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Laxmikant–Pyarelal
Laxmikant (left) - Pyarelal (right)
Background information
Also known as	L-P, Laxmi–Pyare
Genres	Film score, film songs
Occupation(s)	Composer, music director, orchestrator, conductor
Years active	1963 (1963)–1998

Laxmikant–Pyarelal were an Indian composer duo, consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar (1937–1998) and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma (born 1940). In their career span stretching from 1963 to 1998, they composed music for about 750 movies, working with prominent film-makers.

Early life

Laxmikant

Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar was born on the day of Laxmi Pujan, Dipawali on 3 November 1937. Probably, because of the day of his birth, his parents named him Laxmikant, which is a name of Lord Vishnu, consort of Goddess Laxmi. His father died when he was a child. Because of the poor financial condition of the family he could not complete his academic education either. Laxmikant's father's friend, a musician himself, advised Laxmikant and his elder brother to learn music. Accordingly, Laxmikant learned to play the mandolin and his elder brother learned to play the tabla. He spent two years in the company of the well-known mandolin player Hussain Ali. He began organising and performing in Indian Classical instrumental music concerts to earn some money. Later, in the 1940s, he also learned mandolin from Bal Mukund Indorker and violin from Husnalal (of the Husanlal Bhagatram fame). Laxmikant began his film career as a child actor in the films Bhakt Pundalik (1949) and Aankhen (1950). He also acted in some Gujarati films.

Pyarelal

Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma (born 3 September 1940) is the son of a renowned trumpeter Pandit Ramprasad Sharma (popularly known as Babaji), who taught him the basics of music. He started learning violin at the age of 8 and practised it 8 to 12 hours daily. He learnt to play violin from a Goan musician named Anthony Gonsalves. The song "My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves" from the movie Amar Akbar Anthony is regarded as a tribute to Mr. Gonsalves (the movie had music by Laxmikant–Pyarelal).

Music career

1960s: Rise to prominence

Laxmikant-Pyarelal begin their career in 1963 by composing music for Babubhai Mistri's Parasmani. It proved to be financially successful and one song from the film, "Hansta Hua Noorani Chehra, Kali Zulfen, Rang Sunehra", a duet by Lata Mangeshkar and Kamal Barot was a superhit and topped the musical charts that year. They established themselves the following year when they composed the soundtrack of Rajshri Productions's blockbuster musical drama film Dosti. Its songs, "Jaanewalon Zara Mudke Dekho Mujhe", "Chaahunga Main Tujhe Sanjh Savere", "Mera To Jo Bhi Kadam Hai", "Koi Jab Raah Na Paaye", all solos by Mohammed Rafi were chartbusters which made Dosti one of the best-selling Hindi film albums of the 1960s and won Laxmikant-Pyarelal their maiden Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. Apart from Dosti, their other musical hits during this period were Mr. X in Bombay (1964) and Aaye Din Bahar Ke (1966), both of which had chartbuster songs, such as "Mere Mehboob Qayamat Hogi" in the former and "Mere Dushman Tu Meri Dosti", "Yeh Kali Jab Talak" in the latter.

The late-1960s changed the trajectory of Laxmikant-Pyarelal's career and brought them into the big league. In 1967, they scored music for Shagird, Patthar Ke Sanam, Night in London, Milan and Farz, all of which were among the top-earners of the year, which was attributed to their melodious soundtrack, especially the Jeetendra starrer spy thriller Farz whose songs, such as "Baar Baar Din Ye Aaye – Happy Birthday To You", "Hum To Tere Aashiq Hain", "Mast Baharon Ka Main Aashiq" and "Tumse O Haseena" were rage among the masses and made its soundtrack one of the best-selling Hindi film album of the 1960s. For the Sunil Dutt fronted reincarnation drama Milan, they received their second Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. Two songs from the film "Sawan Ka Mahina" and "Yug Yug Se", both duets by Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar topped the year-end annual list of Binaca Geetmala.

