| Rahul Dev Burman |
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| 1939 births | |
| 1994 deaths | |
| indian film score composers | |
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| bengali musicians | |
| tripuri people | |
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INITIAL YEARS According to stories, Rahul Dev Burman was nicknamed ''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 Sanskrit . Another version is that when the veteran Indian actor Ashok Kumar saw a newborn Rahul Dev Burman uttering the syllable ''Pa'' repeatedly, he nicknamed the boy ''Pancham''. Pancham was born in Calcutta . After coming to Mumbai , he learnt Sarod from Ustad Akbar Ali Khan . When he was nine years old, he 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 composed by him as a kid. His father loved the tune and included it in the soundtrack of Guru Dutt's '' Pyaasa ''. As a child, Pancham also played the Mouth Organ in the famous song ''Hai apna dil to aawara'' (from film ''Solva saal'' - 1958 , starring Dev Anand ). Pancham began his music career as an assistant to his father. His first film as a music director was ''Chhote nawaab''. MUSIC CAREER R D Burman gave music for 245 movies and a TV series ''Subah'' ( 1987 ). R D Burman did Playback in eighteen movies composed by him. He was famous for unique, grunting bass singing style. He also acted in the film ''Bhoot Bungla'' ( 1965 ) and ''Pyar ka Mausam'' ( 1967 ). 1950s R D Burman started his career as assistant to his father, Sachin Dev Burman. He assisted his father in ''Chalti ka Naam Gaadi'' ( 1958 ) and ''Kaagaz ke Phool'' ( 1959 ). His first film as a music director was Guru Dutt's ''Raaz'' ( 1959 ). However the film was shelved after some shooting and recording of few songs. 1960s R D Burman's first released movie as a music director was Mehmood 's ''Chhote Nawab'' ( 1961 ). Mehmood once said that he gave the movie to R D Burman because he got tired of R D Burman denting his car with the persistent drumming of his fingers! The first song ''Ghar aaja ghir aaye'' to be recorded for the movie was sung by Lata Mangeshkar because R D Burman wanted no one but the legendary singer to sing his first composition for movies. The song brought together S D Burman and Lata Mangeshkar who had stopped recording together since 1957 . R D Burman continued to work as his father's assistant in movies like ''Bandini'' ( 1963 ), ''Teen Deviyaan'' ( 1965 ) and ''Guide'' ( 1965 ). Mehmood gave him his second movie as a music director in 1965 - ''Bhoot Bangla''. The soundtrack is notable for ''Aao twist karein'', a Desi version of Chubby Checker 's ''Let's twist''. In the movie, R D Burman also acted alongside Mehmood. He also composed the music of ''Teesra Kaun'' in 1965 . R D Burman's first hit movie was ''Teesri Manzil'' ( 1966 ). Vijay Anand had arranged a music session for him before Nazir Hussain, the producer of ''Tesri Manzil''. After hearing his music, Nasir Hussain made him the music director of ''Teesri Manzil''. Initially, Shammi Kapoor (hero of the movie) was unhappy over choice of R D Burman. He wanted the tried and tested Shankar-Jaikishen , who had composed music for most of his films. However, after hearing R D Burman's music, he had no problems. The songs ''O haseena'' and ''Aaja aaja'' belonged to a genre that Indian music lovers were unaware of. Nasir Hussain went on to sign R D Burman and lyricst Majrooh Sultanpuri for six of his films including ''Baharon ke Sapne'', ''Pyaar ka Mausam'' and ''Yaadon Ki Baarat''. In 1967 , R D Burman gave music for the movies ''Chandan Ka Palna'' and ''Baharon Ke Sapne''. Meanwhile, he continued to work as his father's assistant for movies like ''Jewel Thief'' ( 1967 ) and ''Talash'' ( 1969 ). In 1969 , ''Waris'' and the musical hit ''Pyar ka Mausam'' were released. For ''Aradhana'' ( 1969 ), R D Burman was credited as associate composer. When S D Burman fell ill during the recording of ''Aradhana'''s ( 1969 ) music, Pancham completed the music. The film was a turning point in the Bollywood history. It made Rajesh Khanna a superstar; Kishore Kumar replaced Mohammed Rafi as Bollywood's top singer and R D Burman became the industry's most sought-after composer. 