Panditji, as he was called out of deference, was born in Jallandhar, Punjab. He was the elder brother of
Husnlal & Bhagatram, who not only made their way into the Indian film industry, but also were the first of many music director duos in Hindi films. Pandit Amarnath was very fond of acting and singing since his childhood, and he was involved with the stage performances in his early days.
His initial career was based in Lahore where he did most of his early works. He was noticed by the audiences for his good music. Pandit ji was very impressed by the noted singer Zeenat Begum, for whom, he later composed many tunes as well. In 1944's 'Daasi' he composed a song especially for Zeenat Begum. The song was 'Raaten na rahin, wo bhi na rahe..'. This song was written by
D N Madhok and it became so popular that Pandit Amarnath became famous. He then composed another song for Zeenat Begum, 'Lo phir yaad kisi ki aayee..' for the film Shehar Se Door, in 1944. Panditji gave a classical touch to the emotion-laden compositions.
Pandit Amarnath worked as the Director of HMV orchestra in Bombay. He not only trained his brothers
Husnlal & Bhagatram but also trained the noted composer
Khayyam. He taught the usage of musical instruments, vocals and music arrangement. He got his brothers a job with the famous
Prabhat Films Co. in Pune.
In February 1947, Pandit Amarnath died due to cardiac failure. He was in the middle of composing the songs for the film, Mirza Sahiban. After his death his brother got the chance to complete the film. Mirza Sahhiban has many beautiful songs,like, 'Kya yahi tera pyar tha..', 'Aa ja tujhe afsana judaai ka sunayen..', Tum aankhon se door ho..', Haath seene pe jo rakh do..' and ' Saamne gali meinmera ghar hai..'. This was the only film in which Noor Jahan rendered her voice for
Husnal Bhagatram.
