Anil Biswas, Whose Music Used Orchestras in Indian Films, Dies at 89
By SETH MYDANS


NEW DELHI, June 3 

Anil Biswas, a composer credited with introducing orchestral music to 
India's popular song-and-dance films, died here on Saturday. He was 89. 
By the time Mr. Biswas retired from composing in 1965 to become director 
of the national orchestra on All India Radio, he had written songs for 
more than 100 movies.

He worked during what is remembered as the golden era of film music, 
helping to pioneer "playback singing," the dubbing of songs by professional 
singers. 

His songs made the careers of a number of leading artists, including two of 
the most famous film singers, Mukesh and Talat Mehmood.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee of India praised Mr. Biswas's film music, 
saying he "struck the rare balance between classical purity of music and popular pulse."

Born in 1914 in a small village in East Bengal, an area that is now in Bangladesh, 
he sang and composed music at concerts at a young age but set his music aside in 
his teens to become a revolutionary against British colonial rule.

After being repeatedly jailed, he fled to Calcutta, where he composed music for plays 
in which he also sang and acted. 

He attracted the attention of the film director Hiren Bose, who persuaded him in 1934 
to move to Bombay, home to one of the world's most vigorous film industries.

His daughter, Shikha Vohra, said Mr. Biswas's two sons had followed in his footsteps 
as composers in Bombay.

Mr. Biswas met quick success in the film world. He is credited with elevating the 
role of music in movies and with introducing the sounds of folk and classical Indian 
music into film composition.

Largely forgotten by a younger generation of Indian filmgoers but fondly remembered by 
their parents for his catchy melodies, he made his last public appearances as a 
judge on Zee TV's music contest, "Sa Re Ga Ma."