1970s R D Burman was India's most popular composer in 1970s (Bollywood's superstar era), famous for his peppy tunes. He teamed up with singers Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar , Lata Mangeshkar and others to churn up some of the biggest hits in the Bollywood music history. In 1970 , R D Burman composed music for six movies, of which ''Kati patang'' (a Rajesh Khanna starrer) was a musical hit. Eleven more movies with R D Burman as music director were released in 1971 . Of these, ''Amar prem'', ''Buddha mil gaya'', ''Caravan'', and '' Hare Krishna Hare Rama'' were musical hits. ''Amar prem'' is noted for intricate songs based on Indian Classical Music such as ''Raina beeti jaaye'' (sung by Lata Mangeshkar ). ''Buddha mil gaya'' had simple, peppy numbers like ''Raat kali ek khwab mein aayee'' and ''Bhali bhali si ek soorat''. It also had a classical song ''Aayo kahan se Ghanshyam?''. ''Caravan'' had the best Bollywood Cabaret ever - ''Piya tu ab to aaja'', picturized on Helen and sung by Asha Bhosle and R D Burman ("Monica! O my darling"). The title song of ''Hare Krishna Hare Rama'' sung by Asha became the hip-hop anthem for the younsters. Other songs like ''Phoolon ka taaron ka'' and ''Kaanchi re'' were also popular. In 1972 , R D Burman composed music for nineteen films. ''Seeta aur Geeta'', ''Rampur ka Lakshman'', ''Mere jeevan sathi'', ''Bombay to Goa'', ''Apna desh'' and ''Parichay'' were musically successful. The high-pitched Asha -R D Burman duet ''Duniya mein logon ko'' from ''Apna desh'' became popular. Songs like ''Beeti na beetayi raina'' from ''Parichay'' marked the beginning of a fruitful association between R D Burman and lyricist Gulzar . Also released in 1972 ''Jawaani diwaani'' was a hit. Songs like ''Abhi nahi'', ''Jaan-e-jaan dhoondhta phir raha'' and the title track were all chart-busters that year. 1973 saw fourteen more R D Burman soundtracks, of which the most successful ones were ''Yaadon ki baraat'', ''Shareef badmash'', ''Heera panna'' and ''Anamika''. In 1974 , sixteen movies with R D Burman music were released. ''Aap ki kasam'' and ''Ajanabee'' were major hits. In 1975 , there were nine movies with R D Burman soundtracks including the superhit '' Sholay '', ''Deewaar'' ,''Aandhi'', ''Khushboo'' and ''Dharam karam''. In ''Sholay'', he sang ''Mehbooba mehbooba'', picturised on Helen and Jalal Agha. ''Aandhi'' had classic Gulzar songs sung by Kishore - Lata - ''Is mod se jaate hain'', ''tum aa gaye ho'', ''Tere bina zindagi se koi'' and others. ''Khushboo'' was another R D Burman- Gulzar materpiece with songs like ''O manjhi re''. R D Burman also completed the music of ''Mili'' ( 1975 ) after his father went into coma and died. In 1976 , there were 8 movies with R D Burman as music director. Nine more movies were released in 1977 . ''Naam gum jaayega'' (''Kinara'', 1977) is another of R D Burman-Gulzar gems. In 1978 , nine more R D Burman releases, including ''Shaalimar'' and ''Kasme vaade''. ''Shaalimar'' included hits like ''Hum bewafa hargiz na the'' (Kishore Kumar) and the title track (Asha Bhosle). The title track, ''Mile jo kadi kadi'' and ''Aati rahengi baharein'' of ''Kasme Vaade'' were very popular. The title track and ''Raju chal Raju'' of Dharmendra -starrer ''Azaad'' were also moderately popular. ''Ghar'' was a huge hit for R.D. Burman-Gulzar duo with songs like ''Tere bina jiya jaaye na'', ''Aaj Kal paon zameen par'', ''Phir Wohi Raat hai''. 1979 was a relatively lull year for R D Burman, although he composed music for ten films. His biggest hit was ''Golmaal''. The most popular songs were ''Aanewala pal'' (Kishore Kumar) and the title track (''Golmaal hai bhai sab golmaal hai'') sung by R D Burman and his assistant Sapan Chakravorty. Few other R D Burman hit songs in 1979 were ''Jeevan ke har mod pe'' (''Jhoota kahin ka''), ''Rim jhim gire saawan'' (''Manzil''), ''Saawan ke jhoole pade'' (''Jurmana'') and ''Do lafzon ki hai dil ki kahani'' (''The great gambler'', sung by Asha Bhosle and actor Sharad Kumar). 