Sort by:

C. Ramchandra Vinyl Records

C. Ramchandra (Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar, 1918–1982) was born in Puntamba, in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district, and was one of the leading Hindi film composers of the 1950s. He brought jazz and dance-band colour into film songs, with saxophone, trumpet, clarinet and bongos, in scores such as Albela (1951), Anarkali (1953), Azaad (1955), Aasha (1957) and Navrang (1959). He also sang, credited as Chitalkar, and composed Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon, the patriotic song written by Kavi Pradeep and sung by Lata Mangeshkar in 1963.

The records in this collection

27 records carry a C. Ramchandra credit as music director, all of them Hindi film music. Apart from a compilation pairing his melodies with Lata Mangeshkar's voice, these C. Ramchandra vinyl records are original film soundtracks rather than composer albums. Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar are the singers you will meet most, followed by Mahendra Kapoor, Ramchandra himself as Chitalkar, and Manna Dey. The lyrics are most often by Rajinder Krishan, with others by Pradeep and Shailendra.

Titles include Anarkali, Azaad, Navrang (1959), Nastik, Sharada and Paigham. Most are EMI India pressings on the EMI, Angel and Odeon labels, with the 1960s the best-represented decade.

Buying C. Ramchandra vinyl from us

Records of fifties film songs were often played hard and then stored for decades, so condition varies widely. Vinyl and sleeve get separate hand grades, and the photographs are of the record itself, with sleeve splits, tape repairs, writing and label wear described plainly. Orders leave Bengaluru for anywhere in the world.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Chitalkar in the singer credits?

Chitalkar is C. Ramchandra himself, singing under his family name. His voice turns up on several soundtracks here, alongside Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.

Are these first pressings of the 1950s films?

Usually not. The Gramophone Company of India issued its first microgroove EPs in 1958 and began pressing LPs in 1959, so songs from films such as Nastik and Anarkali first appeared on 78 rpm shellac, and the LPs here are generally later EMI India issues.