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R. D. Burman

Indian musician (1939–1994) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

R. D. Burman
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Rahul Dev Burman (pronunciationⓘ; 27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director and singer, who is considered to be one of the greatest and most successful music directors of the Hindi film music industry. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films, bringing a new level of music ensemble with his compositions.[1] Burman did his major work with legendary singers Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi.[2] He also worked extensively with lyricist Gulzar, with whom he has some of the most memorable numbers in his career. Nicknamed Pancham, he was the only son of the composer Sachin Dev Burman and his Bengali lyricist wife Meera Dev Burman.

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He was mainly active in the Hindi film industry as a composer, and also provided vocals for a few compositions.[3] He served as an influence to the next generation of Indian music directors,[3] and his songs continue to be popular in India and overseas. Many years after his death, his songs continued to be inspiration for new singers and composers.[4]

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Biography

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Early life

Burman was born to the Hindi film composer and singer, Sachin Dev Burman, and his lyricist wife Meera Dev Burman (née Dasgupta), in Calcutta. Initially, he was nicknamed Tublu by his maternal grandmother, although he later became known by the nickname Pancham. According to some stories, he was nicknamed Pancham because, as a child, whenever he cried, it sounded in the fifth note (Pa), G note on c major scale, of music notation; in Hindustani Classical Music, Pancham is the name of the fifth scale degree: (IAST: Ṣaḍja, Ṛṣabha, Gandhāra, Madhyama, Pañcama, Dhaivata, Niṣāda). 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.[5]

Burman received his early education in West Bengal from Ballygunge Government High School in Kolkata. His father S. D. Burman was a noted music director in Hindi language films, the Mumbai-based Hindi film industry. When he was seventeen years old, R. D. 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).[6]

In Mumbai, Burman was trained by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (sarod) and Samta Prasad (tabla).[7] He also considered Salil Chowdhury his guru.[8] He served as an assistant to his father and often played harmonica in his orchestras.[3]

Some of the notable films in which Burman is credited as the music assistant include Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Tere Ghar Ke Samne (1963), Bandini (1963), Ziddi (1964), Guide (1965) and Teen Devian (1965). Burman also played mouth organ for his father's hit composition "Hai Apna Dil To Aawara", which was featured in the film Solva Saal, and sung by Hemanta Mukhopadhyay.[9]

In 1959, 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. 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.[10]

Burman's first released film as an independent music director was Chhote Nawab (1961). When the noted Hindi film comedian Mehmood decided to produce Chhote Nawab, he first approached Burman's father Sachin Dev Burman for the music. However, S. D. Burman declined the offer, advising he was unavailable. At this meeting, Mehmood noticed Rahul playing tabla, and signed him as the music director for Chhote Nawab.[10] Burman later developed a close association with Mehmood, and made a cameo in Mehmood's film Bhoot Bungla (1965).[10]

Personal life

Burman's first wife was Rita Patel, whom he had met in Darjeeling. Rita, a fan, had bet her friends that she would be able to get a film-date with Burman. They two married in 1966, and divorced in 1971.[11] The song Musafir Hoon Yaaron ("I'm a Traveller") from Parichay (1972) was composed while he was at a hotel after the separation.[12]

Burman married Asha Bhosle in 1980. Together, they recorded many hit songs and also staged many live performances. However, towards the end of his life, they did not live together.[13] Burman had financial difficulties, particularly later in his life. His mother Meera died in 2007, thirteen years after his death.[14] She had been suffering from Alzheimer's even before her son's death. Just before her death she had been moved to an old age home, and moved back to her son's residence after the issue became a controversy.[15]

Death

R.D. Burman died on 4 January 1994 because of a heart attack. Burman had been a patient of a Cardiovascular disease for around 6 years before his death and even underwent a surgery because of an earlier heart attack in 1988.[16]

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Music career

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1961–1969: Early career

R. D. Burman began his career as a music director with the 1961 film Chhote Nawab, which proved to be a lukewarm success and so his next three ventures, Bhoot Bungla (1965), Teesra Kaun (1965) and Pati Patni (1966).[17] He established himself with Vijay Anand's musical mystery film Teesri Manzil (1966), which had Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh in the lead.[18] It went on to become a huge success at the box office which was attributed to its superhit songs, "O Haseena Zulfonwali Jane Jahan", "O Mere Sona Re Sona", "Aaja Aaja Main Hoon Pyar Tera", "Deewana Mujhsa Nahin" and "Tumne Mujhe Dekha Hokar Meherban", all of which got featured in the year-end annual list of Binaca Geetmala.[19][20] Also the soundtrack of Teesri Manzil proved to be the seventh best-selling Hindi film album of the 1960s.[21]

