July 15, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): Instrumentalists are one of the most important parts of the Bollywood music and film industry but most of them remain unrecognized throughout their lives. Saxophonist Manohari Singh is one such name, who passed away at the age of 79 years on Tuesday following cardiac arrest. He was said to be a very close associate of renowned music composer R. D. Burman.

On his demise, legendary singer Asha Bhosle expressed her condolence. She tweeted, saying, “Manohari Singh’s cardiac arrest is very sad news”.

Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar also posted tweets on the sudden death of Manohari Singh. She posted, “My heartfelt condolences to the family of Manohari da, who passed away. He was a wonderful human being, a great arranger and a very good saxophone player”.

Recently, the saxophonist Manohari Singh accompanied the late R. D. Burman’s legendary wife Asha Bhosle on the reality show “Indian Idol 5′, which was a special episode on Burman. They were accompanied by two more associates of the late musician Homi Mullan and Kancha. Singh looked hale and hearty on the show and got very emotional when Asha spoke about Burman.

In several hit compositions of R. D. Burman, Singh played the saxophone, which includes songs like “Gaata rahe mera dil’. Recently, he played the saxophone in the movie Veer Zaara and Chalte Chalte.

In 1958, Manohari first played saxophone for a Bollywood movie Sitaron Se Aage with Sachin Dev Burman.

Reacting on his death, megastar Amitabh Bachchan posted, “It’s very sad news, Lataji. Just few months back, he played condolences and prayers at a function”.

Singer Shreya Ghosal wrote, “May you rest in peace Manohari da”.

May the soul of this great saxophonist rest in peace!

–Sampurn Wire