Tribute to Shankar,Legendary Music Composer On His 96th Birth Anniversary.

Shankar Singh Raghuvanshi was one of the genius composers of the famous duo Shankar Jaikishan, the greatest musical duo to have graced the world of Hindi cinema. So great was the impact of their creative genius that it had a lasting impact on the music of the Hindi films. Shankar-Jaikishan understood the taste of the masses, were able to cater to them, as well as moulded their tastes. No wonder then that during their tenure as music directors, they were exceedingly popular and 75 per cent of the films for which their scores were resounding hits – many have celebrated silver jubilees.

Shankar Singh Raghuvanshi was born on 15 October 1922. He was a native of telangana, and spent his early years in Hyderabad. He learned the tabla and other instruments and was a student of the musicians Baba Nasir Khansahib and Khawaja Khurshid Anwar. He was an expert percussionist. He learnt the fundamentals of film music from the first music duo Husnlal-Bhagatram.

Shankar and Jaikishan reportedly first met when they were both waiting outside a film director’s office. They soon became collaborators and helped in composing music for Prithvi Theatres, which was founded by the renowned actor Prithviraj Kapoor. In the years to follow, Shankar-Jaikishan became the favourite music directors of Prithviraj’s son, the legendary actor-director Raj Kapoor.

It is striking, however, that some of their most outstanding work of the 1950s was not awarded. For millions of fans of Hindi film music, Shankar-Jaikishan remain alive through their unforgettable music

#Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai (1960): Shankar–Jaikishan’s Filmfare Award for Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai notwithstanding, the score for the film would have been unremarkable except for one outstanding song that remains just as fresh and contemporary today as it was in 1960.

#Junglee (1961): Shankar–Jaikishan’s music adapted to this new persona and the result was a louder, more boisterous sound. Movie had wonderful songs, like ‘Ehsan Tera Hoga Mujh Par’ in Junglee, but songs like ‘Yahoo! Chahe Koi Mujhe Junglee Kahe’ became an important part of their repertoire.

#Asli Naqli (1962):The film has enchanting song, ‘Tujhe Jeevan Ki Dor Se Baand Liya Hai’, has Dev Anand sporting a hat and Sadhana sporting a hairstyle that preceded her famed Sadhana cut. It seems Shankar–Jaikishan channelled their inner SD Burman while composing the music for Asli Naqli, 

#Dil Ek Mandir (1963):Shankar–Jaikishan’s music measured up admirably to the popularity The film had two brilliant solos by Lata Mangeshkar— ‘Ruk Ja Raat Thahar Ja Re Chanda’ and ‘Hum Tere Pyar Mein Saara Aalam’and the Mohammed Rafi number ‘Yaad Na Jaye Beete Dinon Ki’. 

#Teesri Kasam (1966):  With Mukesh singing for Raj Kapoor, the dream team of the 1950s came together again.‘Sajanwa Bairi Ho Gaye Hamaar’ had Shailendra using pithy, rustic lyrics and Shankar-Jaikishan weaving a lovely, folk tune. This was the last time Shankar–Jaikishan worked with Shailendra.