https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Ajit_MerchantAjit Merchant - Revision history2026-07-30T07:53:17ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Ajit_Merchant&diff=115212&oldid=prev>Ser Amantio di Nicolao at 06:02, 7 July 20212021-07-07T06:02:30Z<p></p>
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'''Ajit Merchant''' was an Indian music composer and director.<br />
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==Early life==<br />
Ajit Merchant was born to lawyer of Mumbai. His family was natively belonged to [[Bet Dwarka]]. He was introduced to music by his father who used to take him to concerts of various musicians like [[Abdul Karim Khan]]. He was trained in music by [[Shivkumar Shukla]].<ref name="DG2011">{{cite web | author=DeshGujarat | title=Veteran Gujarati Music Composer Ajit Merchant passes away | website=DeshGujarat | date=2011-03-18 | url=http://DeshGujarat.Com/2011/03/18/veteran-gujarati-music-director-ajit-merchant-passes-away/ | access-date=2015-06-19}}</ref><br />
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He was married to Nilamben.<ref name="DG2011"/><br />
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==Career==<br />
Merchant was a stage actor before venturing into music. He received the best actors award in Mumbai State Drama Festival for his role in [[Pragji Dosa]]'s play ''Anahat Naad''.<br />
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He was invited by [[Chandravadan Mehta]] for his radio programme ''Ek Daayro'' in 1945. He presented some songs like ‘Ekvar Ghogha Jajo Re Gheriya’ and ‘Pandadi Shi Hodi'. He impressed radio station director and started performing on radio. After leaving [[All India Radio]], he was involved with ''Navi Rangbhoomi''. He composed music of more than 250 Gujarati, Hindi and Marathi stage plays.<ref name="DG2011"/><br />
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He reached his popularity with his film ''Divadandi'' (1950). He produced the film with story written by [[Chandravadan Mehta]] and screenplay by [[Barkat Virani]] 'Befam'. Though the film was moderately successful, a song ''Taro Aankhno Afeeni'' was huge hit. The music was composed by Ajit himself and was sung by [[Dilip Dholakia]]. The song is still popular across Gujarat.<ref name="DG2011"/><ref name="Gujarat Samachar 2013">{{cite web | title=Gujarat Samachar : World's Leading Gujarati Newspaper, Gujarati News,Gujarat News,News from Ahmedabad,Baroda,Bhuj,Bhavnagar,Rajkot,Surat | website=Gujarat Samachar | date=13 February 2013 | url=http://www.gujaratsamachar.com/gujaratsamachar.com/20130213/purti/shatdal/ek_be.html | language=gu | access-date=19 June 2015 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924024200/http://www.gujaratsamachar.com/gujaratsamachar.com/20130213/purti/shatdal/ek_be.html | archive-date=24 September 2015 }}</ref><br />
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He was neighbor of Hindi playback singer, [[Mukesh (singer)|Mukesh]] and he agreed him to sing for his compositions in some Gujarati films like ''Kariyavar'' and ''Lagna Mandap.'' He composed a [[gazal]], ''Raat Khamosh Hai'' which was later sung by [[Jagjit Singh]] and included in his album, ''Muntazir''.<br />
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He died on 18 March 2011.<ref name="DG2011"/><br />
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==Filmography==<br />
He composed and directed music of several Hindi films like ''Sapera'' (1961), ''Refugee'' (1948), ''Indra Leela'' (1956), ''Challenge'' (1964), ''Chandi Pooja'' (1957), ''Lady Killer'' (1968), ''Ram Bhakta Vibhishan'' (1958), ''Raj Kumari'' (1955); and Gujarati films like ''Divadandi'' (1950), ''Kariyavar'' (1948), ''Lagna Mandap'', ''Bahurooi''.<ref name="DG2011"/><ref name="RajadhyakshaWillemen2014">{{cite book|author1=Ashish Rajadhyaksha|author2=Paul Willemen|title=Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rF8ABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA1994-IA464|date=10 July 2014|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-135-94325-7|page=1994}}</ref><ref name="Akilanews.com 2014">{{cite web | title=કાલે દુરદર્શનમાં ભવાઇ કલા આધારીત શ્રેષ્ઠ એવોર્ડ વિજેતા ગુજરાતી ફિલ્મ 'બહુરૂપી'નું પ્રસારણ | website=Akilanews.com | date=27 December 2014 | url=http://www.akilanews.com/27122014/print-saurashtra-news/www.akilanews.com/27122014/saurashtra-news/1419675772-24535 | language=gu | access-date=19 June 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150620002450/http://www.akilanews.com/27122014/print-saurashtra-news/www.akilanews.com/27122014/saurashtra-news/1419675772-24535 | archive-date=20 June 2015 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Ojha1988">{{cite book|author=Rajendra Ojha|title=Screen World Publication's 75 Glorious Years of Indian Cinema: Complete Filmography of All Films (silent & Hindi) Produced Between 1913-1988|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q7UEAQAAIAAJ|year=1988|publisher=Screen World Publication|pages=170, 217}}</ref><ref name="Pinto2006">{{cite book|author=Jerry Pinto|title=Helen: The Life and Times of an H-bomb|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ng_vVIcq5yQC&pg=PA240|year=2006|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-303124-6|page=240}}</ref><br />
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==Awards==<br />
He was awarded Lifetime Achievement award by Maharashtra Rajya Gujarati Sahitya Akademi in 2007.<ref name="Mumbai Samachar">{{cite web | title=મહારાષ્ટ્ર રાજ્ય ગુજરાતી સાહિત્ય અકાદમીના વર્ષ ૨૦૧૧નાં 'જીવન ગૌરવ' પુરસ્કાર જાહેર | website=Mumbai Samachar | url=http://www.bombaysamachar.com/frmStoryShow.aspx?sNo=14794 | language=gu | access-date=19 June 2015}}</ref><br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
* {{IMDb name | id= 1495985}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Merchant, Ajit}}<br />
[[Category:Indian film score composers]]<br />
[[Category:Indian male film singers]]<br />
[[Category:2011 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Gujarati cinema]]<br />
[[Category:Musicians from Mumbai]]<br />
[[Category:Indian male stage actors]]<br />
[[Category:Indian music arrangers]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian composers]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian male actors]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian singers]]<br />
[[Category:Indian male film score composers]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century male singers]]</div>>Ser Amantio di Nicolao