RD Burman is an Indian music director, composer and singer. Popularly known as “Panchamda”, he is considered one of the outstanding composers of Indian music.
Wiki/Biography
RD Burman (full name Rahul Dev Burman) was born on June 27, 1939 in Calcutta (now Calcutta), Bengal District, British India (age 55 at the time of death). His zodiac sign is Cancer.
RD Burman as a child
He studied in a school in West Bengal. His father first had him trained under tabla guru Brajen Biswas. He received training in sarod dance from Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Ashish Khan in Mumbai, as well as Samta Prasad ) Tabla training. Boorman considered Salil Chowdhury his mentor.
RD Burman plays the Sarode
family
He comes from a musical family. He was a member of the royal Manikya dynasty of Tripura.
Parents and siblings
His father Sachin Dev Burman (SD Burman) is a music director and singer. His mother, Meera Dev Burman, is a lyricist.
RD Burmese Parents
wife and children
Boorman met one of his fans, Rita Patel, in Darjeeling. She made a bet with her friends that she and Pancham would go to the movies. Rita and Berman married in 1966 and divorced in 1971.
Rita Patel, RD Burman’s first wife
Later, he married Asha Bhosle in 1979. However, towards the end of his life, they did not live together.
RD Burman and Asha Bhosle
RD Burman has three stepchildren; Varsha Bhosle (singer), Anand Bhosle (film producer), Hemant Bhosle (film composer).
Asha Bhosle and her daughter Varsha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle and her sons Anand Bhosle and Hemant Bhosle
These three children were Asha’s children from her first marriage to Ganpatrao Bhosle.
Profession
When he was nine years old, he composed his first song “Aye Meri Topi Palat Ke Aa”, which was used by his father in the film “Funtoosh” (1956).
He composed one more song “Sar Jo Tera Chakraaye” which was included by his father in the film “Pyaasa (1957)”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJIohcg-gKo
He then began assisting his father, SD Burman. His films with his father 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) . He started his career as a music director with the film Raaz in 1959, but for some reasons the film never released. The first film he released as a music director was “Chhote Nawab (1961)”.
His first success as a music director was the film “Teesri Manzil (1966)”. He made his debut as music director for Telugu films with the film Rocky (1987).
RD Burman made his debut as music director on the Telugu film Rocky (1987)
His debut in the Tamil film industry as a music director was in the film Poo Mazhai Pozhiyuthu (1987).
as a singer
He sang the famous song “Mehbooba Mehbooba”. The song was charted at number 24 in 1975 and number 6 in 1976 by Binaca Geetmala. This is also his only song to be nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Playback Singer. He has performed playback singing and composed soundtracks in nearly 18 films.
Awards
Film Audience Award
- In 1983, he won the Best Music Director Award for the movie “Sanam Teri Kasam”
- In 1984, he won the Best Music Director Award for the movie “Masoom”
- In 1995, he won the Best Music Director Award for the movie “1942: Love Story”
Awards/places named after him
- Filmfare RD Burman New Music Talent Award
- In 2009, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation named a public square (chowk) in Santacruz after RD Burman
- In May 2013, India Post launched a special commemorative “stamp” bearing RD Burman’s photo
- On the occasion of his 77th birthday, Google painted a Burmese doodle on its Indian homepage.
sign
favorite thing
- Food: Biryani, Kalia Fish, Mutton Dishes, Crabs and Prawns, Goan Stew, Sarapatel
die
RD Burman died of a heart attack on January 4, 1994, in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra.
fact
- He used to enjoy cooking and watching sports.
- His maternal grandmother used to call him “Tubulu”.
- His nickname “Pancham” is a legend in itself. Some stories claim that when he was a child, his cries sounded similar to the fifth note of the G scale (Pa) in musical notation. Another said that when he cried, he always cried in five different tones; because “Pancham” means “five” in Bengali. Another legend states that one time when Ashok Kumar came to visit baby Rahul, he kept pronouncing the syllable “Pa” and hence, he nicknamed the boy “Pancham”.
- During his childhood, his father SD Burman asked him, “What do you want to be?” Pancham replied, “I’m good at riding a bicycle and playing the harmonica, and I can compose my own tunes.”
RD Burman and his father SD Burman
- He knew how to play the mouth organ. Pancham played the instrument for his father’s film “Hai Apna Dil To Aawara” in his film “Solva Saal (1958)”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax0gD5lCEgg
- In the early days of his career, he even tried his hand at acting. He acted in films like “Bhoot Bangla” (1965) and “Pyar Ka Mausam” (1969).
