Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! composer Vijay Patil aka Laxman of Raam Laxman dies at 78

Veteran music composer Vijay Patil died early today in Nagpur of a heart attack. He was 78.

Patil was better known to film and music fans as Laxman of the Raam Laxman duo. Raam was the pseudonym of Patil's musical partner Surendra Hendre.

The duo started out in the mid-1970s when actor-filmmaker Dada Kondke signed them up to compose the score for his film Pandu Hawaldar (1975). The film was a runaway hit and their association with Kondke was sealed as they composed the music for a string of hits like Tumcha Amcha Jamla (1976), Ram Ram Gangaram (1977) and Bot Lavin Tithe Gudgulya (1978).

The duo suffered a serious blow when Hendre died just when they had been signed up for Rajshri Productions’ Agent Vinod (1977). However, Patil continued to use the name Raam Laxman in the credits in honour of his friend.

Patil created the popular Ganesh festival number ‘Deva O Deva’ from Humse Badhkar Kaun (1981). However, his big break in Hindi cinema arrived when Sooraj Barjatya signed him for his directorial debut, Maine Pyar Kiya (1989). The album of the film became a rage.

Patil then composed the music for Barjatya’s next two films, Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994) and Hum Saath-Saath Hain (1999). Both albums also became super-hits.

Patil also composed the music for some other hit films of that era like Patthar Ke Phool (1991), 100 Days (1991) and Muskurahat (1992). But his biggest hits came with the Rajshri banner. He continued his association with the production house with Hum Pyar Tumhi Se Kar Baithe (2002), though the film wasn’t directed by Sooraj Barjatya.

The government of Maharashtra conferred the Lata Mangeshkar award on Vijay Patil in 2018.

Correction, 3 June 2021: An earlier version of this report said Raam Laxman started out in the early 1970s composing the musical scores for Marathi films like Haath Lavin Tithe Sona (1973) and Bholi Bhabdi (1973). The music for those films was composed by the veteran Ram Kadam. Raam Laxman got their first break with Dada Kondke's Pandu Hawaldar (1975).