Salil Chowdhury
Encyclopedia
Salil Chowdhury was an Indian music composer. He mainly composed for Bengali
, Hindi, and Malayalam films. He was also a poet
and a playwright
. He is affectionately called Salilda by all his admirers.
His musical genius was widely recognized and acknowledged in the India
n film industry. He was an accomplished arranger and was proficient in several musical instruments, including flute
, the piano
, and the esraj
. He was also widely acclaimed and admired for his inspirational and original poetry.
kayasth family. Much of his early childhood was spent in the tea gardens of Assam
, where his father was a medical doctor.
Classical
collection of his father. His father was reputed to stage plays with coolies and other low-paid workers of the tea-gardens. He graduated from Bangabasi College
, an affiliate of the University of Calcutta
in Kolkata
and it was during this period of time that his political ideas were formulated quickly along with a considerable maturity in his musical ideas. He was a man with excellent talent.
In 1944, a young Salil came to Calcutta for his graduate studies. He joined the IPTA (Indian Peoples Theater Association) the cultural wing of the Communist Party of India
. He started writing songs and setting tunes for them. The IPTA theatrical outfit travelled through the villages and the cities bringing these songs to the common man. Songs like Bicharpati, Runner and Abak prithibi became extremely popular with the general population at the time.
Songs like Gaayer bodhu, which he composed at the age of 20, brought about a new wave of Bengali music. Almost every notable singer at the time from West Bengal had sung at least one of his songs. A few examples are Hemanta Mukherjee, Shyamal Mitra, Manabendra Mukherjee, Pratima Banerjee, etc.
i film "Paribortan" (translation: Transformation) was released in 1949. "Mahabharati" released in 1994 was the last of his 41 Bengali films.
Salil da's debut in the Hindi
Film Industry came in 1953 as the Music Director
for Do Bigha Zamin by Bimal Roy
. The film was the cinematic version of Salil Chowdhury's short story named "Ricksawala". It also took his career to new heights when it became the first film to win the Filmfare Best Movie Award
and won the international Prize at the Cannes Film Festival
.
After about 20 years in Bengali and Hindi films, Salil da entered Malayalam films in 1964 with Chemmeen
. Almost all of his Malayalam songs became popular irrespective of the performance of the films they were made for.
He went on to compose for over 75 Hindi
films, over 40 Bengali
films, around 26 Malayalam films, and several Marathi
, Tamil
, Telugu
, Kannada, Gujarati
, Oriya
and Assamese
films.
.
Some of his straight adaptations of Western Classical Music include
Salilda's daughter, Antara Chowdhury
is currently a performing artist in her own right. She recently sang for Sudhir Mishra's hit Khoya Khoya Chand
in a duet with Sonu Nigam
. Antara has many forthcoming projects intended to preserve the legacy of her father and bridge the gaps between old and new generations. A new album entitled Generations: Volume 1 produced by her brother, Bobby Chowdhury with compositions by Salil Chowdhury and Sanjoy Chowdhury is slated to be released Spring 2008. Hindi and Bengali singles from the album have been released on the iTunes Music Store worldwide. These include in Hindi, "kyon beheke hain / stranger" and "chale ayona / so far away" with lyrics by Yogesh
and music by Sanjoy and in Bengali, "esho boshona / sit beside me" and "dur ojanate / far away" with lyrics by Salil Chowdhury and Tarun respectively and music by Sanjoy.
Salil's love for Western classical music started when he was a young boy growing up in an Assam tea garden where his father worked as a doctor. His father inherited a large number of western classical records and a gramophone from a departing Irish doctor. While Salil listened to Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, etc. everyday, his daily life was surrounded by the sound of the forest, chirping of the birds, sound of the flute and the local folk-music. This left a lasting impression in young Salil. He became an excellent self-taught flute player and his favourite composer was Mozart. His compositions often used folk melodies or melodies based on Indian classical raga
s but the orchestration was very much western in its construction. He developed a unique style which was immediately identifiable
Bengali cinema
Bengali cinema refers to the Bengali language filmmaking industries in the Bengal region of South Asia. There are two major film-making hubs in the region: one in Kolkata, West Bengal, India and the other in Dhaka, Bangladesh .The history of cinema in Bengal dates back to the 1890s, when the first...
, Hindi, and Malayalam films. He was also a poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and a playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
. He is affectionately called Salilda by all his admirers.
His musical genius was widely recognized and acknowledged in the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n film industry. He was an accomplished arranger and was proficient in several musical instruments, including flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, and the esraj
Esraj
The esraj is a string instrument found in two forms throughout the north, central, and east regions of India. It is a young instrument by Indian terms, being only about 200 years old. The dilruba is found in the north, where it is used in religious music and light classical songs in the urban areas...
. He was also widely acclaimed and admired for his inspirational and original poetry.
Background
Salil Chowdhury was born in a HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
kayasth family. Much of his early childhood was spent in the tea gardens of Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, where his father was a medical doctor.
