Raichand Boral, a stalwart of modern Indian music, died on this day.
Boral’s father was a classical music practitioner. From his childhood, Boral met and was trained by some of the most eminent musicians of those days, including Hafiz Khan.
Boral, with another stalwart, Pankaj Mullick, worked as music director for New Theatres, the pioneer film company in Calcutta, and set the tone of film music to a great extent. K.L. Sehgal had recorded his first song with Boral as the music director.
In 1935, Boral introduced playback singing to Indian cinema, with the Hindi film Dhoop Chhaon, or Bhagya Chakra in Bengali.
He composed music for numerous films, in Bengali and Hindi.
He received the highest honours, including Dada Saheb Phalke award and Sangeet Natak Akademi award.
