THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Noted music director Ravi Shankar Sharma, popularly known as Bombay Ravi, has passed away at his residence in Mumbai on Wednesday. He was 86. He was under prolonged treatment for illness.A well-known figure in Bollywood, Ravi has gifted nearly 90 songs in Malayalam too. He started his music journey by singing ‘Vande Matharam’ in Anandmath and had Vachan (1954) as his first film as a music director. Chaudhvin Ka Chand, Do Badan, Humraz, Ankhen, Nikah, Gharana, Khandan, Waqt, Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya, Neel Kamal and Gumrah are some of the major ones he scored music for in the list of nearly 250 Hindi films. He had won Filmfare awards for Gharana and Khandan. His special interest proved vital in shaping Mahendra Kapoor as a popular singer in Bollywood. He had won the national award for music in Sukrutham and Parinayam. He was introduced in Malayalam by director Hariharan in Panchagni (1986). The film scripted by M T Vasudevan Nair was an instant hit and the two songs ‘Saaganarangale.... and ‘Aa Raathri maanju poy,’ penned by ONV contributed much to the success. The team joined once again in Nakhashatangal. The songs formed the backbone of the film. He continued to repeat the magic with Malayalam lyrics in Vaishali by Bharathan and Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha by Hariharan. His music literally conquered Kerala in the beginning of nineties with the songs in Sargam, almost an year before its release. “Pravahame, Krishnakrupa sagaram, Sangeethame, Kannadiyadyamayen” had lured Malayalis for nearly a decade.He won the state award for the same film in 1992. Ravi’s Malayalam compositions were unique in style as he tried to weave them in Carnatic ragas. Malayali audience never considered him as an outsider as his songs blended the typical Malayali flavour. His songs in 14 films, including Ghazal, Vidyarambham, Padheyam, Parinayam, Sukrutham and Mayookham (2005) are some of the all-time favorites of Malayali community worldwide.He will be fondly remembered by the music lovers for his songs filled with love, desperation and nostalgia.Chitra had won the national award twice for his scores in Nakhakshatanagal and Vaishali with ONV’s national award winning song in Vaishali. The cremation will be held in Mumbai on March 9. Ravi’s wife, whom he married in 1946, died in 1988. His son Ajay is married to Varsha Usgaonkar, a Marathi and Hindi film actor.
Comments
0 comment