Rahul Dev Burman
Background information
Also known as	Pancham
Born	(1939-06-27)June 27, 1939 Kolkata, India
Died	January 4, 1994(1994-01-04) (aged 54) Mumbai, India
Genres	Film score
Occupations	Music director
Years active	1961–1994

Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian film score composer, who is considered one of the seminal music directors of the Indian film industry.^[1] Nicknamed Pancham da, he was the only son of the noted composer Sachin Dev Burman.

From the 1960s to the 1990s, RD Burman composed scores for 331 movies.^[2] He was mainly active in the Hindi film industry (Bollywood) as a composer, and also provided vocals for a few of compositions.^[3] RD Burman did major work with Asha Bhosle (his wife) and Kishore Kumar, and scored many of the songs that made these singers famous.^[3] He served as a influence to the next generation of Indian music directors,^[3] and his songs continue to be popular in India even after his death.^[4]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

RD Burman was born to the well-known Bollywood and Bengali composer-singer Sachin Dev Burman and his lyricist wife Meera Dev Burman (née Dasgupta), in Calcutta.^[5] Initially, he was nicknamed Tublu by his grandmother although he later became known by the nickname of Pancham. According to some stories, he was nicknamed as Pancham because, as a child, whenever he cried, it sounded in the fifth note (Pa) of the Indian musical scale. The word Pancham means five (or fifth) in Bengali. Another theory says that the baby was nicknamed Pancham because he could cry in five different notes. Yet another version is that when the veteran Indian actor Ashok Kumar saw a newborn Rahul uttering the syllable Pa repeatedly, he nicknamed the boy Pancham.^[6]

RD Burman received his early education at the St Xavier's School in Kolkata.^[7] His father SD Burman was a noted music director in Bollywood, the Bombay-based Hindi film industry. When he was nine years old, RD Burman composed his first song, Aye meri topi palat ke aa, which his father used in the film Funtoosh (1956). The tune of the song Sar jo tera chakraaye was also composed by him as a child; his father included it in the soundtrack of Guru Dutt's Pyaasa (1957).^[8]

In Mumbai, RD Burman was trained by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (sarod) and Samta Prasad (tabla).^[9] He also considered Salil Chowdhury as his guru.^[10] He served as an assistant to his father, and often played harmonica in his orchestras.^[3] Some of the notable films in which RD Burman is credited as the music assistant include Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Tere Ghar Ke Samne (1963), Bandini (1963), Guide (1965) and Teen Devian (1965). RD Burman also played mouth organ for his father's hit composition Hai Apna Dil to Aawara which was featured in the movie Solva Saal (1958).^[11]

In 1959, RD Burman signed up as a music director for the film Raaz, directed by Guru Dutt's assistant Niranjan. However, the film was never completed. The lyrics of this Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman-starrer film were written by Shailendra. R D Burman recorded two songs for the film, before it was shelved. The first song was sung by Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle, and the second one had vocals by Shamshad Begum.^[12]

RD Burman's first released film as an independent music director was Chhote Nawab (1961). When the noted Bollywood comedian Mehmood decided to produce Chhote Nawab, he first approached RD Burman's father Sachin Dev Burman for the music. However, SD Burman turned down the offer, saying that he did not have any free dates. At this meeting, Mehmood noticed Rahul playing tabla, and signed him up as the music director for Chhote Nawab.^[12] RD Burman later developed a close association with Mehmood, and did a cameo (apart from composing the music) in Mehmood's Bhoot Bangla (1965).^[12]

Initial successes[link]

Burman's first hit movie as a film music director was Teesri Manzil (1966). Burman gave credit to lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri for recommending him to Nasir Hussain, the producer and writer of the film.^[13] Vijay Anand also said that he had arranged a music session for Burman before Nasir Hussain.^[14] Teesri Manzil had six songs, all of which were written by Majrooh Sultanpuri, and sung by Mohammed Rafi. Four of these were duets with Asha Bhosle, whom Burman later married. Nasir Hussain went on to sign RD Burman and lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri for six of his films including Baharon Ke Sapne (1967), Pyar Ka Mausam (1969) and Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973). Burman's score for Padosan (1968) was well received. Meanwhile, he continued to work as his father's assistant for movies like Jewel Thief (1967) and Prem Pujari (1970).

The superhit Kishore Kumar song Mere Sapnon ki Raani from Aradhana (1969), though credited to his father, is rumoured to have been RD Burman's composition.^[8] Kora Kagaz tha Yeh Man Mera from the same film was also his tune.^[11] It is believed that when SD Burman fell ill during the recording of the film's music, RD Burman took over and completed the music. He was credited as an associate composer for the film.

Rise to popularity[link]

In the 1970s, RD Burman became highly popular with the Kishore Kumar songs in Rajesh Khanna-starrer movies.^[8] Kati Patang (1970), a musical hit, was the beginning of a series of films directed by Shakti Samanta. Its songs Yeh Shaam Mastani and Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai, sung by Kishore Kumar, became instant hits. Apart from Kishore Kumar, RD Burman also composed several of the popular songs sung by Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar.

