| Kalyanji | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Kalyanji Virji Shah |
| Born |
30 June 1928 Kundrodi, Kutch, Gujarat |
| Died | 24 August 2000 (aged 72) |
| Genres | Film score |
| Occupation(s) | music director, orchestrator, conductor |
| Years active | 1954–2000 |
Kalyanji Virji Shah (30 June 1928 – 24 August 2000) was the Kalyanji of the Kalyanji-Anandji duo. He and his brother Anandji Virji Shah have been famous Indian film musicians, and won the 1975 Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, for Kora Kagaz. He is a recipient of the civilian honour of Padma Shri (1992).
Kalyanji was born to Virji Shah, a Kutchi businessman in Kundrodi, Kutch, Gujarat, who migrated from Kutch to Mumbai to start a Kirana (provision store).
He and his brothers began to learn music from a music teacher, who actually knew no music but taught them in lieu of paying his bills to their father. One of their four grand parents was a folk musician of some eminence. They spent most of their formative years in the hamlet of Girgaum (a district in Mumbai) amidst Marathi and Gujarati environs — some eminent musical talent resided in the vicinity.
Kalyanji's breakthrough was with the theme entitled Been music from the film Nagin (1954).
Kalyanji's son, Viju Shah, is also a music director.