Laxmikant-Pyarelal concluded the decade with Mere Hamdam Mere Dost (1968), Izzat (1968), Intaqam (1969), Aya Sawan Jhoom Ke (1969), Dharti Kahe Pukar Ke (1969), Jeene Ki Raah (1969) and Do Raaste (1969). While, the first five albums were hits, the last two proved to be huge chartbusters. The music of Do Raaste was such a rage that it helped the film to become the first Indian film to gross £100,000 in the UK, equivalent to ₹900,000 (US$118,940.64). Like previous years, in 1968 and 1969 too songs composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, including "Chhalka Yeh Jaam", "Yeh Dil Tum Bin Kahin Lagta Nahin", "Kya Miliye Aise Logon Se", "Kaise Rahoon Chup Ki Meine Pee Hi Kya Hai", "Aa Mere Hamjolee Aa Khele Aankh Michaulee Aa", "Je Ham Tum Chori Se Bandhe Ek Dori Se", "Aane Se Uske Aaye Bahar", "Bindiya Chamke Gi Chudi Khanke Gi" and "Yeh Reshmi Zulfen" topped the year-end annual list of Binaca Geetmala. At the 17th Filmfare Awards, they got nominated in the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director category for both Jeene Ki Raah and Do Raaste and won it for the former. The success of these films and their soundtrack made Laxmikant-Pyarelal the leading composers of the time, eventually overtaking Shankar-Jaikishan, who ruled the roost from 1949 onwards.

1970s: Competition from R. D. Burman

In the early-1970s, Laxmikant-Pyarelal faced competition from R. D. Burman whose Electronic rock revolutionized the Hindi film music and he emerged as top favorite of the then superstar Rajesh Khanna and filmmakers, such as Shakti Samanta, Nasir Hussain, Anand Brothers, Ravikant Nagaich and Gulzar and composed for majority of their films.

Despite this, Laxmikant-Pyarelal continued to deliver back-to-back musical hits, including Mohan Kumar's romantic drama Aap Aye Bahaar Ayee (1971), which had Rajendra Kumar in the lead role, Satyen Bose's crime drama Jeevan Mrityu (1970) and Raj Khosla's action drama Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971), both starring Dharmendra, Mukul Dutt's romance Aan Milo Sajna (1970), Rahul Rawail's muslim social Mehboob Ki Mehndi (1971) and M. A. Thirumugam's comedy drama Haathi Mere Saathi (1971), all three having Rajesh Khanna in the lead. The soundtracks of Aan Milo Sajna and Jeevan Mrityu were highly successful and two of the best-selling Hindi film albums of the year, respectively. On the other hand, the music of Haathi Mere Saathi was a bigger chartbuster and among the best-selling Bollywood albums of the 1970s. In 1972, they composed for Manoj Kumar's third directional venture Shor. One of its song "Ek Pyar Ka Nagma Hai", a duet by Mangeshkar and Mukesh with lyrics written by Santosh Anand remains an evergreen classic and got Laxmikant-Pyarelal another nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director category.

