Lives of great men tell us, that we can make our lives sublime,
And departing leave behind footprints, in the sands of time.
This semi quote from Alfred Lord Tennyson aptly sums up the mortal remains and the immortal memories of one of the greatest scions of the Indian Music Industry, Rahul Dev Burman.
Born in Calcutta on 27th June 1939, his proud lineage made sure that he had all the marks of a great music composer in the making. An heir to the musical legacy of none other than the great S.D.Burman, RD's music fundamentals started at a very young age when he learnt the tabla under the expert tutelage of Brijen Biswas, and later the sarod from Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. His true guru, however, always remained his illustrious father. Pancham was a nickname conferred upon him by Ashok Kumar, due to his habit of saying'Pa pa pa' in his toddling days.
Little did Ashok Kumar realize that he had given the nation a synonym for musical bliss.
Personal Details
Pancham married Rita Patel in 1965. Things did not work out between them, and hence they had a divorce. Pancham later married the great singer Asha Bhosle in 1979. Pancham did not have any issues from either marriage.
His personal interests consisted of sports and car driving. And like a true Maharaja, he was a connoisseur of good food, may it be cooking or savouring.
Career Graph
Few people know that the very first film that came Pancham's way was Raaz, offered to him by Guru Dutt, in 1958. Pancham was only 19. The film was shelved midway. He got his real break three years later, when Mehmood offered him Chote Nawab(1961). Pancham's first song was sung by Lata Mangeshkar(Ghar aaja Ghir aayee).
But by and far, Pancham truly arrived with his path-breaking music with the Nasir Hussain thriller Teesri Manzil(1966). This film announced the commencement of the golden R.D.Burman era. The creative cup overfloweth.
Thus started a chain of hits like Padosan(1968), Pyaar ka Mausam(1969), The Train, Kati patang(1970), Amar Prem, Carvaan, Hare Rama Hare Krishna(1971), Apna Desh, Mere Jeevan Saathi, Garam Masala, Sita aur Gita, Jawani Diwani(1972), Yaadon ki Baraat, Anamika, Jheel ke us paar(1973), Aap ki Kasam, Ajnabee(1974), Khel khel mein, Aandhi, Khushboo, Sholay(1975), Mehbooba, Baalika Badhu(1976), Kitaab, Kinara, Hum Kisise kam nahin(1977) and many many more. Pancham was composing and the nation was enjoying the musical Panchamrit.
Pancham's career spanned 331 films, 5 TV serials, 164 non film songs(134 Bengali, 30 Hindi) and 5 languages.
Sadly, Pancham's career suffered a major setback in the 1980s, which eclipsed the last decade of his life. Pancham, however, had the last laugh! His swan song 1942-A Love Story became a resounding success. Unfortunately, Pancham was no longer there to bask in its glory. He expired on 4th January 1994, just before the film's release, leaving his millions of fans clutching on to this last Pancham offering.
Some Great Songs
NOTE: 20 is too less a number for me to give my favourites. I have however, listed some songs where Pancham has shown us the highly experimental nature that he had! Ironically, this experimental nature branded him as a western composer, and his inclination towards Indian music was lost to the public. But we cannot forget his ever green numbers like Tere Bina jeeya jaaye na, Raina Beeti Jaaye, Baahon me chale aao, Mere Naina, O Maanjhi re, Sharm aati hain magar, Beete na beetaye raina, Tere bina jindagi se, Mera Kuch samaan and many others.
FIRST INTRODUCTIONS
Gulaabi Aankhen
The bass guitar was first introduced to Indian music.
O Mere Sona re sona
The synthesizer was first introduced to India.
Dhanno ki aankhon mein
The Flanger effect was first time introduced to India.
RHYTHMS
Teri Meri yaari
The chaiwala brought in the tea, and the glass hit the timpani. The sound attracted Pancham, and he immediately used it in the song. Listen to the master effect.
Tere Bina Jeeya jaaye na
The tablas were set on the three notes of the chord. Mindblowing rhythm.
Masterji ki aa gayee chitthi
He brought in real school benches in the studio, and played the rhythm on them, to give the authentic school children song effect.
Hum Bewafaa
Observe how the adivasi chorus provides the rhythm for the mukhda.
Pyaar Hua Chupke se
The tabla here was played by the drumstick. Listen to the authentic 1942 effect.
OTHER EXPERIMENTS
Mera Naam hain Shabnam
This was a tuneless song! Listen to this wonderful cabaret.
Jab Andhera Hota hain
Listen to this duet. The way he has incorporated the male voice(Bhupinder) with the female voice(Asha), is something mindblowing. Also listen to the tabla pickup. It's purely classical pickup in the western beat song.
Hum Dono Do Premee
What's so special about this song? Well, the song was recorded when the cine musicians were on strike. Pancham did not have much instruments at hand. Observe the magic he creates without the musicians. Now you know why so less instruments are used in the song!
Chalo Haseen geet ek banaaye
A not-so-famous song. This was in the film Shaukeen, and has a music with a difference. It has the Indian classical lehra played on authentic jazz arrangement. A must listen!
Katra Katra
This song from Ijaazat introduced the concept of twin-track recording, that is Asha singing on two tracks which intertwine each other.
I guess I will stop here.as I have already exceeded the word limit on Mouthshut. However, being honest to the category, I will list some of my fave RD numbers(without any explanations).
Tujhse Naraaz nahin jindagi, Khaali haath shaam aayee hain, Piya Baawari, Ek hi khwaab, Raah pe Rahte hain, Ik din bik jaayega, Aaj kal paav, Aanewala Pal, Chehra hain ya, Ye waada raha, Jeevan ke har mod pe, Do lafzon ki hain, Khatooba, Hamen tumse pyaar kitna, Dum Maro Dum, Musafir hoon yaaro, Roz roz aankho tale, Lekar hum, Ye ladka haay allah, Chura liya hain, Jalpari theme(Saagar), Aaja meri jaan, Din jaa rahe hain, Jindagi ke safar mein, Chingari koi, Tere bina jeeya jaaye na, Tere bina jindagi se koi, Is mod se jaate hain, Koi Deeya jale kahin.
Did I complete 20? I can go on.and on.and on.