RD Burman and Mehmood on the sets of Bhoot Bangla
- In 1969, his father, SD Burman, fell ill during the filming of the film Aradhna (1969). Pancham subsequently took over as the film’s associate composer and completed the film’s music. He composed the famous song “Kora Kagaz Tha Ye Man Mera”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql1-jjEPErw
- Mehmood first approached SD Burman for his film Chhote Nawab (1961), but SD Burman rejected the offer citing his unavailability. During a meeting with SD Burman, he noticed Pancham playing tabla and signed him on as the film’s music director.
- He composed the song “Musafir Hoon Yaaron” from the film “Parichay (1972)” while he was in a hotel after his separation from his first wife Rita Patel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjvLyBgv6Hg
- He wrote the lyrics to the English song “I’m in Love with a Stranger.” The song is the background music for the scene in the film where Praveen Babi and Amitabh Bachchan meet in a bar.
- He lost his father in 1975. Posthumously, he composed many hit songs for films such as Sholay (1975), Hum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977), Kasme Vaade (1978), Khubsoorat (1980), etc.
- In the late 1980s, Pancham was overshadowed by Bappi Lahiri and several other music composers. Many of his works failed, and film producers no longer chose him as a composer for their films.
- In 1986, he composed four songs from the movie “Izazat”, with lyrics written by Gulzar and sung by Asha Bhosle. His work was highly praised and both Gulzar and Asha won National Awards for the song “Mere Saman” from the film.
- His Latin American rock album “Panthera” was released on January 6, 1987. The album was recorded in the United States in 1983/1984.
- He suffered a heart attack in 1988 and underwent bypass surgery in London a year later.
- The last film he signed was a Malayalam film, Thenmavin Kombath (1994), but due to the uncertainty of his death, he could not compose music for the film.
- The films containing his work, Janam Se Pehle (1994), 1942: A Love Story (1994) and Ghatak: Fatal (1996), were released posthumously. He even won the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for the film 1942: A Love Story (1994).
- He is very close to Rajesh Khanna and Kishore Kumar has worked with the underworld in more than 32 films.
- The story of Pancham meeting Kishore Kumar is fascinating. He was in a studio and he saw Kishore sitting on the wall of the studio. Kishore was wearing a scarf and hat and was holding a black stick. Kishore imitated everyone he passed, like a monkey. When Boorman went to the studio with his allies, Kishore followed them to the studio. Describing the scene, Pancham said: “Jo jo gana gatewayy the unka satyanash karte Hue woh khud gaana gaane laga (Erosion of those who used to sing, he himself started singing a song).” When Pancham asked him why In doing so, Kishore replied, “I am an orphan.” There was no one to take care of me. Please give me a chance’. Pancham teased Kishore and that’s how their friendship started.
RD Burman and Kishore Kumar
- He has composed music for nearly 331 films, including 392 Hindi films, 31 Bengali films, 2 Oriya films and one Tamil and Marathi film. He has also composed music for five Marathi and Hindi television serials.
- His singing style was heavily influenced by American singer and trumpeter Louis Armstrong.
- He used to call Gulzar “Safed Kauwa (White Crow)” because Gulzar always wore red clothes and Gulzar called him “Lal Kauwa (Red Crow)” because Pancham Like red.
RD Burman and Gulzar
- He loved music so much that he even dreamed about it. Chaitanya Padukone, a journalist whom Pancham considered his mentor, described an instance where he would be interviewed and then suddenly he would stand up, walk over to his arranger Bbloo Chakravorty, and tell him what he had in mind. Chaitanya added, “He often did this – stopped mid-sentence, went to talk to Babloo-da and said, ‘Yahaan aisa music rakho, yahaansilence rakho’ and then returned to the interview.”
RD Burman and Chaitanya Padukone
- Chaitanya Padukone also wrote his biography titled “RD Burmania: Panchamemoirsa”. The book was published in 2016.
- He’s always been open and honest about where his music comes from. His song “Mehbooba Mehbooba” from the film Sholay (1975) was inspired by “Say You Love Me” (composed by Demis Roussos).
- He used different techniques to compose his musical scores, and in “Mehbooba Mehbooba” from the film Sholay (1975), he blew air into musical bottles to create rhythms. And Chura Liya in Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973) used saucers and cups to make clinking sounds.
- He is considered to be the first music director to combine Indian semi-classical music with guitar playing. The song “Raina Beeti Jaye” from “Amar Prem (1972)” features Santur on guitar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRk9pG5Upe4
- His documentary Pancham Unmixed, based on his life, was released in 2008. This documentary is directed by “Brahmanand S. Siingh” who also produced documentaries on Jagjit Singh.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education