Anthony Gonsalves

Anthony Prabhu Gonsalves (80 years in 2008) is an Indian musical composer and teacher from the village of Majorda (near Margao in Goa, India) 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 R.D. Burman and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma-( member of the Laxmikant Pyarelal team) and has worked with most of the legendary composers of the 1950s and 1960s. A few examples of his work are B.R. Chopra ("Naya Daur", "Waqt"), Naushad ("Dillagi"), and Chetan Anand ("Haqeeqat"). The song "My Name is Anthony Gonsalves" was Pyarelal's tribute to his violin teacher [ [http://www.screenindia.com/fullstory.php?content_id=6675 "The 'Real' Anthony Gonsalves!"] , MA Khan, "Screen India", November 21, 2003.] .

In 1958, Gonsalves founded the Indian Symphony Orchestra (not the Symphony Orchestra of India) featuring playback singers Lata Mangeshkar and Manna Dey as soloists, the works were performed in the quadrangle of St. Xavier’s College in Mapusa, Goa.

In 1965, he quit the film industry and went to the United States, via a travelling grant from Syracuse University in New York. He became a member of the American Society of Composers, Publishers and Authors, and later in returned to India, settled in his ancestral village of Majorda in Goa, and continued composing music, though he never joined the Hindi films again [ [http://www.india-seminar.com/2004/543/543%20naresh%20fernandes.htm "Remembering Anthony Gonsalves"] , Naresh Fernandes ("Time Out" editor), "India Seminar" #543, November 2004.]

Composition credit in Indian movies

* "Dholak" (1943)
* "Kismat"
* "Mahal"

Influences in Indian popular culture

* "My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves", a song in the 1977 film "Amar Akbar Anthony"
** "My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves (film)" (2007), a film based on the song
* "Anthony Gonsalves", in Raj Comics by Tarunkumar Wahi

References