An Indian film composer, music director, and playback singer whose career stretched from the 1970s to the mid-2010s, Ravindra Jain was born on February 28, 1944. Blind since birth, he was raised in Hathras, British India, where he began singing bhajans at local temples as a child. His musical talents quickly made him a popular composer in the Bollywood industry, and Jain made his debut with the 1972 film Kanch aur Heera. 1973's Saudagar made a bigger splash, its soundtrack featuring Jain compositions like "Sajana Hain Mujhe Sajna Ke Liye" and "Husn Hain Ya Koi Qayamat Hain." 1974's Chor Machaye Shor marked his first time serving as music director, and the movie's success at the Indian box office convinced Jain to reunite with both the director and the cast for a follow-up hit, Fakira, in 1976. A two-time winner at the 24th FIlmfare Awards, Fakira also received two nominations for its soundtrack, with Mahendra Kapoor being nominated for "Best Male Playback Singer" with the song "Sunke Teri Pukar" and his cast mate, Hemlata, receiving a similar nomination for "Best Female Playback Singer" with "Sunke Teri Pukar." Both songs were written by Ravindra Jain. During the latter half of the 1970s, Jain worked on as many as seven movies per year. His success continued during the 1980s, when he won a Filmfare Award for "Best Music Director" for his work on the years highest-grossing film, Ram Teri Ganga Maili. Two years later, he composed music for the TV series Ramayan, which set a world record for the most globally-viewed television program. In 2015, he received the Padma Shri, a civilian award honoring one's contributions to the arts. He died that same year, passing away at 71 years old on October 9, 2015.