Burman's other notable work of the decade was the musical comedy Padosan (1968), whose songs like "Ek Chatur Naar", "Mere Samne Wali Khidki Mein", "Mere Bhole Balam" and "Kehna Hai Kehna Hai" remain popular till date and played a major part in making the film a commercial success.[22] In 1969, while working as an assistant to his father in Shakti Samanta's Aradhana, he played an instrumental role in making Kishore Kumar the playback voice of Rajesh Khanna, who became a superstar with the film's blockbuster success and same for Kumar whose singing career got a major boost and he became the leading playback singer of Hindi cinema and remained at that position till his death in 1987.[23][24]

1970–1977: Rise to prominence and immense success

Burman emerged as the leading music director of Hindi cinema in the year 1970 with Shakti Samanta's musical romantic drama Kati Patang starring Rajesh Khanna and Asha Parekh. At the box office, it went on to become a blockbuster with almost all of its songs, such as "Yeh Shaam Mastani", "Pyaar Deewana Hota Hai", "Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai", all three solos by Kishore Kumar and "Jis Gali Mein Tera Ghar", a solo by Mukesh proving to be chartbuster and playing an important role in the box office success of the film and making its soundtrack one of the highest-selling Bollywood album of the 1970s.[25][26] The same year, he also delivered music in another Rajesh Khanna hit The Train, which had the popular songs "Gulabi Aankhen", a solo by Mohammed Rafi and "Kis Liye Maine Pyar Kiya", a solo by Lata Mangeshkar.[27]

For the next three years he worked in highly successful films, such as Haré Rama Haré Krishna (1971), Caravan (1971), Amar Prem (1972), Mere Jeevan Saathi (1972), Apna Desh (1972), Jawani Diwani (1972), Raampur Ka Lakshman (1972), Parichay (1972), Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), Samadhi (1972), Heera Panna (1973), Anamika (1973), Aa Gale Lag Jaa (1973), Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973) and Namak Haraam (1973), all of which had superhit songs like "Chadti Jawani Meri Chaal Mastani", "Piya Tu Ab To Aaja" and "Kitna Pyara Wada Hai" (Caravan), "Dum Maro Dum", "Phoolon Ka Taron Ka" and "Kanchi Re Kanchi" (Hare Rama Hare Krishna), "Raina Beeti Jaye", "Chingari Koi Bhadke", "Kuchh Toh Log Kahenge" and "Yeh Kya Hua" (Amar Prem), "O Mere Dil Ke Chain", "Chala Jaata Hoon" and "Aao Na, Gale Laga Lo Na" (Mere Jeevan Saathi), "Duniya Mein Logon Ko", "Kajra Lagake Gajra Sajake" and "Ro Na Kabhi Nahin Rona" (Apna Desh), "Samne Yeh Kaun Aaya", "Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani" and "Jaan-E-Jaan Dhoondta Phir Raha Hoon Tumhe Raat Din" (Jawani Diwani), "Gum Hai Kisi Ke Pyar Mein Dil Subah Sham" and "Rampur Ka Vasi Hoon" (Raampur Ka Lakshman), "Musafir Hoon Yaaron" and "Sa Re Ke Sa Re" (Parichay), "O Saathi Chal" and "Koi Ladki Mujhe Kal Raat" (Seeta Aur Geeta), "Kaanta Laga", "Jab Tak Rahe" and "Jaan-E-Jaana Jao" (Samadhi), "Panna Ki Tamanna" (Heera Panna), "Meri Bheegi Bheegi Si" and "Bahon Mein Chale Aao" (Anamika), "Vaada Karo" and "Tera Mujhse Hain Pehle Ka Nata Koi" (Aa Gale Lag Jaa), "Yaadon Ki Baaraat Nikli Hai Aaj Dil Ke Dwaare", "Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo Dil Ko, Nazar Nahin Churana Sanam", "Lekar Hum Deewana Dil, Phirte Hai Manzil Manzil" and "Meri Soni, Meri Tamanna, Jhuth Nahin Hai Mera Pyar" (Yaadon Ki Baaraat), "Diye Jalte Hain Phool Khilte Hain" and "Main Shair Badnaam" (Namak Haraam).[28][29] The soundtrack of Caravan proved to be one of the best-selling Hindi film albums of the 1970s while that of Yaadon Ki Baaraat emerged as the second best-selling Hindi film album of the decade.[26] For Caravan, Amar Prem and Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Burman received three consecutive nominations at Filmfare for Best Music Direction.[30] In 1974, his notable ventures, included Aap Ki Kasam, Ajanabee, Phir Kab Milogi and Zehreela Insaan, all of which had evergreen songs like "Karvatein Badalte Rahe", "Jai Jai Shiv Shankar", "Suno Kaho Kaha Suna", "Zindagi Ke Safar Mein, "Ek Ajanabee Haseena Se", "Hum Dono Do Premi", "Bheegi Bheegi Raaton Mein", "Kahin Karti Hogi" and "O Hansini".[24]

