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Vanraj Bhatia, born on May 31, 1927, in India, was a composer known for his work in Indian New Wave cinema and Western classical music. He studied Hindustani classical music and later earned an M.A. (English Honours) from Elphinstone College in 1949. Bhatia's career began with scoring advertisement films and composing jingles. His first feature film score was for Ankur (1974), directed by Shyam Benegal. He collaborated extensively with Indian New Wave filmmakers, including Govind Nihalani (Tamas, 1988) and Kundan Shah (Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, 1983). Notable works include the television series Bharat Ek Khoj (1988) and albums such as The Bhagavad Gita (1996), The Elements - Earth (2005), and Anant...the Endless (2006). Bhatia received the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for Tamas, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1989, and India's fourth-highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri, in 2012. He died on May 7, 2021, in Mumbai.
