FAREWELL, VANRAJ BHATIA

DEVESH SHARMA OFFERS A BRIEF PROFILE OF THE RENOWNED COMPOSER, WHO PASSED AWAY RECENTLY

(MAY 31, 1927 - MAY 7, 2021)

For the masses, his most popular song remains Tumhare bin ji na lage ghar mein from Bhumika (1977). Picturised on Smta Patil, it was written by Majrooh Sultanpuri and sung by Preeti Sagar. She was just a chit of a girl back then, famous for her My heart is beating song from Julie (1975). It’s said that people told Vanraj Bhatia to choose another singer as Preeti was considered too westernised for a classical-based song. But he stuck to his guns and came out with his most famous song in the process. Saawan ke din aaye, a duet Preeti sang with Bhupinder, too became famous. The use of trumpet at the start provided another dimension to the song. It wasn’t that she was totally untested. He had made her sing the highly intricate composition, the heavy duty Quli Qutub Shah ghazal Piya baaj pyala piya jaye na from Nishant (1975), which is another rare gem from Bhatia’s repertoire.

He’s known to have worked more with Asha Bhosle but one song of his, Barse ghan saari raat, from Tarang (1984), sung by Lata Mangeshkar, was described by the late composer himself as one of his most difficult songs. And he marvelled at how Lata sang it in one take.

Vanraj, known for his Indian classical and folk inspired melodies, was actually a trained composer in the Western heritage