Burman's peak came in 1975 when he scored music for Deewaar, Khel Khel Mein, Warrant, Aandhi, Khushboo, Dharam Karam and Sholay, all of which were hugely successful at the box office, especially Sholay which emerged as an All Time Blockbuster and remains the biggest hit in the history of Indian cinema.[31] Its songs "Mehbooba Mehbooba", "Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin", "Haa Jab Tak Hai Jaan", "Koi Haseena" topped the year-end annual list of Binaca Geetmala and made its soundtrack one of the best-selling Hindi film albums of the 1970s along with getting Burman another nomination in the Best Music Director category at Filmfare.[32][26] Other notable songs composed by him that year were - "Kehdoon Tumhe Ya Chup Rahoon" (Deewaar), "Humne Tumko Dekha", "Ek Main Aur Ek Tu, Dono Mile Is Tarah", "Khullam Khulla Pyar Karenge Hum Dono" (Khel Khel Mein), "Sun Bhai Baarati", "Ruk Jana O Jana Humse" (Warrant), "Tere Bina Zindagi Se", "Tum Aa Gaye Ho Noor Aa Gaya", "Is Mod Se Jate Hain" (Aandhi), "O Majhi Re Apna Kinara" (Khushboo), "Ek Din Bik Jayega Mati Ke Mol", "Tere Humsafar Geet Hain Tere" (Dharam Karam).[33][34] With Rajesh Khanna losing superstardom and change of box office equation from romantic musicals to action oriented multi-starrers, Burman suffered a setback in 1976 as most of his releases that year didn't do well commercially, with notable exceptions being Nehle Pe Dehla, Balika Badhu and Mehbooba, all three of which were successful and their songs, such as "Sawan Ka Mahina Aa Gaya", "Bade Acche Lagte Hain" and "Mere Naina Sawan Bhadon" respectively were superhits.[35] This changed the following year with Nasir Hussain's Hum Kisise Kum Naheen, which was a musical blockbuster and had a number of chartbusters, including "Bachna Ae Haseeno", "Mil Gaya, Hum Ko Saathi Mil Gaya", "Hai Agar Dushman Zamana, Gham Nahin", "Yeh Ladka Haay Allah Kaisa Hai Deewana", "Kya Hua Tera Vaada, Woh Kasam, Woh Iraada", "Chand Mera Dil, Chandni Ho Tum" and "Tum Kya Jaano Mohabbat Kya Hai".[36] Also its soundtrack proved to be the fourth-best selling Hindi film album of the decade.[26] His other successful venture that year was another of Gulzar's directional Kinara, which had memorable songs like "Naam Hum Jayega", "Ek Hi Khwab" and "Abke Na Sawan Barse".[37]