1980s In 1980 , there were ten releases. R D Burman churned out musical hits like ''The burning train'' and ''Shaan'', which were not successful at the box office. ''The burning train'' included popular Sahir Ludhiyanvi Qawwali sung by Asha Bhosle and Mohammad Rafi - ''Pal do pal ka saath hamara''. The film is also noted for ''Teri hai zameen'', sung by Sushma Shrestha and Padmini Kolhapure as child-singers. ''Shaan'' had sizzlers like ''Pyar karne wale pyar karte hain shaan se'' (Asha Bhosle), ''Doston se pyaar kiya'' ( Usha Uthup ) and ''Yamma yamma'' (sung by Rafi and R D Burman). R D Burman also composed for ''Alibaba aur 40 chor'' (''Приключения Али-Бабы и сорока разбойников'' in Russian), an Indo-Russian collaboration. Actor Rekha made her singing debut under R D Burman with the songs ''Kaayada kaayada'' and ''Saare niyam tod do'' in ''Khubsoorat'' ( 1980 ). The lyrics were penned by Gulzar . Other popular songs included ''Sun sun didi tere liye'' (Asha Bhosle) and ''Piya bavari'' (Asha and Ashok Kumar ). The songs of ''Abdullah'' ( 1980 ) also became popular. The score is noted for Rafi -song ''Maine poocha chaand se'', in which R D Burman modernised his father Sachin Dev Burman's tune. The year 1981 saw R D Burman composing for fifteen films. He created two hit soundtracks with lyricist Gulshan Bawra and Universal Music India (then called Music India) - ''Satte pe satta'' and ''Yeh vaada raha''. Amitabh Bachchan -starrer ''Satte pe satta'' was a story of 7 brothers and 7 sisters. The songs picturized on the seven brothers were sung by R D Burman, his assistants Basu and Sapan Chakravorty, lyricist Gulshan Bawra, Bhupendra, Anand Kumar C and Kishore Kumar. The songs for the sisters were sung by Asha Bhosle , Annette and Dilraj Kaur. The hit songs include ''Dukki pe dukki ho'', ''Pyar hamein kis mod pe'', ''Dilbar mere'' and ''Zindagi milke bitaayenge''. R D Burman's major hit in 1981 was ''Sanam teri kasam''. The hit soundtrack included ''Kitne bhi tu kar le sitam'', ''Jaan-e-jaan'' and ''Dekhta hoon koi ladki haseen'' among other songs. In 1981, R D Burman also composed music for ''Rocky'' ( Sanjay Dutt 's debut movie) and ''Love story'' (debut film of Sanjay Dutt's brother-in-law, Kumar Gaurav). The songs from both the movies were popular. However, ''Rocky'' bombed on the box office, while ''Love story'' was a superhit. ''Jahan teri yeh nazar hai'' from Amitabh -starrer ''Kaalia'' ( 1981 ) also became very popular among listeners. Fourteen more R D Burman soundtracks were released in 1982 . The team of Nasir Hussain , R D Burman and Majrooh Sultanpuri (which had started with ''Teesri manzil'' presented ''Zamaane ko dikhaana hai'' in 1982. The songs ''Poocho na yaar kya hua'' and ''Dil lena khel hai dildar ka'' became popular. Ashok Kumar 's last song ''Chalo haseen geet'' (''Shaukeen'', 1982 ) was composed by R D Burman. ''Angoor'' ( 1982 ) is noted for R D Burman's Spoof on the O. P. Nayyar hit ''Preetam aan milo'', sung by Sapan Chakravorty. In 1983 , there were fifteen R D Burman soundtracks, of which ''Masoom'' and ''Agar tum na hote'' are considered classics. In 1984, fourteen R D Burman soundtracks were released. This year, Gulshan Kumar 's T-Series made its entry into the arena of original film soundtracks. The company's first major music rights acquisition were for Pramod Chakravorty’s bi-lingual Jagir( Hindi )/Teen Murti( Bengali ). The film's music was composed by R D Burman. This year, R D Burman came with somewhat disappointing scores. But he introduced a plethora of talented new singers in these years. Kumar Sanu was given his first break by R D Burman in ''Yeh desh'' ( 1984 ) as voice of Kamal Hasan . 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 Krishnamoorthy , ''Hai mubarak aaj ka din'' (''Boxer'', 1984 ), which was composed by R D Burman. In 1985 , R D Burman had only two music hits among his 12 soundtracks, ''Sagar'' and ''Alag Alag''. Mohammed Aziz, a popular Rafi clone of 1980s , made his debut with ''Shiva Ka Insaaf'' ( 1985 ) under R D Burman. 