ROSHAN- the "King Of Melody"

 Debut Film: Neki Aur Badi (1949) 


In 1948, Roshan came to Mumbai to find work as a Bollywood music director. He struggled until meeting Kedar Sharma, who gave him the job of composing for his film "Neki aur Badi" (1949). Unfortunately, the film flopped along with its music. Next year, the first successful film of Roshan was released- “Baawre Nain”.
Roshan had his own style of music, which was completely different from the others. He had his own mannerism and trend, but was never monotonous because of the melody. He used the rich voices of Lata Mangeshkar and Mohd. Rafi perfectly. He was very successful in composing “Qawaali”-s and "semi-classical" songs for Hindi films. For example- “Na to karwaan ki talaash hai” (Barsaat Ki Raat), “Laga chunri me daag” (Dil Hi To Hai) etc. His biggest strength was that he was very comfortable in mixing the folk music with the complex classical tunes. He used to make a fusion of folk and classical music and that too with ease. This was such a specialty, which belonged to Roshan only. It was his approach, which made his music stand out from the others.

The 1960-s proved to be the golden age for Roshan and his music. His ability to meld folk music with Indian classical music became his trademark and resulted in movie’s scores. During this time, Roshan gifted Bollywood with several big musical hit movies. Some songs of that era are still popular and loved even by the young generation (like- "Jo wada kiya woh nibhaana padega", "Zindagi bhar nahin bhoolegi woh barsaat ki raat", "Laga chunri me daag", "Man re tu kahe na dheer dhare" and many more). He even gave breaks to lyricists like Anand Bakshi and Indeevar.

Roshan had been suffering from chronic heart trouble for over 20 years. He died of a heart attack in Bombay, Maharashtra, India, on 16 November 1967, leaving behind his wife, three sons and a daughter. One of the son turned to be a great music director later on (Rajesh Roshan) and another proved to be a successful film director and actor (Rakesh Roshan).

Roshan will be remembered for ever for his melodious songs that he created throughout his career. He proved that even with a small troop and less instruments, a music director can reach the extreme level of success.

Some of his hit musical films:

1949 to 1959: Baawre Nain, Malhar, Aji Bas Shukriya, Chandni Chowk, Sheesham

1960 to 1969: Barsaat Ki Raat, Aarti, Taj Mahal, Chitralekha, Dil Hi To Hai, Dooj Ka Chand, Nai Umar Ki Nai Fasal, Devar, Mamta, Bahu Begum, Noor Jahan, Bheegi Raat, Walla Kya Baat Hai, Anokhi Raat

    Kaushik Maitra