1978–1985: Competition from Laxmikant–Pyarelal and Bappi Lahiri

From 1978 to 1980, Burman was the music director for critically and commercially successful films like Kasme Vaade (1978), Azaad (1978), Gol Maal (1979), Nauker (1979), Khubsoorat (1980), Aanchal (1980) and Shaan (1980). The songs from these films, such as "Kasme Vaade Nibhayenge Hum", "Raju Chal Raju", "Jaan Ki Kasam", "Aanewala Pal", "Gol Maal Hai Bhai Sab Gol Maal Hai", "Pallo Latke Re Mharo Pallo Latke", "Piya Bawri, Piya Bawri", "Sun Sun Sun Didi" "Bhor Bhaye Panchi", "Aisa Rangeen Sama", "Yamma Yamma", "Aate Jaate Hue Main" and "Jaanu Meri Jaan", topped the year-end annual list of Binaca Geetmala.[38] His other hit songs in these years were - "Aap Ki Aankhon Mein Kuch" (Ghar), "Hum Bewafaa Hargiz Na The" (Shalimar), "Chand Churake Laya Hoon" (Devata), "Rimjhim Gire Sawan" (Manzil), "Do Lafzon Ki Hai Dil Ki Kahani" (The Great Gambler), "Saawan Ke Jhoole Pade Hai" (Jurmana), "Maine Poochha Chand Se" (Abdullah), "Khatouba" (Alibaba Aur 40 Chor) and "Teri Hai Zameen Tera Aasman" (The Burning Train).[28]

In 1981, Burman composed music for six notable ventures which were - Love Story, Kaalia, Barsaat Ki Ek Raat, Rocky, Kudrat and Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai. The first four proved to be huge money spinners, especially Love Story which turned out to be a blockbuster with its music proving to be the second best-selling Hindi film album of the 1980s.[39][40] Its songs "Kaisa Tera Pyar, Kaisa Gussa Hai Tera", "Dekho Maine Dekha Hai Yeh Ek Sapna" and "Teri Yaad Aa Rahi Hai" remain popular till date.[41] Contrary to this, Kudrat and Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai were commercial failures, but their songs like "Tune O Rangeele" and "Hume Tumse Pyaar Kitna" in the former and "Hoga Tumse Pyaara Kaun" and "Dil Lena Khel Hai Dildar Ka" in the latter were huge hits and made them two of the best-selling Bollywood albums of the decade.[40] In 1982, Burman's successful ventures were - Angoor, Sanam Teri Kasam and Satte Pe Satta, however his contemporaries, including Laxmikant–Pyarelal and Bappi Lahiri had bigger hits in their kitty, such as Prem Rog and Namak Halaal, respectively.[42] For Sanam Teri Kasam, Burman won his first Filmfare Best Music Director Award and also the film's music proved to be one of the best-selling Hindi film albums of the 1980s.[43][40][44] The following year, Burman again had five major releases - Pukar, Mahaan, Betaab, Masoom and Agar Tum Na Hote, all of which had songs that dominated the year-end annual list of Binaca Geetmala, such as "Jab Hum Jawan Honge", "Teri Tasveer Mil Gayee", "Lakdi Ki Kaathi Kaathi Pe Ghoda", "Do Naina Aur Ek Kahani", "Tujhse Naraz Nahin Zindagi", "Agar Tum Na Hote", "Bachke Rehna Re Baba", "Pyar Mein Dil Pe Maar De Goli" and "Jidhar Dekhoon Teri Tasveer Nazar Aati Hai". The soundtrack of Betaab emerged as the ninth best-selling Hindi film album of the 1980s and for Masoom, Burman won his second and consecutive Filmfare Best Music Director Award.[40][45]

From 1984 onwards, Burman's career as a composer began to decline as almost all the films he composed music for in 1984 and 1985 sank without a trace with two exceptions being Ramesh Sippy's romantic musical Saagar (1985) and Rahul Rawail's actioner Arjun (1985), both of which had lyrics written by Javed Akhtar and had memorable songs like "Chehra Hai Ya Chand Khila Hai" and "Saagar Kinare" (Saagar), "Mammaiya Kero Mamma" and "Dhadkan Pal Pal Badhti Jaaye" (Arjun). Also the music of Saagar proved to be one of the highest-selling Bollywood albums of the decade and got him a nomination in the Best Music Director category at 33rd Filmfare Awards.[46][40]

1986–1994: Final works

In the latter-half of the 1980s, Burman's notable ventures, included Gulzar's romantic drama Ijaazat (1987) and Vidhu Vinod Chopra's crime thriller Parinda (1989). Both the films opened to widespread acclaim for their direction, story and songs, such as "Mera Kuchh Saamaan", "Qatra Qatra Milti Hai" in the former and "Tumse Milke Aisa Laga Tumse Milke", "Kitni Hai Pyari Pyari" in the latter.[47][48]

