Louis Banks

Film music composer, record producer, keyboardist, and singer, Louis Banks is acclaimed as a prominent jazz and fusion music guru. In the realm of cinema, he composed music for films such as the hits Duplicate (1998), and Vansh (1992), the hard-hitting New Delhi Times (1986), Hum (1991), Suryavanshi (1992), the critically acclaimed Vembanad (1990), and Praana (2019), as well as the TV serials Hip Hip Hurray and Mullah Nasruddin. Often referred to as the 'Godfather of Indian jazz’, he has performed prolifically across the world as a keyboardist and leader of his jazz and fusion bands. He has played alongside Indian classical greats such as Hariprasad Chaurasia, Zakir Hussain, and Ramamani, as well as internationally renowned jazz musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, John McLaughlin, Mike Stern, and Charles Lloyd. Earning a Grammy nomination for his collaboration as co-producer in the innovative Miles from India album in 2008, he also represented India at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2010. He has also been highly productive as a music creator of advertising jingles, stage musicals, film background scores and original compositions covering various genres. Among the music albums he has to his credit are Solo Piano Ballads, Labyrinth, Moonlight in Goa, Floating Point – John McLaughlin, Miles from India, Love is in the Air, and Freedom Run. 

Born Dambar Bahadur Budaprithi on 11 February, 1941 to Indian Gorkha parents Saraswati and Pushkal Bahadur Badprithi, he hailed from a musically inclined family in Darjeeling. His early musical education came from his musician father and his neighbour, Mrs. Myers. His father, a trumpeter, adopted the name George Banks after he joined a European band in Calcutta in the early 1940s. His interest in music flowered as he played the guitar and the trumpet, leading his father to change his name to Louis Banks, evidently in tribute to the renowned American trumpeter and musician Louis Armstrong. His passion for the piano, sparked by his father, saw him train earnestly.  

After his graduation, Banks decided on a career in music and moved to Kathmandu with his father’s band. Discovering jazz music here, the late 1960s saw him perform at the Soaltee Hotel for three years. Shifting base to Calcutta in 1971, he met singer Pam Craine and saxophonist Braz Gonsalves and went on to form a band named The Louis Banks Brotherhood. Performing at the Hindustan Hotel, they were invited to play at the popular nightclub Blue Fox, famous for its live western music. His work in the field of advertising jingles and stage musicals also began thereafter. 

His break in the film industry came when, in 1977, he approached noted music director R D Burman, who often visited the Blue Fox. He went on to join Burman’s troupe in Bombay, recording almost daily with the music director’s group. He received the offer to score the music for the film An August Requiem (1982). Directed by Victor Bannerjee, the film starred Tanuja and Jasbir Malik. It revolved around a ship’s purser who seeks to avenge his wife’s suicide but finds himself in a dilemma that has no emotionally easy solution. 

Kala Dhanda Goray Log (1986), directed by Sanjay Khan, also had music by Banks, followed by the Shashi Kapoor-starrer New Delhi Times (1986). Written by Gulzar and directed by Romesh Sharma, the latter revolves around a newspaper editor who exposes the politics-media corruption nexus. While the film ran into trouble when film distributors and television refused to screen it, later it went on to win three National Film Awards.

He scored the music for the Malayalam-language experimental silent film Vembanad (1990). Critically acclaimed, it portrayed the familial complexities of a household living on an island, surrounded by the backwaters of Kerala. Other films he composed music for include Mukul S Anand’s action crime film Hum (1991), veteran actor Pran’s home production Lakshmanrekha (1991), Pappu Verma’s Vansh (1992) about two warring stepbrothers who combine forces to save their father and quell their enemies, the Salman Khan-starrer Suryavanshi (1992), and Pankaj Parashar’s Aasmaan Se Gira (1992). He also scored the music for God and Gun (1995), and the Bobby Deol-Twinkle Khanna starrer Barsaat (1995). Perhaps his most popular work was seen in Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Duplicate (1998), along with Anu Malik. The film included hit numbers such as Mere mehboob mere sanam, Ek shararat hone ko hai, Kathai aankhon wali, and Ladna jhagadna. More recently, his work was seen in the film Prana (2019). Directed by V K Prakash, it told the tale of a young woman who decides to live a solitary life in an old mansion away from the city's hustle and bustle; however, the nature surrounding her has other plans. His body of work includes the English films Bokshu The Myth (2003) and the Bharat Dabholkar-directed comedy satire God Only Knows (2007). 

In 1988, his tune for Mile Sur Mera Tumhara, a short film on national integration for Doordarshan, became iconic. Co-composed with Ashok Patki, this lyrical tribute to India and her diversity remains popular decades later. He also scored patriotic-themed music for the short films Desh Raag and Spread the Light of Freedom. 

Simultaneously, Banks left a bigger mark in the realm of non-film music. Introduced to different world music genres, he popularised live jazz at the city’s nightclubs. Along with Goan saxophonist Braz Gonsalves he formed the Indo-Jazz Ensemble, in 1979. They composed music on Indian classical scales and Jazz rhythms, also employing Indian instruments like the ghatam and thavil. The year 1980 saw him perform as a member of the jazz quartet, which was part of the orchestra performing with Pandit Ravi Shankar in Jazzmine at the Jazz Yatra Festival. 

Among his other musical forays, he formed a group called Sangam, which saw him collaborating with Carnatic classical vocalist, Ramamani. Together, they performed around 60 concerts in India and abroad. More recently, in 2005, he formed a group Rhythm Asia with Taufeeq Qureshi on the tabla and Niladri Kumar on the sitar. He also formed a band called Silk with Shankar Mahadevan, Sivamani and Karl Peters, performing at various concerts, as well as with popular jazz artists Radha Thomas and Joe Alvares. He also provided the score for Roshni, a musical directed by theatre great Alyque Padamsee. 

Creating compositions that won international attention, his 2008 collaboration as co-producer, arranger and pianist/ keyboards on the album Miles from India was nominated for the Grammy Awards 2008 in the Best Contemporary Jazz Album category. It was a tribute to the founder of modern jazz - Miles Davis. He was keyboardist on John McLaughlin's fusion album Floating Point, which was also nominated in the same category. 

Louis Banks continues to strike a balance between commerce and creativity.