Anil Biswas

Anil Krishna Biswas was an Indian playback singer and music composer who is considered as one of the forefathers of playback singing in the Indian cinema. He introduced pure choral effects and orchestral music to the film industry besides being the first to make use of the twelve-piece orchestra in Indian music. He was born on 7th July 1914 in a small village in the Barisal district of Bangladesh (then East Bengal) to J.C. Biswas. He used to act in stage plays at local theatres as a child artist. Music fascinated him from a very young age and by the time he was fourteen, he had mastered the art of playing tabla. He spent his childhood playing and composing music for the local concerts. In his early youth, he was actively involved in the Indian Independence Movement due to which he was often jailed. After his father’s demise in 1930, he left for Kolkata in disguise to avoid arrest. In Kolkata, he gathered fame for his skills in musical composition, following which he joined the Rangmahal Theatre as an actor, singer, and assistant music director.

During his stay there, he refined himself in singing styles of thumri, dadra, and khayal besides becoming a virtuoso in devotional music. He later worked with the Hindustan Recording Company alongside Sachin Dev Burman and Kundan Lal Saigal under the renowned poet, Kazi Nazrul Islam Kazi Nazrul Islam is a Bengali Poet, Musician, Wri >> Read More... , which led to his potential being recognized by music director, Hiren Bose Hiren was a well-known director who worked in many >> Read More... , at whose suggestion Biswas went to Mumbai in 1934. Biswas became a part of the East Art Syndicate, managed by Ram Daryani Ram Daryani, was a well-known filmmaker from the 1 >> Read More... , whom he assisted him in composing music for “Baal Hatya” and “Bharat Ki Beti” in 1935; this presented him with the opportunity to make his debut as a music composer with ‘Kuch Bhi Nahi Bharosa’ for “Dharam Ki Devi” (1935). The next eleven years saw Biswas enchant the audience with his melodies in movies such as “Jagirdar” (1937), “Teen Sau Din Ke Baad” (1938), “Hum Tum Aur Woh” (1939), “Watan” (1938), “Alibaba” (1940), “ Aurat Aurat that is, the woman was another show that was >> Read More... ” (1940) and “Bahen” (1941).

In 1942, he employed the western musical technique of ‘cantala’ to create prose songs for Mehboob Khan’s “Roti” (1942); he collaborated with Akhtari Bai Faizabadi in songs that were supposed to feature in Roti but deleted due to conflict of contracts of their respective record labels. Devika Rani In the annals of history of the Indian movie indus >> Read More... invited him to join Bombay Talkies Click to look into! >> Read More... , where he composed his greatest hits for Ashok Kumar’s “Kismet” (1943), including 'Papihaare,' 'Door Hato Aayi Duniyaa Waalon,' and 'Dheere Dheere Aare Badal.’ He is credited for discovering singers Mukesh (‘Dil Jalta Hai to Jalne De’ from “Pehli Nazar” (1945)) and Talat Mahmood ('Aye Dil Mujhe Aisi Jagah Ley Chal' from “Aarzoo” (1949)). During this period, he tied the knot with actress, Asha Lata Asha Lata is a Bengali drama-romance TV show telec >> Read More... , with whom he had three sons and a daughter. Biswas quit Bombay Talkies and started working under the banner of Variety Pictures, founded by his wife, Asha. He gave the background score for four of Asha’s films: “Laadli” (1949), “Laajawaab” (1950), “Badi Bahu” (1951) and “Humdard” (1953).

He also supervised the score for “Char Din Char Rahen” (1959) and the 1957 blockbuster “Pardesi,” starring Nargis. Anil Da, as he was deferentially called, divorced Asha Lata in 1954. In 1959, he married the playback singer, Meena Kapoor Meena Kapoor was an Indian Playback Singer; her wo >> Read More... , famed for ‘Rasiya Re Mann Basiya Re’ in Pardesi. The couple had no children. By the early 1960s, the face of playback music was fast changing, which did not suit Biswas as he started distancing himself from the film industry. His son’s (Pradeep) death in 1961 served as the final blow that led to his departure from Bollywood. His last musical composition in a film was for Motilal Rajvansh’s “Chhoti Chhoti Baatein” in 1965.

The film was honored with a National Award despite its failure at the box office. In March 1963, Biswas became the director of the National Orchestra at the All India Radio (AIR) in Delhi. He acted as the Chief Producer of Sugam Sangeet at AIR till 1975. He continued to compose music as late as 1991 but only for a few TV shows such as Doordashan’s critically acclaimed soap opera “ Hum Log Hum Log was the first soap opera to be telecasted >> Read More... ” (1984), and documentaries. He was later appointed as the Musical Advisor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, where he contributed to the field for two years. He was felicitated with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1986, India’s highest honor given to practicing artists. Anil Da passed away on 31st May 2003 in New Delhi. He was survived by his wife, Meera, and three children.