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Music director Laxmikant dead

Sharmila Taliculam

Composer Laxmikant, who with Pyarelal composed the score for some of Bollywood's greatest musical hits, died in Bombay on Monday afternoon following a cardiac arrest. He was 64.

He was admitted to the Nanavati hospital in north-west Bombay last evening after suffering from kidney failure and was on a dialysis machine. The end came at 1430 hours. He had been undergoing dialysis for some years now.

Laxmikant Kudalkar started his movie career, ironically as a child actor, and later became a music arranger. He assisted Shanker-Jaikishen and then Kalyanji-Anandji for a few years before composing his first song for Amrit Nahata's Sant Dyaneshwar, the memorable Jyot se jyot jalate raho.

The first film released with Pyarelal and him as composers was Parasmani. Hasta hua noorani chehra catapulted the duo to fame. He never forgot that triumph, naming his Juhu bungalow after his first hit. LP's second film, Satyen Bose's Dosti, with Chahunga main tujhe and Jaanewalon zara consolidated their position further.

Laxmikant worked on the tunes while his partner concentrated on the background score. While Pyarelal played the violin, Laxmikant excelled on the mandolin.

In 1966-67, LP's mellifluous songs in Aaye Din Bahar Ke (Suno sajna) and Milan (Saawan ka mahina) topped the charts. As the hits multiplied with Do Raaste (1969), Dushman (1971) and Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971), Raj Kapoor was moved to forsake his trusted Shankar-Jaikishan for LP for Bobby (1973).

Laxmikant Pyarelal professed reluctance at taking their idols Shankar Jaikishen's place in the RK camp, but finally gave into the inevitability of change. Their songs (Main shaayar toh nahin, Hum tum ek kamre mein) were huge hits and amply justified Raj Kapoor's confidence in them.

Another important landmark for the LP team was Manmohan Desai's Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) where Pyarelal paid homage to his Goan music teacher Anthony Gonsalves in the hit, My name is Anthony Gonzalves.

The Bappi Lahiri wave in the early 1980s affected LP as it did that other musical worthy, R D Burman, but they found their bearings again with Subhash Ghai's Hero (1983) and Pyar Jhukta Nahin (1985).

LP were, in fact, among the few composers who survived the shift to modern music, despite some stiff competition from the new breed of music directors like Anu Malik and Nadeem-Shravan.

Down-to-earth and unassuming, Laxmikant was never contemptuous of nonsense lyrics, producing two of his own, Ek do teen in N Chandra's Tezaab and Choli ke peeche kya hai in Subhash Ghai's Khalnayak, both of which became chart-busters.

The last film Laxmikant and Pyarelal worked on was Ketan Desai's Deewana Mastana. Up ahead was Manoj Kumar's Jai Hind -- the pride. Illness didn't allow him to work harder.

Recalled Ketan Desai -- whose father Manmohan Desai used LP extensively for his films -- "They were the greatest music directors of their time... Laxmikant was a wonderful human being, standing by me to complete this film in Manji's (Manmohan Desai) absence. I will really miss him."

Composer Kalyanji recalled his long association with the LP duo and said they were the best combination of recent times.''Both of them were closely associated with us till 1970 even though they had started composing music independently,'' he added.

Laxmikant's career spanned over 30 years and, along with Pyarelal, he scored the music for over 480 films, many, many of which were memorable hits.

He is survived by his wife and two sons.

Additional reportage: UNI

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