Mumbai, Jan. 19: Music composer and arranger Anthony Gonsalves, who lent his name to the quirky Amitabh Bachchan character in Manmohan Desai’s 1977 classic Amar Akbar Anthony and the song in the film, passed away in a hospital in Goa’s Panaji last night. He was 84.
One of the many illustrous Goan musicians who contributed to Hindi film music and brought a western flavour to songs in the golden decades from the forties to the sixties, Gonsalves was called “guru” by Pyarelal of the composer duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal.
Although Bollywood never acknowledged his contribution to music, ironically it was a Bollywood song that made Gonsalves a household name. Picturised on Bachchan dressed in a top hat and emerging from a life-size Easter egg, the song My Name is Anthony Gonsalves became an instant hit and still remains popular.
When Desai was making the film, Pyarelal had suggested that Bachchan’s character be named Anthony Gonsalves.
The megastar mourned the music composer’s death on Twitter. “Anthony Gonsalves...passes away....talented musician with LP and on his name my character name for Anthony was put..prayers.”
According to author Naresh Fernandes, who has dedicated a chapter to Gonsalves and the role of Goan musicians in Bollywood in his book Taj Mahal Foxtrot-The Story of Bombay’s Jazz, Gonsalves was considered a child prodigy in his hometown, Majorda.
At the age of 12, he was appointed a choirmaster at a local church, and at 16, he came to Mumbai to work in the Hindi film industry. He got his first job as a violinist with Naushad in 1943.
Music archivist and Dhrupad singer Kushal Gopalka said Gonsalves had played the violin and arranged music for around 5,000 songs during his 23-year career in Bollywood. “Gonsalves featured in almost every song during those years,” Gopalka said.
Gonsalves had worked with music directors like Naushad, Anil Biswas, Shankar-Jaikishan, S.D. Burman, Madan Mohan and Laxmikant-Pyarelal. He contributed to evergreen songs such as Burman’s Hum Aapki Aankhon Mein from Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa, Khayyam’s Shaam-e-gham ki Kasam and Ghar Aaya Mera Pardesi in Raj Kapoor’s Awaara.
“Some of his gems are Hemant Kumar’s Yeh Raat Yeh Chandni Phir Kahan from Jaal, Jaye Toh Jaye Kahaan from Taxi Driver and Dil Jalta Hain Toh Jalne Do from Pehli Nazar,” Gopalka said.
Gonsalves was a member of the American Society of Composers, Publishers and Authors. In 1958, Gonsalves founded the Indian Symphony Orchestra, which performed his compositions and featured Lata Mangeshkar.
“A raga isn’t like a ladder on which you take one step at a time. It’s like a path up the mountain. It winds more and there are unusual intervals between stages,” he had told Fernandes during an interview.