In 1970, RD Burman composed the music for Dev Anand's Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971).^[15] The Asha Bhosle song Dum Maro Dum from this film proved to be a seminal rock number in the Hindi film music.^[8] The filmmaker Dev Anand did not include the complete version of Dum Maro Dum in the movie, because he was worried that the song would overshadow the film.^[6] In the same year, RD Burman composed the music for Amar Prem. The Lata Mangeshkar song Raina Beeti Jaaye from this soundtrack is regarded as a classical music gem in Bollywood.^[8] RD Burman's other hits in 1971 included the romantic song Raat kali ek khwab mein from Buddha Mil Gaya and the Helen-starrer cabaret song Piya tu ab to aaja from Caravan. He received his first Filmfare Award nomination for Caravan.

In 1972, R D Burman composed hit music for several films including Seeta aur Geeta, Rampur ka Lakshman, Mere jeevan saathi, Bombay to Goa, Apna Desh and Parichay. His success continued with hits such as Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973), Aap ki Kasam (1974), Sholay (1975) and Aandhi (1975). He also composed a song for a small documentary film called Maa Ki Pukaar, in 1975. After his father SD Burman went into coma, R D Burman also completed the music of Mili (1975).

Mohammed Rafi received the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the song Kya Hua Tera Wada from Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin (1977), composed by RD Burman. RD Burman continued to compose several popular songs for films such as Kasme Vaade (1978), Ghar (1978), Gol Maal (1979), Khubsoorat (1980). He received his first Filmfare Best Music Director Award for Sanam Teri Kasam (1981). In 1981, he also composed hit music for Rocky, Satte Pe Satta and Love Story.

The playback singer Kumar Sanu was given his first break by R D Burman in Yeh Desh (1984) as voice of Kamal Haasan. Abhijeet was given his major break by R D Burman in Anand aur Anand (1984). Although he made his debut a long time ago, Hariharan was first noticed in a duet with Kavita Krishnamurthy in Hai Mubarak Aaj ka Din from Boxer (1984), which was composed by R D Burman. In 1985, Mohammed Aziz, made his debut with Shiva Ka Insaaf (1985) under R D Burman.

Decline[link]

During the 1980s, RD Burman was overshadowed by Bappi Lahiri and other disco music composers.^[16] Many filmmakers stopped patronizing him, as films featuring his compositions flopped at the box office one after the other.^[6][11] Nasir Hussain, who had signed him up for every single of his productions since Teesri Manzil (1966), did not sign him up for Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988).^[6] Hussain defended RD Burman in press, saying that the latter did not give weak music in Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai (1982) and Manzil Manzil (1984). He also said that the composer was going through a lean phase during the recording of Zabardast (1985).^[17] But after these three films flopped, Hussain stepped down as a director, and his son and successor Mansoor Khan switched to other composers. The filmmaker Subhash Ghai promised RD Burman Ram Lakhan (1989), but gave it instead to Laxmikant-Pyarelal, who had earlier played in Burman's orchestra.^[6]

RD Burman suffered from a heart attack in 1988, and underwent heart surgery. During this period, he composed many tunes, which were never released. Thenmavin Kombath, a Malayalam film by Priyadarshan was the last film he signed, but he died before he could score for the film. The music of 1942: A Love Story (1994) was released after his death, and was highly successful. It won him the third and last of his Filmfare Awards.

Style[link]

RD Burman has been credited with revolutionizing the Bollywood music.^[18] He incorporated a wide range of influences from several genres in his scores. Burman's career coincided with the rise of Rajesh Khanna-starrer youth love stories. He made electronic rock popular in these popular love stories.^[3] He often mixed disco and rock elements with Bengali folk music.^[19] He also used jazz elements, which had been introduced to him by the studio pianist Kersy Lord.^[20]

According to Douglas Wolk, RD Burman "wrapped sugary string swoops around as many ideas as he could squeeze in at once".^[2] Biswarup Sen describes his popular music as one featuring multicultural influences, and characterized by "frenetic pacing, youthful exuberance and upbeat rhythms".^[21]

RD Burman was influenced by Western, Latin and Arabic music, and incorporated elements from these in his own music.^[22] He used Western dance music as a source of inspiration for his compositions.^[23] As was common in Bollywood, many of his songs featured the tunes of popular foreign songs. For example, Mehbooba Mehbooba from Sholay (1975) is inspired from the song Say You Love Me, traditional Cyprus song, arranged and sung by Demis Roussos. Similarly, Aao twist karein from Bhoot Bangla (1965) is a desi version of Chubby Checker's "Let's Twist".

