Renowned music composer Vanraj Bhatia passes away

An archival photo of Vanraj Bhatia. He studied music composition at the Royal Academy of Music, London, for which he earned a gold medal. Picture courtesy/mid-day archives

The critically acclaimed music composer Vanraj Bhatia passed away at his Mumbai residence on Friday. He lived alone at his apartment at the Rungta Housing Colony on Napean Sea Road. He was 93. Born 31 May 1927, Vanraj Bhatia was best known for his work in Indian New Wave Cinema. He studied Hindustani classical music as a student at Deodhar School of Music and music composition at Royal Academy of Music, London. His first feature film score was for Shyam Benegal's directorial debut Ankur (1974). He was known for his music composition in many art-house films and television shows.

Vanraj Bhatia won the National Film Award for Best Music for Govind Nihalani's 'Tamas' in 1988 and the Padma Shri in 2012. The composer carved his niche with his distinct notes in the art cinema circuit of the seventies and the eighties. Bhatia's discography includes films such as Kundan Shah's 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro', Aparna Sen's '36 Chowringhee Lane', and Prakash Jha's 'Hip Hip Hooray'. From 'Ankur' in 1974 to 'Sardari Begum' in 1996, he was the favourite composer of arthouse titan Shyam Benegal. The duo collaborated on several projects including 'Manthan', 'Bhumika', 'Junoon', 'Kalyug', 'Mandi', 'Trikaal' and 'Suraj Ka Saatvan Ghoda'.

In the 1990s, he also composed background scores for mainstream films such as Ajooba, Damini and Pardes. Bhatia had also scored music for television shows such as Khandaan, Yatra, Wagle Ki Duniya, Banegi Apni Baat and Bharat Ek Khoj, which based on Jawaharlal Nehru's The Discovery of India, as well as numerous documentaries. A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1989, Bhatia also studied western classical music at the Royal Academy of Music. He was also one of the pioneers of spiritual music with albums such as Bhagavad Gita and Anant. He had more than 7000 advertising jingles to his credit. His last work was an opera titled Agni Varsha which was performed in New York.