Those who have been Amitabh Bachchan Fans,
how can they forget the cult movie “Amar
Akbar Anthony” and hum along the song “My name is Anthony Gonsalves”, where
Amitabh Bachchan comes out from an Easter egg. But did anyone know that
initially the character which Amitabh Bachchan played was named Anthony
Rodriguez and not Anthony Gonsalves.
When Manmohon Desai was making the
film “Amar Akbar Anthony” in 1977 ,
The character of Amitabh Bachchan was initially names as Anthony
Rodriguez. Later at some stage, Pyarelaal, the music director of this film
renamed this character as Anthony Gonsalves paying a tribute to his violin
teacher and mentor.
Anthony Prabhu Gonsalves (12 June 1927 – 18 January 2012) was an Indian musical
composer, music arranger and teacher born in the village of Majorda (near Margao in Portuguese Goa), who during the
mid-1950s, attempted to merge the symphonies of his Goan heritage with
the Hindustani melodies and rhythms in films of the day. He found
his first job in the city as a violinist in the group of the composer Naushad in 1943. He taught Pyarelaal Sharma
of Laxmikant-Pyarelal team and has worked with most of the legendary
composers of the 1950s and 1960s. He worked with B R Chopra (Naya Daur) and
Chetan Anand (Haqeeqat).
Gonsalves is also a mentor
to the late Rahul Dev Burman and Pyarelal of the Lakshmikant-Pyarelal team -
stalwarts of the golden age of Hindi film songs in the 50s-70s. At 83, Gonsalves was awarded the Karmaveer Puraskar, a
national people's award during 2010 at
the 41st International Film Festival of India in Panaji, Goa's capital, before
he left for heavenly aboard in 2012.
Gonsalves quitted the film
Industry in 1965 and went to America for some research work on music. Later, even after he returned from America a decade later, never
swung his baton again. In fact, he scarcely bothered to let his former
colleagues know that he was back. Musicians in Bombay and Goa, many of them
insisted that he was still in America – if indeed he was still alive.
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