RD Burman often experimented with different musical sounds produced from methods such as rubbing sand paper and knocking bamboo sticks together.^[11] He blew into beer bottles to produce the opening beats of Mehbooba, Mehbooba. Similarly, he used cups and saucers to create the tinkling sound for the song Churaliya Hai from the film Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973).^[24] For Satte Pe Satta (1982), he made the singer Annette Pinto gargle to produce a background sound.^[11]

On multiple occasions, RD Burman experimented with recording the same song with different singers. For Kudrat (1981), he recorded the light version of the song Hume tumse pyar kitna in the voice of Kishore Kumar, while the classical version was recorded in the voice of Parveen Sultana. In Pyar Ka Mausam (1969), he recorded the song Tum bin jaun kahan in the voices of Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi separately.

Legacy[link]

Several Bollywood movies made after RD Burman's death contain his original songs or their remixed versions. Dil Vil Pyar Vyar (2002), which contains several re-arranged hit songs of Burman, was made as a tribute to him.^[25] Jhankaar Beats (2003), which catapulted the music director duo Vishal-Shekhar into the limelight, is also a tribute to him.^[26] In Khwahish (2003), Mallika Sherawat's character is an RD Burman fan; the movie features repeated references to RD Burman.^[27] In 2010, Brahmanand Singh released a 113-minute documentary titled Pancham Unmixed: Mujhe Chalte Jaana Hai, which received critical acclaim.^[11] Other films which credit RD Burman include Gang (2000) and Monsoon Wedding (2001, for Chura liya hai).

A number of Indian remix albums feature RD Burman's songs, which are also popular in the country's pubs and discos.^[6] Several of his compositions were re-mixed by the South Asian DJs in the United Kingdom and North America, and feature in popular albums such as Bally Sagoo's Bollywood Flashback.^[3] Kronos Quartet's You've Stolen My Heart (2005) contains RD Burman's compositions sung by his wife Asha Bhosle.^[28]

In, 1995, Filmfare Awards constituted the Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent in his memory. The award is given to upcoming music talent in Hindi cinema. In 2009, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation named a chowk (public square) in Santa Cruz after RD Burman.^[29]

RD Burman inspired many later Bollywood music composers, such as Vishal-Shekhar.^[30] Notable musical assistants to RD Burman include Manohari Singh and Sapan Chakraborty. His instrumentalists included Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Shiv Kumar Sharma, Louis Banks, Bhupinder and Kersy Lord.^[11] He is also noted for his partnership with the lyricist Gulzar, who wrote the words for several of his finest compositions.^[11]

Personal life[link]

RD Burman's first wife was Rita Patel, whom he had met in Darjeeling. Rita, a fan, had laid a bet with her friends that she would be able to get a movie-date with Burman. The two married in 1966, and got divorced in 1971.^[31] The song Musafir Hoon Yaaron ("I'm a Traveller") from Parichay (1972) was composed by him, when he was at a hotel after the separation.^[32]

RD Burman married Asha Bhosle in 1980. Together, they recorded many hit songs and also staged many live performances. Burman had financial difficulties, particularly later in his life. RD Burman's mother Meera died in 2007, 13 years after his death.^[33]

Discography[link]

Out of RD Burman's 331 released movie scores, 292 were in Hindi, 31 in Bengali, 3 in Telugu, 2 each in Tamil and Oriya, and 1 in Marathi. RD also composed for 5 TV Serials in Hindi and Marathi.

Pancham's non-filmi music comprises few albums, including Pantera (1987), a Latin Rock album produced by Pete Gavankar (father of Janina Gavankar). The album was an international collaboration, for which RD Burman partnered with Jose Flores in San Francisco.^[34] In 1987, RD Burman, Gulzar and Asha Bhosle worked on a album titled Dil Padosi Hai, which was released on 8 September 1987, Asha Bhosle's birthday.

RD Burman and Asha Bhosle also recorded a song with Boy George.^[35] In addition, he scored a large number of non-film songs in Bengali, which are available in different albums. Burman also did playback singing in eighteen movies for which he himself composed the scores.

Awards and nominations[link]

Filmfare Awards

Wins

• 1983 - Best Music Director - Sanam Teri Kasam
• 1984 - Best Music Director - Masoom
• 1995 - Best Music Director - 1942: A Love Story

Nominations

• 1972 - Best Music Director - Caravan
• 1974 - Best Music Director - Yaadon Ki Baaraat
• 1975 - Best Music Director - Aap Ki Kasam
• 1976 - Best Music Director - Khel Khel Mein
• 1976 - Best Music Director - Sholay
• 1976 - Best Male Playback Singer - "Mehbooba Mehbooba" from Sholay
• 1977 - Best Music Director - Mehbooba
• 1978 - Best Music Director - Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin
• 1978 - Best Music Director - Kinara
• 1979 - Best Music Director - Shalimar
• 1981 - Best Music Director - Shaan
• 1982 - Best Music Director - Love Story
• 1984 - Best Music Director - Betaab
• 1985 - Best Music Director - Jawani
• 1986 - Best Music Director - Saagar

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Anirudha Bhattacharjee; Balaji Vittal (2011). R.D. Burman: the man, the music. Harper Collins India. ISBN 978-93-5029-049-1. 

External links[link]

• Rahul Dev Burman at the Internet Movie Database

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