After a dull beginning to the new decade with flops like Jeene Do (1990), Dushman (1990) and Indrajeet (1991), Burman delivered music in Priyadarshan's Gardish (1993), which proved to be a box office success with hit songs like "Hum Na Samjhe The", sung by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and "Yeh Mera Dil To Pagal Hai", a duet by Balasubrahmanyam and Asha Bhosle.[49] In 1994, he once again collaborated with Vidhu Vinod Chopra for his magnum opus 1942: A Love Story. Although the film did not succeed commercially, its music was a huge chartbuster and the third best-selling Hindi film album of 1994 with songs that remained popular such as "Ek Ladki Ko Dekha", "Kuchh Na Kaho", both solos by Kumar Sanu and "Pyar Hua Chupke Se", sung by Kavita Krishnamurthy.[50][51] Burman died a few days before the release of the film,[52] and was posthumously awarded his third Best Music Director at the 40th Filmfare Awards.[53]

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Style

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Burman has been credited with revolutionizing Hindi film music.[54] He incorporated a wide range of influences from several genres in his scores though his primary inspiration was Bengali folk. 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.[55] He also used jazz elements, which had been introduced to him by the studio pianist Kersi Lord.[56]

According to Douglas Wolk, Burman "wrapped sugary string swoops around as many ideas as he could squeeze in at once".[1] Biswarup Sen describes his popular music as one featuring multicultural influences, and characterized by "frenetic pacing, youthful exuberance and upbeat rhythms".[57]

Burman was influenced by Western, Latin, Oriental and Arabic music, and incorporated elements from these in his own music.[58] He also experimented with different musical sounds produced from methods such as rubbing sandpaper and knocking bamboo sticks together.[9] 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 "Chura Liya Hai" from the film Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973).[59] For Satte Pe Satta (1982), he made the singer Annette Pinto gargle to produce a background sound.[9] He also rubbed a comb on a rough surface to produce a whooshing sound in the song "Meri Samne Wali Khidki Main" from the film Padosan (1968)

On multiple occasions, Burman experimented with recording the same song with different singers. For Kudrat (1981), he recorded the light semi-classical 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.

Controversies

Plagiarism

Burman sometimes used Western dance music “as a source of inspiration” for his compositions.[60] As was common in Hindi films, some of his songs featured the tunes of popular foreign songs. For example, Ramesh Sippy insisted that the tune of the traditional Cyprus song "Say You Love Me" (arranged and sung by Demis Roussos) be used for "Mehbooba Mehbooba" (Sholay, 1975), and Nasir Hussain wanted to use ABBA's "Mamma Mia" for Mil gaya hum ko sathi. Other examples of Burman songs inspired by foreign songs including "Aao twist karein" from Bhoot Bangla (Chubby Checker's "Let's Twist Again"), "Tumse milke" (Leo Sayer's "When I Need You"), and "Zindagi milke bitaayenge" (Paul Anka's "The Longest Day") and "Jahan teri yeh nazar hai" (Persian artist Zia Atabi's "Heleh maali") and "Dilbar mere" (Alexandra's "Zigeunerjunge").

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Band/team members

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Music Assistants

  • Manohari Singh[61]
  • Basudev Chakraborty[62]
  • Maruti Rao Keer
  • Sapan Chakraborty
  • Babloo Chakraborty
  • Deepan Chatterjee

