Our first interaction was when we had to collaborate for a song. I don’t recall which track it was. I had gone for the rehearsals, and he told me that he had been wanting to work with me for several days. My sister, Usha Mangeshkar, who had been working with him since long, often praised him—for his skill and kindness. He was a simple man, with simple means. Despite being famous, he lived like a common man. He never thought twice before saying what he wished to. I remember him as a jovial man, who loved to play the harmonium and mimic people. I enjoyed his mimicry.

I asked him why he kept his name Raam Laxman. He said that initially, there were two of them [referring to his partner, Surendra Kadam]. He was Laxman, and his partner was Raam. When his partner passed away [in 1976], he decided to retain the name, like composers Shankar Jaikishan did.

He had a distinct style of music, and wasn’t one who copied from others or sought inspiration from elsewhere. He created his own melodies, a lot of which, like Dil Deewana and Didi Tera Devar Deewana, were among ones that I found to be very special. He had an album called 100 Days. The track, Le Le Dil, was one that I enjoyed [rendering]. He had roped in S P Balasubrahmanyam to be [the voice of] Salman Khan. There was a time when neither SPB, nor I was [available] to sing his song, and he was upset. He said that while the work had to be done, he didn’t enjoy creating music if I wasn’t involved in it, because I understood his songs, and sang it [as I desired]. He treated me like his older sister.

Nagpur: Music director Vijay Patil, popularly known as the Laxman of the Raam-Laxman duo, whose frisky tunes enlivened Dada Kondke’s Marathi superhits and the early Salman Khan blockbusters, passed away following a heart attack on Saturday. He was 78.

His chartbusters came in films such as Tarana, Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Patthar Ke Phool and Pandu Havaldar (Marathi).

Among those who mourned his demise on social media were the peerless Lata Mangeshkar and Bollywood star Salman Khan. Production house Rajshri, for whom the music director was a regular, also posted their condolences. “Rajshri will always remember him for his immense contribution to the music industry,” it tweeted.

Apart from Khan, Raam-Laxman’s music also boosted the early career of Mithun Chakraborty films such as Tarana and Hum Se Badhkar Kaun and gave a second wind to S P Balasubrahmanyam as Salman’s playback in late 1980s and early ’90s Bollywood.

The music of Raam-Laxman was based on the basics of orchestra and took the legacy of Laxmikant-Pyarelal forward. Melody, even in foot-tapping numbers, was a special feature of their music. Use of traditional Indian instruments along with the typical orchestra set-up made their songs popular.

Patil, born and brought up in Nagpur, started as a singer and instrumentalist in the city’s popular orchestra groups. Later, he shifted to Mumbai to become a music director. With his friend Surendra ‘Raam’ Kadam, Patil formed a team which was given the sobriquet ‘Raam-Laxman’ by Kondke. It was the well-known Marathi filmmaker-cum-actor who gave them their break in the film industry with ‘Pandu Havaldar’ in 1975.

Even after the death of Kadam, soon after the pair bagged its first Hindi film ‘Agent Vinod’, Patil continued to provide melodies to more than 75 Hindi, Marathi and Bhojpuri films as ‘Raam-Laxman’. Rajshri Productions’ songs in ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’ (Filmfare award), ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun’ (many awards) and ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’ proved to be super-duper hits.

‘Lovleena aa gaya main’ from ‘Agent Vinod’ in 1977 and ‘Deva ho deva, Ganapati Deva’ from ‘Humse Badhkar Kaun’ in 1981 stand out in his oeuvre.

Patil composed several chartbusters during the 1980s and 1990s before the advent of Nadeem Shravan and Anu Malik.

Ten years ago, a brain stroke made it difficult for Patil to sing and compose. He shifted to Nagpur and lived with son Amar who too is into music.

Patil kept away from the media and lived a quiet life in the Untkhana area of the city.

Family members said Patil was not a Coronavirus patient and had taken both doses of the vaccine. On Friday night, he complained of chest pain. Before he could be shifted to a hospital, he got a severe cardiac arrest and died at home around 2 am.

People from Nagpur’s music industry were the first to pay tribute to Patil. “He was a dear friend. I will remember his association with Kader Orchestra. When we started a music academy, I had invited him to inaugurate it. Despite being unwell, he came,” said singer M A Kader.

Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar said, “Felt very sad hearing the news about talented and popular composer Raam Laxman ji (Vijay Patil). He was a nice person. Many songs composed by him and sung by me became very popular. My sincere tributes to him.”

In 2018, Raam-Laxman were bestowed the Lata Mangeshkar Puraskar.

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