C. Ramchandra's biggest success as a music composer was the 1953 movie Anarkali, though he had already tasted success with Shehnai (1947), Sargam(1950), Samadhi(1950) and Albela(1951). The film was a Musical Hit and went on to celebrate Golden Jubilee. It was the highest-grossing film of 1953 and again ranks 2nd in the top 25 Best Musical Films of all times according to IMDb.
The Music direction of this film was given to the composer Vasant Prakash, who was the younger brother of famous composer Khemchan Prakash. He even composed a song “Aa jaane wafa aa” penned by Jan Nisar Akhtar and sung by Geeta Dutt. Basant Prakash had major health problems after having recorded this one song with Geeta Dutt. C. Ramchandra took over as the composer. The film had a total of 11 songs, with 10 composed by C Ramchandra and 1 by Basant Prakash.
This film was a musical hit. The first-ever 'Binaca Geetmala' Annual Program of 1953 - saw "Ye Zindagi usiki hai" catapulted to the No. 1 position. This song came in parts in the film. The first two stanzas were when the lovers happy in each others company. The 3 rd stanza - jo dil yahan na mil sake signalled their despair and separation, while the last 2 were of unrequited love when Anarkali was being cemented into a wall on all sides. Lata Mangeshkar gave her soul in singing this song.
Out of 11 songs, only one song was a duet "Jaag Dard-E-Ishq Jaag" sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Hemant Kumar. Hemant Da had 2 solos in this film , recall the song "Zindagi Pyar Ki Do Char Ghadi Hoti Hai'.There were other beautiful songs too other than the above . 1. Aaja ab to aaja [Lata Mangeshkar- lyricist Shaillendra]; 2. Mohabbat aisi dhadkan hai [Lata Mangeshkar] 3. Muzse mat puch mere ishq mein kya rakkha hai [Lata Mangeshkar] ; 4. Muhabbat mein aise kadam dagmagaye [Lata Mangeshkar] ; 5. Dua kar ghame dil khuda se dua kar [Lata Mangeshkar].
| Track # | Song | Singer(s) | Lyricist | Music Composer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Aa Jaan e Wafaa"[3] | Geeta Dutt | Jan Nissar Akhtar | Vasant Prakash |
| 2 | "Aaja Ab To Aaja"[3] | Lata Mangeshkar | Shailendra | C. Ramchandra |
| 3 | "Mujhse Mat Poochh" | Lata Mangeshkar | Rajendra Krishan | C. Ramchandra |
| 4 | "Dua Kar Gham-E-Dil" | Lata Mangeshkar | Shailendra | C. Ramchandra |
| 5 | "Jaag Dard-E-Ishq Jaag"[3] | Lata Mangeshkar, Hemant Kumar | Rajendra Krishan | C. Ramchandra |
| 6 | "Mohabbat Aisi Dhadkan Hai"[3] | Lata Mangeshkar | Hasrat Jaipuri | C. Ramchandra |
| 7 | "Zindagi Pyar Ki Do Char Ghadi"[3] | Hemant Kumar | Rajendra Krishan | C. Ramchandra |
| 8 | "O Aasman Wale Shikwa Hai Zindagi Ka" | Lata Mangeshkar | Hasrat Jaipuri | C. Ramchandra |
| 9 | "Yeh Zindagi Usiki Hai"[3] | Lata Mangeshkar | Rajendra Krishan | C. Ramchandra |
| 10 | "Ae Baad E Saba Zara Ahista Chal" | Hemant Kumar | ||
| 11 | "Mohabbat Mein Aise Kadam Dagamagae" | Lata Mangeshkar | Rajendra Krishan |
