Remembering R.D.Burman…

July 2, 2008 |

I had a bunch of R.D.Burman tracks, and I found a couple videos on YouTube - so wanted to package it all together into a post. June 27th was R.D.Burman’s 69th birth anniversary. Popularly known as Pancham (fifth note in Hindustani music) to his family, friends and fans, his music has been enjoyed by more than 2 generations of music lovers since first his independent composition for Chotte Nawab in 1961. .

After his best years in the 70s, Pancham was overlooked by the Indian film industry in the late 80s and early 90s. Arguably, he was ahead of his time. I remember talking to Manohari Singh, his music assistant and saxophone player, in 2003 long after Pancham’s death. Manohari Singh said, “Pancham knew we were back in the game when he had finished composing the music for Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 1942: A Love Story. Pancham told us be ready for good times again.” Unfortunately, Pancham passed away on 4th Jan 1994, just weeks before the release of the film.

Vishwas Nerurkar writes in his book on Pancham, “My assessment of a great composer is that he should fulfill three criteria: 1) timeless compositions, offering the same freshness of melody years after their period or lifetime; 2) originality; and 3) trend-setter in the industry. On each of these three vital conditions, Pancham emerges in bright colors and honours.”

During his peak in the 70s, Pancham claimed he was composing 4-5 songs/day. A couple songs from lyricist Gulshan Bawra’s tribute to Pancham. In a heavy Punjabi accent, Bawra introduces these songs with anecdotes on how they were composed.

Kasme Vaade Nibhayenge Hum (the sarson saga)

Jane Jaan O Meri Jane Jaan (the newspaper influence)

Samandar Mein Nahake (the monsoon magic)

Pancham has collaborated with many western musicians, but his work with Jose Flores to produce ‘Pantera’ is commonly known. Though the Pantera songs are not among Pancham’s best compositions, they’re very rare. So I’ve uploaded the Pantera title here, and the hindi version he used for Priyadarshan’s Gardish.

Pantera (with Jose Flores)

Rang Rangeeli Raat (Gardish)

Pancham was a genius in inventing new sounds - rubbing a comb against plastic tube for Mere Samnewali Khidki (Padosan), blowing into an empty ‘Thumbs Up’ bottle for Mehbooba Mehbooba (Sholay), tapping glass with a spoon for Chura Liya Hai (Yaadon Ki Baarat). These are Pancham’s original musicians demonstrating his talent for composing and inventing new sounds.