Growing up in a humble family, Sudhirji couldn’t afford pursuing his dream of engineering but always emphasized on his son’s Shridhar Phadkeji’s education. Vamanrao Padhye or famously known Padhye Bua in Kolhapur granted Shridharji the art of classical singing. Shridharji aspired to sing like Balagandharva, Hirabai Badodekar and K L Saigal eversince.
G D Madgulkar’s, 'Daryavari Nach Kari' was the debut of this legend in music composition. ‘Jyoti Kalash Chalke’ by Lata Mangeshkar, ‘Pehli Tarikh’, sung by Kishor Kumar, ‘Maratha Sphurti Geet’ the regimental song of Maratha Light Infantry, ‘Ashi Pakhare Yeti’, ‘Vikat Ghetla Shyam’ etc. are some of the iconic compositions by Sudhirji.
‘Sudhir Phadke’ is a title for many respected awards today but he himself won lot of recognitions liked Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1991 and the legendary Sahyadri Swara Ratna Puraskar in April 2002, presented by DD Sahyadri.
Sudhirji’s production ‘Ha Mazha Marg Ekla’ won a Rashtrapati Puraskar. During the final days of his life, Phadkeji dedicated himself for producing the 'Veer Sawarkar' film in Hindi. Sudhir Phadke last sang and composed music for this movie. Babuji and passed away on 29th July 2002 in Mumbai due to a stroke at the age of 82.
Apart from music Babuji was a part of RSS, a freedom fighter and activist. He helped freedom fighters smuggle arms in his musical instruments. He led the rescue mission for Mohan Ranade, supported Goa Freedom Movement and led India Heritage Foundation in the United States.
image Source: cinestaan