He was 86 and were ailing since a while when he breathed his last at his Santacruz residence.
He is survived by his estranged son Ajay and daughter-in-law Varsha Usgaonkar, a number one Marathi and Hindi film actress.
Ravi lost his wife in 1988, and hit the headlines when there has been a family dispute over a property issue last year.
His end came just four days after he celebrated his 86th birthday among a couple of friends and relatives.
“Ravi was noted for his heart-touching, soft, melodious tunes, which made his songs and music immortal and is hummed even today, decades after he composed them. Plus, he was an excessively fine gentleman, and a super human being,” said an old friend A. Krishnamurthi, a few of the leading former film-makers of Bollywood.
His top compositions include movies like: Chaudhvin Ka Chand, Nazrana, Humraaz, Waqt, Neelkamal, Gumraah, Do Badan, Aurat, China Town, Khandaan, Gharana, Dhund, Aankhen, Kaajal, Ek Phool Do Mali, Nikaah among scores others.
Some of his memorable songs include: “Chaudhvin Ka Chand Ho,” “Aaj Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai,” “Neele Gaganke Tale, “Baabulki Duaaen Leti Ja,” “Doli Chadhke Dulhan Sasural Chali,” “O Meri Zohra Jabin, Tujhe Malum Nahin,” “Uljhan Suljhe Na,” “Tujhe Suraj Kahoo Ya Chanda,” and “Chhu Lenedo Nazuk Hothon Ko,” to quote some of his 200 top hits.
A favourite with the Chopras, both Yash Chopra and B. R. Chopra, Ravi directed music for lots of in their earlier films, and far later for B. R. Chopra’s blockbuster ‘Nikaah’.
Ravi, by his meticulous compositions and choice of suitable singers, is credited of moulding voices like Asha Bhosle and Mahendra Kapoor, catapulting them some of the top singers of the era, and giving them an independent singing identity.
Often described because the ‘King of sentimental Melodies,’ Ravi was born in Delhi March 3, 1926, and shifted to Mumbai in 1950 to reach his dream of turning into a playback singer within the then fledgling film industry.
However, after years of initial struggle, with very little resources, including sleeping on Malad railway station or on footpaths, he was finally ‘discovered’ by the late music director Husnalal Bhagatram and singer-music director Hemant Kumar to get a toehold within the slippery film industry.
Seeing his early days of struggle, Ravi’s father, a bhajan singer sent him Rs.40 per month, and organized a small accommodation for him within the congested Kalbadevi in south Mumbai.
Ravi made the most efficient of it to outlive there on just half-a rupee per day within the early 1950s and vigorously pursued of constructing it big in Bollywood as a singer.
Later, it was the legendary Guru Dutt who gave the primary big break to Ravi to compose music for “Chaudhvin Ka Chand”, since then there has been no on reflection for him.
Ravi continued to transport from strength to strength with powerful compositions and great music and ultimately became a legend in his own right. – IANS
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