Music composer Anandji's daughter Rita Valambia passes away at 62 (2024)

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Rita Valambia, the daughter of music composer Anandji, died of a heart attack at the age of 62.

Anandji Vir Shah has a son as well. Kalyanji, his dear brother and music partner in the industry, died in August 2000.

On March 2nd, 1933, Anandji was born to Virji Shah. Their father was a Kutchi entrepreneur who had moved to Bombay to start a kirana business (provision store). Babla & Kanchan are his younger brother and sister-in-law. A music teacher taught the two brothers how to play music. One of their four grandmothers was a well-known folk musician. They spent the most of their childhoods in the Marathi and Gujarati communities of Girgaum (a district in Bombay).

Anandji Virji Shah and his brother Kalyanji Virji Shah are the legendary Bollywood music composers. Anandji was his popular moniker. The renowned composers had a long and illustrious career, composing music for over 250 films together. The duo have 17 golden jubilee successes and 39 silver jubilee songs to their credit. They've been nominated for the Best Music Award multiple times throughout their career, but the one time they've won it was in 1975 for their incredible score for the film Kora Kaagaz. The iconic duo was also honoured with a Nation Award for their work on Saraswati Chanda.

They made their debut in 1960 with the film ‘Satta Bazaar’, starring Balraj Sahni and Meena Kumari, and have since reached new heights in their careers. Before going alone, the famed composer Laxmikant Pyarelal worked as an assistant to this duo. Their songs like ‘Aap Jaisa Koi’ from ‘Qurbani ‘and ‘Yeh Mera Dil’ from ‘Don’ were perhaps the best and are still remembered among the wide ocean of brilliant songs they had composed.

• Rita Valambia
• Anandji