The year 1973 proved to be milestone year in their career as they got the chance to compose for Raj Kapoor's romantic musical Bobby. The songs of the film like "Main Shayar To Nahin", "Hum Tum Ek Kamre Mein Band Ho", "Mujhe Kuchh Kehna Hai", "Na Mangun Sona Chandi" were huge chartbusters and remain popular till date. The popularity of its songs made Bobby an All Time Blockbuster at the box office and its soundtrack, the best-selling Hindi film album of the decade. Apart from Bobby, they also delivered blockbuster music for Yash Chopra's romantic drama Daag: A Poem of Love and A. Bhimsingh's actioner Loafer, both of which had memorable songs like "Ab Chahe Ma Roothe Yaa Baba" and "Mere Dil Mein Aaj Kya Hai" in the former, "Aaj Mausam Bada Be-Imaan Hai" and "Koi Shehri Babu" in the latter. For Bobby and Daag, Laxmikant-Pyarelal received two more nominations in the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director category. They continued their success streak in the mid-1970s by delivering notable songs in films, such as Roti Kapada Aur Makaan (1974), Dost (1974), Imtihan (1974), Roti (1974), Dulhan (1974), Majboor (1974), Prem Kahani (1975), Pratiggya (1975), Nagin (1976), Charas (1976) and Dus Numbri (1976). For Roti Kapada Aur Makaan and Dulhan, they received two more nominations for Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. Apart from critical appreciation and commercial success, the soundtrack of Roti Kapada Aur Makaan proved to be another feather in the cap of Laxmikant-Pyarelal as it emerged the fifth best-selling Hindi film album of the 1970s and its songs "Mehngai Mar Gayi" and "Hai Hai Yeh Majboori" took 1st and 2nd spot at the year-end annual list of Binaca Geetmala, respectively. Other memorable songs composed by the duo during this phase were "Gaadi Bula Rahi Hai" (Dost), "Ruk Jana Nahin" (Imtihan), "Yeh Public Hai" (Roti), "Aadmi Jo Kehta Hai" (Majboor), all solos by Kishore Kumar, "Gore Range Pe Na Itna" (Roti), "Prem Kahani Mein" (Prem Kahani), both duets by Kumar and Mangeshkar, "Main Jat Yamla Pagla Deewana" (Pratiggya), a solo by Rafi and "Yeh Duniya Ek Numbri" (Dus Numbri), a solo by Mukesh.

The late-1970s saw the trend change from romantic to action oriented multi-starrers with filmmakers like Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra leading the road. In 1977, Laxmikant-Pyarelal composed for four films of Manmohan Desai, which were - Amar Akbar Anthony, Parvarish, Dharam Veer and Chacha Bhatija. They made Mohammed Rafi sing majority of the songs as he was going through a rough patch owing to the meteoric rise of Kishore Kumar post-Aradhana (1969). At release, all the four films proved to be huge commercial successes, especially Amar Akbar Anthony and Dharam Veer, both of which were mega blockbusters. The songs of Amar Akbar Anthony like "Parda Hai Parda", "Taiyabali Pyar Ka Dushman" and "Shirdi Wale Sai Baba", all three solos by Rafi were huge hits among the masses and marked his comeback. The cherry on the top were the chartbuster songs of Dharam Veer - "O Meri Mehbooba" and "Main Galiyon Ka Raja", again both solos by Rafi. The soundtracks of Amar Akbar Anthony and Dharam Veer were the 7th and 9th best-selling Hindi film album of the 1970s, respectively. For the former, Laxmikant-Pyarelal won their fourth Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. Their other hit songs of the year, include "Aate Jate Khoobsurat Awara" (Anurodh), "Dream Girl" (Dream Girl) and "Aadmi Musafir Hai" (Apnapan). In 1978, they reunited with Raj Kapoor and Raj Khosla for Satyam Shivam Sundaram and Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki, respectively. Music of both the films opened to acclaim from critics as well as the audience. For the former, Laxmikant-Pyarelal won their fifth and second consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. In 1979, they composed for K. Vishwanath's Sargam, Mohan Sehgal's Kartavya, Rajkumar Kohli's Jaani Dushman and Manmohan Desai's Suhaag. All the four films had a number of hit songs, such as "Ram Ji Ki Nikli Sawaari" and "Dafliwale Dafli Baja (both Sargam), "Teri Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi" and "Ae Yaar Sun, Yaari Teri" (both Suhaag), "Chanda Mama Se Pyara Mera Mama" and "Chaila Babu Tu" (both Kartavya), "Chalo Re, Doli Uthao Kahaar" and "Tere Haathon Mein Pehnaake Chudiyan" (both Jaani Dushman). The music of Sargam was one of the best-selling Bollywood album of the decade and won Laxmikant-Pyarelal their sixth and third consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Music Director.

Despite facing competition from R. D. Burman in the beginning of decade, Laxmikant-Pyarelal emerged as the best-selling music composers of the 1970s with maximum number of songs in the year-end annual list of Binaca Geetmala from 1970 to 1979.

