Vasantrao Deshpande

Vasantrao Deshpande, born on May 2, 1920, was a Hindustani classical vocalist, who is famous and acclaimed for his contribution to Natya Sangeet. He was born into a Brahmin family, in the Akola district, in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. In his early days, he got the opportunity to play the role of Krishna in the Hindi movie ‘Kaliya Mardan’ ( 1935). He was fortunate enough to get trained under the tutelage of several musical gurus. He studied under several musicians including Sureshbabu Mane Suresh Babu Mane hails from Mumbai, Maharashtra. H >> Read More... (son of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan) of Kirana gharana, Asad Ali Khan of Patiala gharana, Aman Ali Khan and Anjanibai Malpekar of Bhendibazaar gharana, and Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze (Vazebuwa) of the Gwalior gharana.

Megh Malhar, Katyar Kaljat Ghusli, Vij Mhanali Dhartila, Tukaram, He Bandh Reshmache, and Varyavarchi Varaat are some of the plays that best highlight his acting talents. Deshpande was well-versed in classical and semi-classical music, and has appeared in various movies including ‘Kaliya Mardan’, ‘Dudh Bhaat’, ‘Ashtavinayak’. It is a noteworthy fact that he gave playback to more than 80 Marathi films. Besides pure music, he also compiled and curated the history of Marathi music plays, from origin showing their evolution up to the present stage. In this way, he presented his brainchild, his tour de force, "Marathi Natyasageetachi Vaatchaal" (the evolution of music in Marathi music plays. The concert stretched for 3 days, 6 hours each day, and was held in Delhi. The experiment captured the hearts of the audience

He also has various commercial releases on to his credit. Deshpande pursued PhD in the revolution of Hindustani classical music and held talk shows on music, with live demonstrations in several educational institutions. He received Sangeet Nataka Akademi Award in the year 1982. He died on 30 July 1983. There is a foundation, in memory of  Dr. Vasantrao Deshpande which organizes Vasantotsav, an annual music festival at Pune. The annual festival is held over three days in January. During the festival, two awards, the "Vasantotsav Youth Award" for Promising Artists and the "Vasantotsav Award" for veteran artists, are given out. In 2011, the Indian government's South-Central Zone Cultural Centre (SCZCC) organized a 3-day dance and music festival in Nagpur in  Deshpande's memory. Deshpande’s life has been made into a film entitled ‘Me Vasantrao’ released on April 1, 2022. Dr Vasantrao Deshpande is one of India’s most illustrious classical vocalists of all time.