String Instruments

  • Lead Guitar: Ramesh Iyer, Dilip Naik, Sunil Kaushik, Bhupinder Singh
  • Rhythm Guitar: Bhanu Gupta, Bonny D'Costa, RK Das, Gorakh Sharma, Soumitra Chatterjee, Anibal Castro, Binoy Singh, Bipin Panchal, Nepal Shaw, Benu Chatterjee, Tushar Parte, Honey Satamkar, Sameer Phaterpekar
  • Lap Steel Guitar: Bhupinder Singh
  • Bass Guitar: Tony Vaz, Charanjit Singh, Ramesh Iyer, Raju Singh, Gorakh Sharma, Emil Isaac, Tutun Roy
  • Santoor: Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ulhas Bapat
  • Sarangi: Sultan Khan, Iqbal
  • Sarod: Zarine Daruwalla, Aashish Khan
  • Sitar: Kartik Kumar, Arvind Mayekar, J.V Acharya, Ashok Sharma, Rahul Chatterjee, Shujaat Khan, Umashankar Shukla
  • Tar Shehnai: Dakshina Mohan Tagore
  • Song Violin: Gajanan Karnad, Sapre, Prabhakar Jog, Harishchandra Narwekar, Rajendra Singh Sodha
  • Violin: Nanekar, Nandu Chavathe, Uttam Singh,[63] Ernest Menezes, Jerry Fernandes, Dorado, Ganesh Sharma, Bablu Chakraborty, Narbade, Puranmohan Singh, Buddhadev Singh, Bahadur Singh, Kishore Singh Jawda, Ashok Jagtap, Surendra Singh, Neville Franco, Prakash Verma, Manoj Shailendra, Amrit Singh, Kenny, Subhash, Debaprasad Chakraborty, Stanley Gomes, Ashish Roy, Franco Vaz, Abhijit Majumdar, Sanjeev Rao
  • Viola: Terrence Fernandes
  • Cello: Basudev Chakraborty, Benito Gracias, Sanjay Chakraborty
  • Swarolin: Rajendra Sodha
  • Mandolin: Kishore Desai, Ravi Sundaram, Mustafa Sajjad, Pradipto Sengupta, Shailu Sundaram, Mahendra Bhavsar, Isaac David, Arvind Haldipur, Jayanti Gosher, Parshuram Haldipur, Chandrakant Lakshpati
  • Bulbul Tarang: Rashid Khan

Percussion Instruments

  • Tabla: Shashikant, Amrutrao Katkar, Deepak Naik, Indranath Mukherjee, Vijay Katkar, Janardan Abhyankar, Marutirao Keer, Rijram, Brajen Biswas, Devi Chakraborty, Pramod Sane, Ramakant Mhapsekar, Sharafat, Pt. Samta Prasad, Iqbal Khan, Sanjeev Sen
  • Dholak: Shashikant, UK Dubey, Iqbal Khan, Roshan Ali, Devichand Chauhan, Girish Vishwa, Abdul Karim, Sudarshan Adhikari, Sattar, Pramod Sane, Chandrakant Satnak, Lala Gangavane, Hafeez Khan
  • Drums: Buji Lord, Franco Vaz, Leslie Godinho, Wency D'Souza, Trilok Gurtu, Aadesh Shrivastav,[64] Ranjit Barot, Kersi Lord
  • Bongo: Cawas Lord, Marutirao Keer, Franco Vaz[63]
  • Congo: Babla Shah, Nirmal Mukherjee, Marutirao Keer, Devichand Chauhan, Ashok Patki, Vijay Katkar
  • Tumba: Ravi Gurtu, Nitin Shankar, Manya Barve, Paparao Parsatwar, Devichand Chauhan, Anup Shankar, Vijay Katkar, Dewan Ganguly
  • Percussion: Devichand Chauhan, Amrutrao Katkar, Homi Mullan, Santosh, Marutirao Keer, Franco Vaz, Vijay Indorkar, Devi Chakraborty, Anup Shankar, Chandrakant Satnak, Sadik, Johar, Suresh Soni, Narendra Vakil, Deepak Borkar
  • Khol: Sudarshan Adhikari
  • Bangla Dhol: Abani Das Gupta
  • Halgi/Dhol/Chenda: Ganpatrao Jadhav
  • Tabla Tarang/Jal Tarang: Janardan Abhyankar
  • Matka: Indra Atma, Paparao Parsatwar, Manya Barve
  • Mridangam: Jairaman, Rijram
  • Madal: Ranjit Gazmer (Kancha), Homi Mullan
  • Pakhawaj: Bhavani Shankar, Sameer Sen
  • Octapad: Nitin Shankar, Anup Shankar, Franco Vaz

Keyboard Instruments

  • Piano: Louis Banks, Mike Machado, Lucille Pacheco, Tony Pinto, Y.S. Moolky
  • Synthesizer: Louis Banks, Kersi Lord, Charanjit Singh, Ronnie Monsorate, Vipin Reshammiya, Jackie Vanjari, Deepak Walke, Chitty Pillai
  • Transicord: Charanjit Singh
  • Accordion: Kersi Lord, Suraj Sathe, Homi Mullan, Jackie Vanjari, Chitty Pillai, Sumit Mitra
  • Harmonium: Babu Singh
  • Electric Organ: Ronnie Monsorate
  • Xylophone: Bahadur Singh
  • Vibraphone: Buji Lord

