Hridaynath Mangeshkar is an Indian music director, composer and singer associated chiefly with Marathi and Hindi music. The youngest child of the noted classical vocalist and theatre artiste Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar, he is the brother of playback singers Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar and Meena Mangeshkar Khadikar. He is widely recognised for his compositions for Marathi bhavgeet, Marathi film songs, and devotional and literary works set to music.
| Full name | Hridaynath Dinanath Mangeshkar |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 October 1937, Mumbai |
| Father | Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar |
| Mother | Shevanti (Shudhamati) Mangeshkar |
| Siblings | Lata Mangeshkar, Meena Khadikar, Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar |
| Occupation | Music director, composer, singer |
| Languages | Marathi, Hindi |
| Honours | Padma Shri (2009) |
Hridaynath Mangeshkar was born into the Mangeshkar family, originally from Mangeshi in Goa, which traces its association with Hindustani classical music and Marathi theatre to his father, Deenanath Mangeshkar. Deenanath died in 1942, when Hridaynath was a young child, leaving the family in straitened circumstances; the responsibility of supporting the household passed largely to his eldest sister Lata Mangeshkar. Hridaynath received his early grounding in classical music within the family and later trained under teachers in the Hindustani tradition.
Hridaynath Mangeshkar is best known in Maharashtra for his compositions in the bhavgeet and devotional traditions. He composed musical settings for the works of major Marathi poets including Sant Dnyaneshwar, Sant Tukaram, Bahinabai Chaudhari, P. L. Deshpande, Shanta Shelke, Suresh Bhat and Kusumagraj (V. V. Shirwadkar). His landmark albums and song-cycles include settings of Dnyaneshwar's abhangs, the Marathi rendering of the Bhagavad Gita-related verses, and recordings of Bahinabai's poetry sung by Asha Bhosle.
Among his widely recognised Marathi works are the albums Bhavasargam, Koligeete, Mogara Phulala, and the devotional set Pasaydan, the closing prayer of the Dnyaneshwari, rendered famously by Lata Mangeshkar.
In Hindi cinema he composed scores for several films, including Dhanwan (1981), Mashaal (1984), Lekin... (1990), Lal Salaam (2002) and Maya Memsaab (1993). The score of Lekin..., directed by Gulzar and produced by Lata Mangeshkar, is regarded as one of his most significant works in Hindi film music; the song "Yaara Seeli Seeli" from the film won Lata Mangeshkar the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer, and Gulzar received the National Film Award for Best Lyrics for the same film.
Hridaynath has presented several large-scale stage music productions, often built around the poetry of saints and modern Marathi poets, performed with his sisters and other leading vocalists. These concerts have been staged in Mumbai, Pune and other cities in Maharashtra, as well as for Marathi audiences abroad.
Hridaynath Mangeshkar is regarded as a key figure in the evolution of post-Independence Marathi non-film music, particularly in placing classical and semi-classical Marathi poetry within an accessible art-song format. His settings of Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, Bahinabai and Suresh Bhat have become part of the standard Marathi vocal repertoire. In Hindi cinema, although his output is small, his work in Lekin... is considered a notable example of literary, raga-based film composition.