Career
Early influences
Salil's childhood was spent in the tea gardens of Assam. From an early age he listened to the WesternWestern world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
Classical
Classical period (music)
The dates of the Classical Period in Western music are generally accepted as being between about 1750 and 1830. However, the term classical music is used colloquially to describe a variety of Western musical styles from the ninth century to the present, and especially from the sixteenth or...
collection of his father. His father was reputed to stage plays with coolies and other low-paid workers of the tea-gardens. He graduated from Bangabasi College
Bangabasi College
Bangabasi College is a Kolkata based liberal arts, commerce and sciences college. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses of the University of Calcutta. It was founded by Acharya Girish Chandra Bose, the eminent educationist, social reformer and agriculturist in 1887...
, an affiliate of the University of Calcutta
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta is a public university located in the city of Kolkata , India, founded on 24 January 1857...
in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
and it was during this period of time that his political ideas were formulated quickly along with a considerable maturity in his musical ideas. He was a man with excellent talent.
In 1944, a young Salil came to Calcutta for his graduate studies. He joined the IPTA (Indian Peoples Theater Association) the cultural wing of the Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
. He started writing songs and setting tunes for them. The IPTA theatrical outfit travelled through the villages and the cities bringing these songs to the common man. Songs like Bicharpati, Runner and Abak prithibi became extremely popular with the general population at the time.
Songs like Gaayer bodhu, which he composed at the age of 20, brought about a new wave of Bengali music. Almost every notable singer at the time from West Bengal had sung at least one of his songs. A few examples are Hemanta Mukherjee, Shyamal Mitra, Manabendra Mukherjee, Pratima Banerjee, etc.
Film career
His first BengalBengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
i film "Paribortan" (translation: Transformation) was released in 1949. "Mahabharati" released in 1994 was the last of his 41 Bengali films.
Salil da's debut in the 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...
Film Industry came in 1953 as the Music Director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
for Do Bigha Zamin by Bimal Roy
Bimal Roy
Bimal Roy was one of the most acclaimed Indian film directors of all time. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films like Do Bigha Zamin, Parineeta, Biraj Bahu, Madhumati, Sujata, and Bandini, making him an important director of Hindi cinema...
. The film was the cinematic version of Salil Chowdhury's short story named "Ricksawala". It also took his career to new heights when it became the first film to win the Filmfare Best Movie Award
Filmfare Best Movie Award
The Filmfare Best Film Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.The award was first given in 1954. Here is a list of the award winners and the nominees of the respective years...
and won the international Prize at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
.
After about 20 years in Bengali and Hindi films, Salil da entered Malayalam films in 1964 with Chemmeen
Chemmeen
Chemmeen is a 1965 Malayalam romantic drama film based on the highly acclaimed novel of the same name by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai and directed by Ramu Kariat from a screenplay by S. L...
. Almost all of his Malayalam songs became popular irrespective of the performance of the films they were made for.
He went on to compose for over 75 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...
films, over 40 Bengali
Bengali cinema
Bengali cinema refers to the Bengali language filmmaking industries in the Bengal region of South Asia. There are two major film-making hubs in the region: one in Kolkata, West Bengal, India and the other in Dhaka, Bangladesh .The history of cinema in Bengal dates back to the 1890s, when the first...
films, around 26 Malayalam films, and several Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
, Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, Kannada, Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
, Oriya
Oriya language
Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
and Assamese
Assamese language
Assamese is the easternmost Indo-Aryan language. It is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India. It is also the official language of Assam. It is also spoken in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast Indian states. Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in...
films.
The western influence
Salil da's music showed an equally rich blend of Western and Indian classical musicIndian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...
.
Some of his straight adaptations of Western Classical Music include
- "Itana na mujhse tu pyar badha" from ChhayaChhaya (1961 film)Chhaya is a Bollywood film directed by legendary director Hrishikesh Mukherjee. It released in 1961. The star cast include Sunil Dutt and Asha Parekh. Nirupa Roy won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award.-Plot:...
- based on Mozart's Symphony No. 40Symphony No. 40 (Mozart)Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his Symphony No. 40 in G minor, KV. 550, in 1788. It is sometimes referred to as the "Great G minor symphony," to distinguish it from the "Little G minor symphony," No. 25. The two are the only minor key symphonies Mozart wrote.... - "Raaton ke saaye ghane" from Annadata - based on works by Chopin
Family
Salil Chowdhury was married to Smt. Sabita Chowdhury. He has two daughters and two sons.Salilda's daughter, Antara Chowdhury
Antara Chowdhury
Antara Chowdhury is a singer and composer Bengali songs. She is a daughter of renowned composer and lyricist Salil Chowdhury and Sabita Chowdhury .Antara started her singing career at the early age of seven...
is currently a performing artist in her own right. She recently sang for Sudhir Mishra's hit Khoya Khoya Chand
Khoya Khoya Chand
Khoya Khoya Chand, is a Bollywood film directed by Sudhir Mishra which released on 7 December 2007. The film stars Shiney Ahuja and Soha Ali Khan in the lead roles with Rajat Kapoor, Sushmita Mukherjee, Sonya Jehan and Vinay Pathak in important roles...
in a duet with Sonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam is an Indian playback singer whose songs have been featured in numerous Hindi movies, as well as films in Assamese, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi and Kannada language. He has also released numerous Indi-pop albums and acted in a few Hindi feature films...
