Datta Davjekar
Encyclopedia
Dattatreya Shankar Davjekar better known as Datta Davjekar or Datta Daujeker (Died: ) was a veteran music composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 mainly associated with Marathi
Marathi cinema
Marathi cinema refers to films produced in the Marathi language in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is the oldest and pioneer film industry in India...

 and Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

 movies. He is credited for giving a break to many singers who became extremely popular over a period of time, including the Mangeshkar siblings, Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar 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...

, Asha Bhosale and Usha Mangeshkar
Usha Mangeshkar
Usha Mangeshkar is an Indian singer who has recorded many Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati songs soundtracks.She is daughter of Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar & Shevanti . She is the younger sister of singers, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle and elder to her music-director brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar...

 as well as others such as Anuradha Paudwal
Anuradha Paudwal
Anuradha Paudwal is a popular playback singer in Bollywood in India.She has sung songs in Hindi, Marathi and Nepali.- Biography :She studied at Xavier's College in Mumbai. She was married to the late Arun Paudwal, who worked with music director S. D. Burman as his assistant...

.

Career

Datta Davjekar's father Baburao used to play tabla for live folk musical plays as well as in Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...

 plays. Davjekar learned how to play tabla and harmonium and thus developed an interest in music. He also started composing songs. Later, he was invited by the famous star Shanta Apte to perform on her shows. Davjekar performed at places as far off as Allahabad and Lahore.

Davjekar assisted C. Ramachandra and Chitragupta for a while. His first break came in 1941 with a Marathi film called Municipality. It was followed by Sarkari Pahune in 1942. One of the film's songs Naache Sangeet Natwar was a big hit. Davjekar went on to work with big names in Marathi cinema, like Raja Paranjape
Raja Paranjape
Raja Paranjape was an Indian actor, director, producer and writer in the Marathi film and Hindi film industries.-Career:In a career spanning 40 years, Paranjape was associated with about 80 Marathi and Hindi films....

, Gajanan Jagirdar, Master Vinayak, Dinkar Patil, Datta Dharmadhikari, Rajdutt and Raja Thakur.

His famous films include Rangalyaa Raatri Ashyaa, Paathlaag, Pahu Re Kitni Vaat, Thoraataanchi Kamlaa, Padchaaya, Chimanrao Gundyabhau, Pedgaonche Shahane, Juna Te Sona, Sant Vahate Krishna Mai, Sukhaachi Sawali, Viasakh Vanwaa and Yashoda. His last film release was Pahaate Punyechi in 1992. His non-film song "Sainik Ho Tumchyaa Saathi" (translation: For you, oh Soldiers) was a big hit and its sales proceeds went to the Armed Forces.

In a career spanning fifty two years, Davjekar composed music in several languages for sixty films, twelve plays and several documentaries. He learnt German music for composing music for the play Thank you, Mr Glad.

Introducing Lata Mangeshkar

The film Maazhe Baal, released in 1943, was Davjekar's first Marathi film with Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar 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...

. He went on to introduce her to Hindi films with his song Paa Laagoo Kar Jori Re for the film Aap Ki Sewa Mein (1947).

Introducing Sudha Malhotra

Davjekar did two more Hindi films, Vasant Joglekar’s Aap Ki Adalat and Premnath’s English-Hindi bilingual, Prisoner of Golconda, in which he introduced Sudha Malhotra.

Death

On September 19, 2007 Davjekar died of a massive heart attack at his residence in Andheri, Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

.

External links

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