Renowned music director Ravindra Jain, who overcame his blindness to chart a stellar career in Bollywood, died in Mumbai on Friday following a prolonged illness, an aide said. He was 71.
He is survived by his wife Divya and son Arush.
Jain died at Lilavati Hospital in Bandra at around 4.15pm following multi-organ failure and other complications arising from renal failure. He had been suffering from kidney ailments for some time. He was on Tuesday admitted to the Wockhardt Super Speciality Hospital in Nagpur, where he was to attend a music concert.
Since there was little improvement in his condition, Jain was airlifted to Mumbai on Wednesday and admitted to the ICU of Lilavati Hospital and kept on a ventilator.
His funeral will be held at Santacruz Hindu Cemetery on Saturday afternoon, said the aide.
Jain was born blind on February 28, 1944, to Sanskrit scholar and ayurveda doctor Pandit Indramani Jain and Kiran Jain in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. He was the third of seven children.
Among his siblings are D.K. Jain, a former judge and a director of the Times Group, and Pandit M.K. Jain, a renowned ayurveda doctor.
At a very young age, Jain started learning to sing Jain bhajans (devotional songs) at temples. His parents later decided he should formally learn music under the tutelage of Pandit G.L. Jain, Pandit J. Sharma and Pandit Nathu Ram in Aligarh.
He started working in the Bengali film industry from 1960 onwards, and in 1970 came to Mumbai to work in Bollywood with the help of Prathibhushan Bhattacharya, for whose films, Kranti and Balidaan, Jain composed the music.
In 1972, Jain composed his first film song with Mohammed Rafi, but it has never been released.
That was the start of a long musical career spanning nearly 45 years, making him one of the most bankable composers in the industry. He specialised in Rabindra Sangeet (songs written and composed by Rabindranath Tagore), which he used in compositions including the music for historical and mythological movies.
Jain went on to compose some of the most memorable songs in hit movies such as Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se, Chitchor, Chor Machaye Shor, Geet Gaata Chal, Shyam Tere Kitne Naam, Fakira, Saudagar, Ram Teri Ganga Maili and Henna, among others.
In his musical career of nearly 200 movies and multiple TV shows, Jain is credited with introducing several new singers such as Hemlata, Jaspal Singh, Manhar and others to Bollywood and brought the south Indian singing sensation K. J. Yesudas to Hindi music with the movie Chitchor.
Later in the 1990s and 2000s, Jain also composed music for several television serials including the epic Ramayana, Luv Kush, Shri Krishna, Alif Laila and others in the historical and mythological genre.
Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav condoled his death on Saturday. Naik recalled the contribution of Jain to the music world and said he carved a niche for himself by his hard work and talent. He also recalled Jain’s contribution to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s live recording of Qadam Milakar Chalna Hoga: Svarna Jayanti Sangeet Sandhya and termed his demise an irreparable loss.
Yadav said that it was his immense talent that led to his being awarded the Yash Bharti award by the Uttar Pradesh government. Praying for peace to his departed soul, Yadav also extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.
Bollywood celebrities such as singer Lata Mangeshkar and actors Rishi Kapoor, Hema Malini and Paresh Rawal mourned Jain’s passing. Here are some of their tweets:
Lata Mangeshkar: It’s a very sad news, great singer, poet Ravindra Jain ji passed away today. May his soul rest in peace.
Rishi Kapoor: R I P. Ravindra Jain “Daddu”. Thank you for the lovely music. You did Henna for me.
Hema Malini: Just heard the shattering news that my beloved Dada, Ravindra Jain passed away today after falling sick at a concert in Nagpur. I am devastated. I’ve been closely associated with him for so many years! He has set lyrics and music for my dance ballets and we were in perfect sync.
Paresh Rawal: RIP Ravindra Jain ji. A brilliant music composer and lyricist... Henna, Ram Teri Ganga Maili, Gori Tera Gaon Bada. What an amazing man he was.
Madhur Bhandarkar: Sad to know about the demise of #RavindraJain ji From Chor Machaye Shor to Heena ur contribution in Indian music will always be missed. RIP.
Shaan: One of the greatest creative geniuses! Ravindra Jain Ji lives on in his songs. Music died a little today.
Salim Merchant: Genius composer Ravindra jain ji left us today... RIP.
Sona Mohapatra: Ramayana on TV, the songs of Chitchor, lyrics of Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se and so much more.. #Epic lifetime in music! Ravindra Jain. RIP.
Kailash Kher: Another gem of our music and film industry Ravindra Jain has left us for his spiritual mahayatra. We used to call him Daddu. What a wonderful life he lived like [a] king in this century, always showered his love [and] blessing on me even before my music days. Proudly sang many meaningful songs for him... Supremely talented [and] God-sent soul he was. Such people never die, they change [form] to be amongst us in the form of universe. You were institutions of art and learnings. Always in our heart. RIP Daddu.
Pritam: RIP Ravindra Jain. Very sad news. A huge loss to the Indian music industry. We will miss you.
Esha Deol: RIP Dada Ravindra Jain ji. A legend who we were privileged to have in our time and dance to [your] music! Will miss [you].
