Mumbai: Bhatia, who composed music for parallel cinema classics such as 'Bhumika' , '36 Chowringhee Lane' and 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro' and gave lilt to jingles remembered decades later, died at his home on Friday, according to a friend. He was 94.
"I was in regular touch with him. His caretaker informed me around 9 am that he has passed away. He had dementia and arthritis. He was bedridden for over a month," music historian and friend Pavan Jha said.
Bhatia lived with his caretaker at his apartment in Rungta Housing Colony on Napean Sea Road.
The composer's mastery is visible in the opening credits of the popular Doordarshan serial 'Bharat Ek Khoj', which begins with a shloka from the Vedas.
"He provided the soundtrack of our childhoods in the 80s and 90s. With him, we have lost a legend," lyricist-writer Varun Grover said.
"Vanraj Bhatia was the man behind some of the most beautiful soundtracks of Indian parallel cinema. His wide range (Marathi folk in 'Bhumika' to Hindustani classical in 'Sardari Begum' to cool experimental in 'Bharat Ek Khoj') made him one of the most exciting composers of that era," he said.
His last years were spent as a recluse, said industry insiders. There were also reports of financial difficulties that led to help from several people, they said.
Born into a Kutchi business family in Mumbai,
Bhatia started training in music from a young age. He became interested in Western classical music in his teenage years and started taking piano lessons.
After his post-graduation from Elphinstone College, University of Bombay, in 1949, Bhatia studied at the Royal Academy of Music, London, where he graduated with a gold medal in 1954. He also trained in Paris.
Bhatia started his professional journey by composing music for advertisements. He made his cinema debut with director Shyam Benegal's first film 'Ankur' in 1974. It was the beginning of one of the most fruitful collaborations in Hindi cinema music, including Bhumika , Manthan and Mandi . Bhatia went on to become the go-to composer for directors in the new wave of Indian cinema music of the 70s and 80s.
Bhatia won the National Film Award for best music direction for Govind Nihalani's critically-acclaimed 'Tamas' and also composed for Kundan Shah's 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro', Aparna Sen's '36 Chowringhee Lane', Saeed Akhtar Mirza's 'Mohan Joshi Haazir Ho!', Kumar Shahani's 'Tarang' and Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 'Khamosh'
Besides, the music director composed the background score of mainstream Hindi films such as 'Ajooba', 'Damini' and 'Pardes' and several TV shows, including 'Khandaan', 'Wagle Ki Duniya', 'Banegi Apni Baat', 'Bharat Ek Khoj'and 'Tamas'.
He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2012.
His last work was an opera titled 'Agni Varsha' which was performed in New York.
The tributes came in quick and fast.
"Shocked to learn about the passing away of Vanraj Bhatia. Wagle ki Duniya , Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, he leaves behind countless memories in his scores. My condolences to his loved ones & fans," Union minister Smriti Z Irani said on Twitter.
Actor-director Farhan Akhtar paid homage to Bhatia's "brilliant" musical works.
"RIP #VanrajBhatia .. apart from the many other brilliant musical works he created, I vividly remember the theme of Tamas' that started with a shriek so filled with anguish, it could send a chill up anyone's spine and break anyone's heart," he tweeted.