1986 is said to be the worst year of his career. None of his 9 soundtracks made a mark that year. After 1986, he started getting less work. The producers who gave him patronage suddenly seemed to have disappeared. Bappi Lahiri 's lifted Western Disco tunes had taken their toll on R D Burman. The year 1987 saw only 5 releases including the brilliant ''Ijaazat'', which failed to prevent his downfall. ''Ijaazat'' is still considered a matchless score, with classics like ''Choti si kahani se'', ''Khaali haath shaam aayi hi'', ''Katra katra'' and ''Mera kuch samaan'' (which won Asha Bhosle the National Award as Best Singer). 1988 saw some four more R D Burman soundtracks of which ''Libaas'' had good songs, but the producer refused to release the film. R D Burman gave music for 6 more movies in 1989 , of which ''Parinda'' and ''Joshilaay'' were successful. 1990s R D Burman's last years were not very pleasant. The few films he gave music for flopped at the box office. Subhash Ghai promised him ''Ram Lakhan'' but gave it instead to Laxmikant Pyarelal . This greatly upset Pancham. He suffered from a heart attack in 1988 and underwent heart surgery. During this period, he composed many tunes, which were never released. R D Burman gave music for few mediocre movies in ) was released. 2000 s After his death, in the late 1990s, the remix versions of R D Burman's hits ruled the Indian music scene. Even today, most of the Indian remix songs are his tunes remixed. ''Gang'' (2000) was released long after R D Burman's death. He was also credited for music of few more films after his death. For example, ''Monsoon Wedding'' (credit for ''Chura liya hai'') and ''Dil Vil Pyaar Vyaar'' ( 2002 ), which had R D Burman songs "recreated" by one of his assistants Babloo Chakravorty. FOREIGN COLLABORATIONS AND PRIVATE ALBUMS R D Burman also produced private albums, including one based on the Samba . He also collaborated with Boy George . He has also composed music for an album called ''Pantera'' produced by Pete Gavankar in 1987 whose lyrics were written by Jose Flores. {Link without Title} The 2002 release "Jhankaar Beats" features one of his famous tunes from the movie Kudrat while paying tribute to his talent. PERSONAL LIFE Pancham married a lady named Rita in 1960 , but they were divorced in 1971 . He then married Asha Bhonsle . Together, they recorded many memorable tunes and also staged many live performances. MUSIC STYLE Pancham was comfortable with all types of music, be it the romantic ''Raat kali'' from ''Buddha mil gaya'' ( 1971 ), the sexy Cabaret ''Piya tu ab to aaja'' from ''Caravan'' ( 1971 ), the ultimate Hippie anthem ''Dum maro dum'' from ''Hare Krishna Hare Rama'' ( 1972 ) or the classical ''Raina beeti jaaye''. It is said that Dev Anand did not include the complete version of 'Dum maro dum' in Hare Rama Hare Krishna, as he was worried the song would overshadow the film. At times, R D doubled up as a singer too. His most famous song as a singer was ''Mehbooba'' from Sholay . Pancham was a very creative person. His percussion included a spoon against a glass (''Chura liya hai'' from ''Yaadon ki baraat''), desks (''Masterji ki aa gayee chitthee'' from ''Kitaab'') a bamboo whistle with a balloon (''Abdullah'') and bottles filled with water at different levels (''O maajhi re'' from ''Khushboo''). Some of Pancham's songs were 'inspired' (read lifted) from popular western tunes. For example,''Aao twist karein'' (Bhoot Bangla) was a direct lift of ''Come lets twist again'' by Chubby Checker while ''Tera mujhse hai pehle ka naata koi'' (''Aaa Gale Lag Ja'') is said to be a copy of ''The Yellow Rose of Texas'' by Elvis Presley . There are many such other examples available at i2fs . Pancham has also directed music for some regional films, including Bangla, Oriya, Tamil, Telegu and Marathi. He also acted in one of the Bengali film named ''Nayak''. Pancham's non-filmi music comprises of few albums, including 'Pantera' - the international album for which he shares credit with Latin American composer, Jose Flores. DISCOGRAPHY Some of R D Burman's most successful movie albums were:
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