Wind Instruments

  • Bansuri: Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Ronu Majumdar, Sumant Raj
  • Concert Flute: Manohari Singh, Raj Sodha, Shyamraj
  • Mouth Organ: Bhanu Gupta, R. D. Burman
  • Saxophone: Manohari Singh, Shyamraj, Raj Sodha, Suresh Yadav, Umesh Chipkar, Rao Kyao
  • Trumpet: George Fernandes, Joseph Monsorate, Bosco Monsorate, Kishore Sodha, Chris Perry, Prem Sodha
  • Trombone: Blasco Monsorate, Ivan Muns, Anibal Castro
  • Bass Trombone: Bhur Singh
  • Tuba: Munna Khan
  • Flugelhorn: Joseph Monsorate
  • Clarinet: Mirajuddin, Hussain Darbar
  • Shehnaai: Sharad Kumar
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Legacy

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Several Hindi films made after 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.[65] Jhankaar Beats (2003), which catapulted the music director duo Vishal–Shekhar into the limelight, is also a tribute to him.[66] In Khwahish (2003), Mallika Sherawat's character is a Burman fan; the film features repeated references to him.[67] In 2010, Brahmanand Singh released a 113-minute documentary titled Pancham Unmixed: Mujhe Chalte Jaana Hai, which received critical acclaim.[9] Pancham Unmixed won 2 National Awards and was premiered at IFFLA, Los Angeles. The film is considered a landmark in documentary biopics in India and set a trend. A coffee-table book, co-authored by Brahmanand Siingh and Gaurav Sharma titled "Strings of Eternity" was released with Pancham Unmixed by Shemaroo. Mobius films, the producers of Pancham Unmixed, then went on to release an extended 5 hours version titled "Knowing Pancham". The launch was at prestigious venue Blue Frog in Mumbai and was graced by Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Gowariker, Dolly Thakore, Sachin, Atul Tiwari, Ketan Mehta, Deepa Sahi amongst others. Brahmanand and Gaurav Sharma authored another coffee-table book with the extended version, titled "Diamonds and Rust". The music of Lootera (2013) is a tribute to Burman.[68] A number of Indian remix albums feature Burman's songs, which are also popular in the country's pubs and discos.[5] 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 Burman's compositions sung by his wife Asha Bhosle.[69] In the 2012 film Khiladi 786, Himesh Reshammiya-composed song Balma is also a tribute to R.D. Burman.[70]

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 public square in Santa Cruz after Burman.[71]

Burman inspired many later Hindi film music composers, such as Vishal–Shekhar. Jatin–Lalit are considered to have carried on Burman's legacy through the 1990s.[72] Notable musical assistants to Burman include Manohari Singh and Sapan Chakraborty. His instrumentalists included Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Shiv Kumar Sharma, Louis Banks, Bhupinder Singh and Kersi Lord.[9] He is also noted for his partnership with the lyricist Gulzar, who wrote the words for several of his finest compositions.[9]

Pancham Unmixed, a winner of 2 National Awards, is a 113-minute biopic on Burman, directed by Brahmanand Singh. A postage stamp, bearing Burman's likeness was released by India Post to honour him on 3 May 2013.

In India, Pancham Magic from Pune and Euphony from Kolkata hosts shows most likely on 4th Jan and 27 June every year with musicians, artists or otherwise worked with Burman every year. Besides this many events are celebrated in various parts of India every now or then with new talents or people who worked with Burman.

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Discography

Main article: R. D. Burman filmography

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

Pancham's non-film music comprises a 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 Burman partnered with Jose Flores in San Francisco.[73] In 1987, Burman, Gulzar and Asha Bhosle worked on an album titled Dil Padosi Hai, which was released on 8 September 1987, Asha Bhosle's birthday. Burman and Asha Bhosle also recorded the song "Bow Down Mister" with Boy George.[74] In addition, he scored a large number of non-film songs in Bengali, which are available in different albums, and from which many numbers were later adapted in Hindi films.

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Awards and recognitions

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Burman on a 2013 stamp of India
Filmfare Awards
Wins
Nominations
Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards
Win
Google Doodle
  • On the anniversary of his 77th birthday on 27 June 2016, Google had a Doodle of R.D Burman on its Indian Home Page.[76]
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References

Further reading

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External links

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