Vasant Desai


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

Desai 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 Dnaneswar. After learning the craft of music composition, he stuck solely to it since the 1940s.

Desai scored music for a majority of films of V. Shantharam’s 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 ham from Do Aankhen Barah Haath, 1957, and play back singer, Vani Jairam’s debut song, Bole Re Papihara from Guddi (1971).

 Maithreem Bhajatha is a benediction composed in Sanskrit by Sant Jagadguru Shri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati 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.

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

Can anyone forget the song “Nain so Nain Nahin Milo” sung by Hemant Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar and composed by Vasant Desai in Jhanak Jhanak Payal Bhaje? He has composed music for 50 plus Hindi films and around 12 Marathi Films

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. He stepped into the elevator of his apartment building and due to a technical glitch, the lift began to move, crushing him to death. It was sad that a good music director had a tragic end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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