Veteran composer Vanraj Bhatia, who provided the soundtrack to India’s new age cinema movement of the 1970s and 1980s, has died in Mumbai. He was 93 and is understood to have been in poor health for some time.
Born in Bombay, as the metropolis was known as then, in 1927, Bhatia studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and at the Conservatoire de Paris in the 1950s.
Upon his return to India, Bhatia enjoyed a successful career as a composer for advertising commercials through the 1960s. During this time, he also composed scores for several documentaries.
Bhatia debuted as a composer for feature films with “Ankur” (1974) directed by Shyam Benegal, a pioneer of India’s New Wave cinema movement, an independent alternative to mainstream commercial cinema. The pair formed a fruitful partnership and worked together on a total of 16 films including “Nishant” (1975), “Manthan” (1976), “Bhumika” (1977), “Kondura” (1978), “Junoon” (1978), “Kalyug” (1981), “Mandi” (1983) and...
Born in Bombay, as the metropolis was known as then, in 1927, Bhatia studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and at the Conservatoire de Paris in the 1950s.
Upon his return to India, Bhatia enjoyed a successful career as a composer for advertising commercials through the 1960s. During this time, he also composed scores for several documentaries.
Bhatia debuted as a composer for feature films with “Ankur” (1974) directed by Shyam Benegal, a pioneer of India’s New Wave cinema movement, an independent alternative to mainstream commercial cinema. The pair formed a fruitful partnership and worked together on a total of 16 films including “Nishant” (1975), “Manthan” (1976), “Bhumika” (1977), “Kondura” (1978), “Junoon” (1978), “Kalyug” (1981), “Mandi” (1983) and...
- 5/7/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Close-Up is a feature that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Govind Nihalani's Party (1984) is now showing in the series A Journey into Indian Cinema.“Oh, Mrs. Dalloway. Always giving parties to cover the silence.” —Michael Cunningham, The HoursVirginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway begins with the line, “Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.” In Govind Nihalani’s Party (1984), Mrs. Damayanti Rane (Vijaya Mehta) does not buy the flowers herself; she is a minister’s daughter living in a mansion in Mumbai, so she asks her servants to do it instead. She does, however, lay them out in vases. Like Woolf’s Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway, Mrs. Rane is throwing a party to celebrate a friend, in this case, Diwakar Barwe (Manohar Singh), a playwright who has just won a national award for his work. Even before the party begins, she has had a sedative, a shot of...
- 3/30/2020
- MUBI
A still from Pestonjee
The 2013 edition of the India Film Project (Ifp) will host an online film festival powered by the Nfdc. This festival will showcase national award winning films like Dharavi, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Pestonjee, Mammo and Gangoobai. The films can be watched free of cost at Indian Film Project’s website.
The films will also be screened at Cinepolis Ahmedabad.
Sudhir Mishra’s Dharavi will be screened on September 23.
Kundan Shah’s Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro will be screened on September 24.
Gangoobai by Priya Krishnaswamy will be screened on September 25.
Pestonjee by Vijaya Mehta will be screened on September 26.
Mammo by Shyam Benegal will be screened on September 27.
To be held from September 20-28, India Film Project is a platform for amateurs and professional filmmakers to take a challenge and make a film in duration of only 48 hours.
At the beginning of 48 hours, Friday, September 20, 8pm, a...
The 2013 edition of the India Film Project (Ifp) will host an online film festival powered by the Nfdc. This festival will showcase national award winning films like Dharavi, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Pestonjee, Mammo and Gangoobai. The films can be watched free of cost at Indian Film Project’s website.
The films will also be screened at Cinepolis Ahmedabad.
Sudhir Mishra’s Dharavi will be screened on September 23.
Kundan Shah’s Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro will be screened on September 24.
Gangoobai by Priya Krishnaswamy will be screened on September 25.
Pestonjee by Vijaya Mehta will be screened on September 26.
Mammo by Shyam Benegal will be screened on September 27.
To be held from September 20-28, India Film Project is a platform for amateurs and professional filmmakers to take a challenge and make a film in duration of only 48 hours.
At the beginning of 48 hours, Friday, September 20, 8pm, a...
- 9/14/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Being half-Parsi is not really helping Farah Khan make her acting debut as Parsi woman in Bela Sahgal's Shirin Farhad. The super-choreographer needs more time to prepare for her part. And her co-star Boman's the reason for it. While Farah is only half-Parsi, Boman is a full Parsi. To match his natural Parsi accent and body language would take Farah more time to acclimatize herself to the role of 45-year old near-spinster seeking and finding love in a chronically single Mama's 'boy' (read: middle-aged man). And time is not Farah's most obtainable commodity right now. Her stint as judge on a dance reality show is sapping more of her energy than she had imagined. On top of all, her stress of going into a completely new area (acting) with a debutant director, Farah now has to cope with the extra baggage of changing her body-language and appearance for Shirin's part.
- 7/5/2011
- by Subhash K. Jha
- BollywoodHungama
Being half-Parsi is not really helping Farah Khan make her acting debut as Parsi woman in Bela Sahgal's Shirin Farhad. The super-choreographer needs more time to prepare for her part. And her co-star Boman's the reason for it. While Farah is only half-Parsi, Boman is a full Parsi. To match his natural Parsi accent and body language would take Farah more time to acclimatize herself to the role of 45-year old near-spinster seeking and finding love in a chronically single Mama's 'boy' (read: middle-aged man). And time is not Farah's most obtainable commodity right now. Her stint as judge on a dance reality show is sapping more of her energy than she had imagined. On top of all, her stress of going into a completely new area (acting) with a debutant director, Farah now has to cope with the extra baggage of changing her body-language and appearance for Shirin's part.
- 7/5/2011
- by Subhash K. Jha
- BollywoodHungama
‘Madholal keep walking’- a Hindi feature film, written and directed by Jai Tank, has been nominated for the 8th Third Eye Asian Film Festival that is to be held in Mumbai from December 4-10. The film will be screened on 8th of December 2009 at 10.30am, Plaza, Dadar.
The film draws inspiration from the Mumbai train blast; and filmmaker Jai Tank unravels a story that salutes the undying spirit of man.
The Asian Film Festival is aim to bridge the gap between the Asian Film fraternities and promote Asian cinema. Mr. Vijaya Mehta, Executive Director of Ncpa is going to inaugurate.
The film draws inspiration from the Mumbai train blast; and filmmaker Jai Tank unravels a story that salutes the undying spirit of man.
The Asian Film Festival is aim to bridge the gap between the Asian Film fraternities and promote Asian cinema. Mr. Vijaya Mehta, Executive Director of Ncpa is going to inaugurate.
- 12/4/2009
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
Madholal Keep Walking, a film based on human emotion that has the Mumbai train blasts as a back drop, will be screened at the 8th Third Eye Asian Film Festival to be held in Mumbai from 4 - 10 December. The film will be screened on 8 December and has been directed by Jai Tank. The Asian Film Festival is aim to bridge the gap between the Asian Film fraternities and promote Asian cinema. Ncpa executive director Vijaya Mehta will inaugurate the festival. Over 100 feature and short films from 24 countries like Turkey and Japan to name them few will participate in this ...
- 12/3/2009
- BusinessofCinema
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.