Mumbai: Covid claims Bollywood composer Shravan Rathod

From Husnlal-Bhagatram to Shankar-Jaikishan, from Kalyanji-Anandji to Laxmikant Pyarelal, Hindi film industry has a rich tradition of musical partnerships. Nadeem-Shravan forged an illustrious link to this abiding chain composing a staggering bunch of chartbusters in the 1990s. On Thursday evening, the alliance was snapped forever as Covid-19 claimed the life of Shravan Rathod at a Mumbai hospital.He was 66.
Speaking to Bombay Times, Nadeem said, “My Shanu is no more. We have seen an entire life together. We saw our highs, we saw our lows. We’ve grown up with each other in many ways. We never lost touch and no physical distance could ever separate the two of us. I am in deep pain as I say this but my friend and my companion, my partner of so many years is no more. It has left such a vacuum.”
The pair started off with ‘Dangal’ (1977), the first Bhojpuri film made in colour. ‘Kashi hile Patna hile’, a reworked version of the popular folk track, ‘Aarah hile Chhapra hile’, became a sensation. The two graduated to Hindi cinema in the 1980s.
Tuneful melodies for films such as ‘Maine Jeena Seekh Liya Hai’ (1982) got them work but major success eluded them.
The duo hit the jackpot with Mahesh Bhatt-directed ‘Aashiqui’ (1990). Every song in this intense romantic drama, from ‘Dheere dheere se meri zindagi mein ana’ to ‘Bas ik sanam chahiye’—rose to the charts. The film also vaulted Kumar Sanu, who sang a majority of the tracks, to the top. Nadeem-Shravan became a hot property.
The 1990s belonged to them. ‘Saajan’, ‘Deewana’, ‘Dil Hai ke Manta Nahi’, ‘Phool aur Kaante’, ‘Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke’, ‘Raja Hindustani’ and ‘Pardes’—they lorded over the decade blending old school melody with modern instrumentation. Songs such as ‘Mera dil bhi kitna pagal hai’ (Saajan) to ‘Pardesi pardesi jaana nahi’ (Raja Hindustani) to ‘Do dil mil rahe hain’ (Pardes) were as popular among the college crowd as the truck drivers on the highway. The pair won the Filmfare award three years in a row, 1991-93, for ‘Aashiqui’, ‘Saajan’ and ‘Deewana’ and again in 1997 for ‘Raja Hindustani’.
It seemed that the two would rule over Bollywood for another decade or two. But things were never the same after Nadeem’s name cropped up in the killing of a music baron and he fled to London. The duo still kept providing scores together in films such as ‘Kasoor’ and ‘Dhadkan’. The two split once, then reunited. This time, sadly, the separation is final.