1980s: Continued success

With composers like R. D. Burman and Kalyanji-Anandji running out of steam, Laxmikant-Pyarelal emerged as the leading music directors of the 1980s, eventually delivering a string of musical hits throughout the decade.

They began the new decade with films, such as Aasha, Karz, Dostana, Bandish and Ram Balram, all five of which had lyrics written by Anand Bakshi. At the box office, they emerged successful and their songs proved to be hugely popular among the masses, which were - "Sheesha Ho Ya Dil Ho" and "Tune Mujhe Bulaya Sherawaliye" (Aasha), "Om Shanti Om", "Paisa Yeh Paisa", "Ek Hasina Thi" and "Dard-E-Dil, Dard-E-Jigar Dil Mein Jagaaya Aap Ne" (Karz), "Ek Rasta Do Rahi" and "Ladki Pasand Ki" (Ram Balram), "Salamat Rahe Dostana Hamara", "Mere Dost Kissa Yeh Kya Ho Gaya" and "Dillagi Ne Di Hawa" (Dostana), "Mere Hosh Ley Lo" and "Rang Bhare Mausam Sey" (Bandish). The soundtracks of Karz and Aasha proved to be two of the best-selling Hindi film albums of the 1980s with Laxmikant-Pyarelal winning their seventh and fourth consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for the former.

After Laxmikant's death

After Laxmikant's death, Pyarelal has done some work independently. Yet, Pyarelal always used the name 'Laxmikant–Pyarelal' for all the future compositions. When the playback singer Kumar Sanu turned music director, he approached Pyarelal to arrange music for him. Pyarelal was approached to assist in the music of Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om song "Dhoom Tana". In 2009 Pyarelal won the Sachin Dev Burman International Award for Creative Sound and Music at the Pune Film Festival. Pyarelal has done a show with Kakas Entertainment called Maestros: A musical Journey of Laxmikant–Pyarelal.

Awards

Filmfare Awards

Wins

• 1965 – Best Music Director – Dosti
• 1968 – Best Music Director – Milan
• 1970 – Best Music Director – Jeene Ki Raah
• 1978 – Best Music Director – Amar Akbar Anthony
• 1979 – Best Music Director – Satyam Shivam Sundaram
• 1980 – Best Music Director – Sargam
• 1981 – Best Music Director – Karz

Nominations

• 1970 – Best Music Director – Do Raaste
• 1973 – Best Music Director – Shor
• 1974 – Best Music Director – Bobby
• 1974 – Best Music Director – Daag: A Poem of Love
• 1975 – Best Music Director – Roti Kapada Aur Makaan
• 1976 – Best Music Director – Dulhan
• 1980 – Best Music Director – Jaani Dushman
• 1981 – Best Music Director – Aasha
• 1982 – Best Music Director – Ek Duuje Ke Liye
• 1983 – Best Music Director – Prem Rog
• 1984 – Best Music Director – Hero
• 1986 – Best Music Director – Pyar Jhukta Nahin
• 1986 – Best Music Director – Meri Jung
• 1986 – Best Music Director – Sur Sangam
• 1989 – Best Music Director – Tezaab
• 1990 – Best Music Director – Ram Lakhan
• 1992 – Best Music Director – Saudagar
• 1994 – Best Music Director – Khalnayak

Achievements

• Bobby has been rated the 17th best soundtrack ever by Planet Bollywood on their "100 Greatest Bollywood Soundtracks". Other soundtracks in the list include Amar Akbar Anthony (25), Roti Kapada Aur Makaan (27), Dosti (32), Hero (36), Ek Duuje Ke Liye (44), Karz (50), Ram Lakhan (59), Kranti (61), Tezaab (65), Do Raaste (74), Milan (75), Khalnayak (77) and Prem Rog (85).

Discography

References

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External links

• Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma at IMDb
• Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar at IMDb

• Indian musical duos
• Songwriting teams
• 1937 births
• 1998 deaths
• Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award winners
• Filmfare Awards winners
• Hindi film score composers
• Telugu film score composers
• 20th-century Indian musicians