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Salil Chowdhury at 100: Tributes and Retrospectives Celebrate a Genre-Blending Pioneer

Centenary coverage spotlights a composer who fused Western orchestration with Indian folk across languages.

Overview

  • Kolkata opened birth centenary observances with the concert 'Saat Range Swapne' at Kala Mandir featuring Kavita Krishnamurthy, Usha Uthup and Hoimanti Shukla, as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee posted a tribute on X.
  • Born on November 19, 1925, Chowdhury scored his first Bengali film with Paribortan (1949) and entered Hindi cinema with Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zamin (1953).
  • He worked across more than a dozen Indian languages, with a filmography cited as 75 Hindi, 41 Bengali and 27 Malayalam films.
  • His hallmark sound blended symphonic orchestration with folk and classical idioms and embraced unexpected harmonies, shaping landmark scores such as Madhumati, Anand and Chemmeen.
  • Recognitions span Filmfare honors, National Film Awards tied to films he scored, international prizes at Cannes and Karlovy Vary and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1988, reflecting a legacy rooted in artistry and social commitment through IPTA and peasant activism.