. Antara has many forthcoming projects intended to preserve the legacy of her father and bridge the gaps between old and new generations. A new album entitled Generations: Volume 1 produced by her brother, Bobby Chowdhury with compositions by Salil Chowdhury and Sanjoy Chowdhury is slated to be released Spring 2008. Hindi and Bengali singles from the album have been released on the iTunes Music Store worldwide. These include in Hindi, "kyon beheke hain / stranger" and "chale ayona / so far away" with lyrics by Yogesh
Yogesh
Yogesh is a Hindu name for males. It is formed from two words: Yoga-Ishvara . The name literally means "God of Yoga", who according to the Hindu mythology is Lord shiva."Yoga" here implies yogic powers or mystic powers....
and music by Sanjoy and in Bengali, "esho boshona / sit beside me" and "dur ojanate / far away" with lyrics by Salil Chowdhury and Tarun respectively and music by Sanjoy.
Legacy
Salil's music was a unique blending of the Eastern and the Western music traditions. He had once said: 'I want to create a style which shall transcend borders - a genre which is emphatic and polished, but never predictable'. He dabbled in a lot of things and it was his ambition to achieve greatness in everything he did. But at times, his confusion was fairly evident - 'I do not know what to opt for: poetry, story writing, orchestration or composing for films. I just try to be creative with what fits the moment and my temperament' he once told a journalist.Salil's love for Western classical music started when he was a young boy growing up in an Assam tea garden where his father worked as a doctor. His father inherited a large number of western classical records and a gramophone from a departing Irish doctor. While Salil listened to Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, etc. everyday, his daily life was surrounded by the sound of the forest, chirping of the birds, sound of the flute and the local folk-music. This left a lasting impression in young Salil. He became an excellent self-taught flute player and his favourite composer was Mozart. His compositions often used folk melodies or melodies based on Indian classical raga
Raga
A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
s but the orchestration was very much western in its construction. He developed a unique style which was immediately identifiable
Quotes on Salil Chowdhury
- When Salil and I sat together by the piano and heard his compositions, I was overwhelmed by a divine feeling that his music brought and I have never felt this magnitude of divinity in any other composer’s music. - Noted playback singer KJ Yesudas.
- He can play almost any instrument he lays his hands on, from the tabla to the sarod, from the piano to the piccolo - Raj KapoorRaj KapoorKnown as Ranbir Raj Kapoor Rāj Kapūr, 14 December 1924 – 2 June 1988), also known as The Show-Man, was an Indian film actor, producer and director of Hindi cinema. He was the winner of nine Filmfare Awards, while his films Awaara and Boot Polish were nominated for the Palme d'Or at the...
. - Salil Choudhury is the best elevator of Indian Folk Music. - Pudovkin
- Salil knew the grammar of songs. Thus it wasn't difficult for him to bring out the progress of grammar by violating the grammar. - Mrinal SenMrinal SenMrinal Sen is a Bengali Indian filmmaker. He was born on 14 May 1923, in the town of Faridpur, now in Bangladesh in a Hindu family. After finishing his high school there, he left home to come to Calcutta as a student and studied physics at the well-known Scottish Church College and at the...
. - Salilbabu was a member of the Communist Party and he struck to its principles. He was the composer of the composers. One of the seven notes of music has been lost. - NaushadNaushadNaushad Ali was an Indian musician. He was one of the foremost music directors for Bollywood films, and is particularly known for popularizing the use of classical music in films.His first film as an independent music director was Prem Nagar in 1940...
- In the context of Bengali songs, the emergence of Salil marked the beginning of new era in our country after Rabindranath-Najrul. - Suchitra MitraSuchitra MitraSuchitra Mitra was an Indian singer and composer, as well as a well-respected exponent of Rabindra Sangeet or the songs of Bengal's poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore. As an academic she remained a Professor and the Head of 'Rabindra Sangeet Department' at the Rabindra Bharati University for many...
Awards and recognitions
- 1958 - Filmfare Best Music Director AwardFilmfare Best Music Director AwardThe Filmfare Best Music Director Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to the best composer/arranger of a soundtrack. This category was first presented in 1954. Naushad was the first recipient of this award for his song "Tu Ganga Ki Mauj"...
for MadhumatiMadhumatiMadhumati is a 1958 Hindi film produced and directed by Bimal Roy, and written by Ritwik Ghatak and Rajinder Singh Bedi. The music was composed by Salil Choudhury with the lyrics by Shailendra. The film stars Dilip Kumar, Vyjayantimala, Pran, and Johnny Walker. It was one of the earliest films to... - 1988 - Sangeet Natak Akademi AwardSangeet Natak Akademi AwardSangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists. The award consists since 2003 of Rs. 50,000, a citation, an angavastram , and a tamrapatra...
See also
- List of notable Calcuttans
- A short biography of Salil Chowdhury