A child like heart created his own world of Music
Playing the Tabla and Harmonium do not make music. Need Base, need Foundation! If you want to give music, then it should be written and read! The whole game is Arrangement and where does Arrangement come from? It is very easy to make a tune, but according to the project, taking it there and making it known is the real music. For Base or foundation, you need to understand the use of Cello, Viola and group violins, heavy orchestration. There were some schools like RC Boral, where it worked effectively and a little foundation was strengthened.
Here the music is weighed in a single scale. Advertisements are treated the same, films have been treated the same, TV also treated the same while Every genre has a different demand. In the fifties, one side of the song and the other side of the advertisement was equally big. Then slowly the media improved, advertising was made with freshness. Creators with creative and vision come when the way is open!
Almost all the music Composers in our country, heavily dependent on the arrangers. If Sabastian goes to Goa, the Composer loses his music! There are hardly couple of Composers like ‘Pancham’ (RD Burman) who understands the basics of the music and works hard on it and the music speaks for itself, otherwise anyone can make music with Tabla – Dholak. If you play Tabla Dholak, then something will come out for sure, but if you want to give music to the ‘project’, then you need to learn the music, understand it and keep it in the same way by bringing the richness to the base of the project.
He does not bring any music who comes from UP or from Punjab, he makes a song that’s all. My music is different in role, ‘Sardari Begum’ is different, ‘Bhoomika’ is entirely different and it applies to all of my projects. For ‘Tamas’, I had to figure out all the music for the background. ‘Bharat Ek Khoj’ have been a documented drama, so music has also made a mark by becoming a document. My music has been successful in living its own style in making its own identity, so it is good. I have never made agreements. Going to the UK, going to France and Austria understood music. After learning Hindustani classical music, Western Classical was also mixed and presented. The work that was done will never come after thinking that money will come or not. I have never worked for money.
Arranged for each piece himself, worked hard and then composed the music of Vanraj Bhatia.
My Father Anandji Bhatia was in the clothing business, I started listening to music. Stubbornness to go out reading out of India. People then said that after coming, you will sell ‘Chana’ (Grums) at Chowpatty. But there was an obsession. The father took the responsibilities of spending six months, the rest depends on my luck and dedication. I got the Scholarship. Came back to the country and failed in the job of musicologist from 1960 to 1965 at Delhi University. After graduating from Elphinstone College in Mumbai, I trained in Western classical music in London and Paris.
After return to the country, I joined the advertising industry and worked for more than 6,000 advertising jingles. With such ad films, my friends Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani went on to make parallel cinema, thus I did a lot of work in ‘Ankur’, ‘Bhoomika’, ‘Mandi’, ‘Junoon’, ‘Kalyug’.
I also did the background of the commercial films. Mixing Western style with Indian classical music gave uniqueness in my music. Aparna Sen’s ’36 Chowringhee Lane’ and Kundan Shah’s ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaro’ were also composed by me.
Vanrajji conferred National Award for Best Music and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award were also given to him for Govind Nihalani’s serial ‘Tamas’. In 2012, India’s fourth top civilian honour was awarded to him – the Padmashree.
‘My life is limited- Eat well, live peacefully!’ He once accepted, ”There is also some loss in the stock market, which has compelled me now to ask for help!” Vanrajji’s memory was very sharp till a few years ago! He never married and a child remained forever within him. Despite all the inconsistencies, he was able to create his own world of music. The music world of Vanraj Bhatia – Isolated and Sequestered.
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