Composer Rahul Dev Burman (1939-94), who was affectionately known among his professional colleagues as Pancham, was the son of S.D. Burman, the legendary inventor of new tunes for films. He is fondly remembered by millions of music buffs for the enduring impact of his melodies and the effervescent contributions he made to the melodic culture of the sub-continent.
During his 20-year long career Burman Jr. scored music for over 300 films, many of which were blockbusters and box office hits, primarily because of their lilting songs.
Rahul spent a long period of apprenticeship with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, the Sarod maestro. Subsequent to his training in the melodic arts, he entered film world as an assistant to his father, S. D. Burman, often playing mouth organ in his orchestras. The mouth organ played in the song Hai Apna Dil To Awara, sung by Hemant Kumar in the film Solvaan Saal, was played by R. D. Burman.
According to information culled from the Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema (1998. ed.) Pancham's independent career as a composer coincided with the wave of the early 1970's Rajesh Khanna love stories, especially Kati Patang, Amar Prem and Apna Desh, which gave new lease of life to playback singer Kishore Kumar.
R. D. was also known to have informally assisted his father in composing the seminal Khanna-Kumar combination, Shakti Samanta's Aradbana (1969). The break for him came with Nasir Hussain's musicals, starting with Baharon Ke Sapne and consolidated by the classic Zeenat Aman rock music movie Yaadon Ki Barat, having earlier scored her debut Hare Rama Hare Krishna.
Some of R.D.'s best music was composed on Gulzar's lyrics in Parichay and Aandhi. He also brought film music into the era of electronic rock, with a series of enormously popular youth movies eg, Narendra Bediâ's Jawani Diwani. During his career as a film composer, R.D. Burman worked mostly with singers Asha Bhosle (whom he married later) and Kishore Kumar, providing much of the music that defines their reputations.
Unlike other established composer, R.D. also produced independent albums, including the one based on samba and one with British pop star Boy George. According to Chandrashekhar, a correspondent from UAE, R. D. Burman was the first composer to introduce the Brazilian bossa nove rhythm in Indian film music.
The song was Maar Daalega Dard-e-Jigar sung by Asha Bhosle in the film Pati Patni. This rhythm has since been endlessly used for songs composed for Indian movies. Occasionally, he sang his own songs in a unique, grunting bass voice (the Mehbooba Mehbooba number in Sholay can be cited to substantiate the point). The 1942-A Love Story was his last film released after his death, which turned out to be a major musical success.
R.D. Burman a.k.a. Pancham was a genuine versatile artiste. Hailing from a family of aristocrats from Tripura (Assam), wherein music was one of the major priorities in life, he made his debut (as an actor) in Mehmood's film Bhoot Bangla; (later in Pyar Ka Mausam too), enacted, in a masterly manner, the hilarious character of Popat Lal.
Dada Burman (his father) was reported to have used son Panchan's tune "Ai Meree Topee Palat Ke Aa" in the film Fantoosh, and again for the song Sir Jo Tera Chakraye in the film Piyasa, which became a big hit breaking many records at popularity.
Although R.D. Burman could win the Filmfare Award only three times (for his films Sanam, Teri Kasam, Masoom and 1942-A Love Story), yet during his two-decade long film career he was nominated 16 times for this coveted award.
In the history of sub-continental film music, R.D. Burman's name will remain enshrined as the future generations of both film composers and music buffs, will hold him in high esteem for his versatility and the ever-fresh qualities of his innumerable songs composed for over 300 movies. His contributions to film music were as numerous and great as his father, Burman.