This was one of Lataji’s favourite 25 songs as published in a list in FILMFARE magazine during the mid seventies

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