R.D.Burman
----The Musical Legend
We in India have the habit of
celebrating birth and death anniversaries of Historical figures , a day to
remember their life and teachings. So we have Oct 31 the birth anniversary of
Sardar Patel as Shakti Divas . September 5th the birth anniversary
of our ex President Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan as Teacher’s Day , November 14th
the birth anniversary of our first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru as
Childrens day which falls exactly 9 months from February 14th the
Valentines Day…Is it sheer coincidence or nature way of have some fun…… Jokes
apart but we celebrate so many days in India for more trivial reasons that its
hard to even count and remember. But what with the world accepting June 21st
as International Yoga Day , influenced by our current Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s efforts and recognized by the United Nations. I feel we should have a
Music Appreciation Day or a Bollywood Music Day in recognition of Indian Film
Industries contribution to Indian music. We as a civilization have always
revered the sound of “OM” and believe all universe was born out of this
ethereal sound. Even the images and stories our gods have influenced our
leanings towards music , be it Lord Krishna mesmerizing Brindavan with his
flute or Goddess Saraswati the god of Vidya (Knowledge ) playing her Veena. We
have always been appreciative of Music in our lives.
So in this last week of June
specifically on June 27th a legend was born to create such melodious
music that till date we hum his songs and enjoy his compositions whenever they
are played of the radio and these ever green tunes have been mixed and re-mixed
by little know composers and DJ’s , and provided them with livelihood. I am
talking about none other than the maverick music composer R.D.Burman known to every one as Pancham Da or simply Pancham…
Story so goes that R.D.Burman’s
father Sachin Dev Burman or S.D Burman a legend himself used to tell his wife
that their son RD when an infant would cry and that sound was similar to the
musical 5th note of “Pa” as in Pancham. So he decided to call his
son by the nick name of “Pamcham”….
R.D.Burman started
his musical journey as early as 9 years when the music composed by him like “Aye meri topi palat ke aa” was use by his
father in the hindi film Funtoosh.
Even the famous song “Sar Jo tere
Chakraye ..Ya Dil duba jaye” was included in the soundtrack of Guru Dutt’s
famous film “Pyaasa”..As he grew up he took formal Indian Classical training
under the tutelage of Ustad Ali Akbar
Khan (Sarod Maestro) and Pt.Samta Prasad (Tabla) to hone his skills in
music. Later he even assisted his father S
D Burman and Salil Chowdhary on lot of compositions for a slew of hit
movies.
R.D Burman's first
released film as an independent music director was Chhote
Nawab. When the noted Bollywood 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 for a Shagun of Ekyavan Rupaiya (Rs.51/-) .
Story has it R.D Burman didn’t take any money beyond the Shagun from Mehmood
since he had given him his first big break. R.D Burman later developed a
close association with Mehmood, who he regarded as Bade Bhaiya and made a cameo in Mehmood's Bhoot
Bangla again for free.
R.D.Burman's first hit film
as a film music director was Teesri
Manzil. He gave credit to lyricist Majrooh
Sultanpuri for recommending him
to Nasir Hussain, the producer
and writer of the film. Vijay
Anand also said that he had
arranged a music session for R.D Burman before Nasir Hussain.Teesri Manzil had six songs, all of which were
written by Majrooh Sultanpuri, and sung by Mohammed
Rafi. Four of these were duets with Asha
Bhosle, whom RD Burman later married. Nasir Hussain went on to sign Puncham Da nd
lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri for six of his films including Baharon Ke Sapne, Pyar
Ka Mausam and Yaadon
Ki Baaraat. R.D.Burman's score for Padosan was well received. Meanwhile, he
continued to work as his father's assistant for films including Jewel
Thief and Prem
Pujari
The hit Kishore
Kumar song “Mere
Sapnon ki Raani” from Aradhana , though credited to his father, is
rumored to have been Burman's composition. Kora Kagaz tha Yeh Man Mera from
the same film was also his tune It
is believed that when S. D. Burman fell ill during the recording of the film's
music, Burman took over and completed the music. He was credited as an
associate composer for the film.
All these are well documented facts , but there are little known
facts which the legendary Composer himself confessed to in certain television
interviews. But ver few people knew that R.D.Burman composed Latin American
music with equal ease.
R.D. Burman was
mostly known for his film music, but among his non-film work was the
little-heard album Pantera (not to be confused with the American
heavy metal band), which combined Latin American music with elements of rock,
jazz, and funk. It was recorded in the United States in '83-84 but released
only in '87. Comprising contributions from established Latin American musicians
of the time, it was produced by Pete Gavankar, who was based in the US and had
good contacts with local musicians. In India it released to a very lukewarm
response. Pancham Da was very upset that Indian listeners didn't connect with
it. He managed to gain some closure a few years later, when he used the main
theme of one of the songs from Pantera as
the mukhda to 'Rang Rangeeli Raat' from
Priyadarshan's Gardish . The album hadn't worked, but the
song did, and it made him very happy that Indian listeners had accepted at
least one of his Latin American tunes.
And did you
know that he wrote lyrics for an English song for an important scene in the
Amitabh starer “Deewar”. There’s a scene in Deewar where Amitabh meets Parveen
Babi at a bar. A soft English song plays in the background “ I am falling in Love” , the lyrics to this were penned by Pancham
Da himself.
Pancham Da was known for the distinctive growl,a husky and a
full throated voice which he lent to his vocals when
singing in songs such as 'Mehbooba
Mehbooba' from Ramesh Sippy's Sholay or the other favorite “Yama Yama” from Shaan,
this was inspired by the stylings of
American jazz legend Louis Armstrong. He was fascinated by Louis Armstrong and
didn't want to be stereotyped as a conventional playback singer. He used to
say: 'Meri
awaaz ki koi pehchaan honi chaahiye (my voice should have its own
identity)
Most of us know that Pancham Da could make music from all
most anything. In the song 'Raat
Gai Baat Gai', from the Dev Anand-Zeenat Aman starrer Darling
Darling , at one
point, a beat is heard which doesn't sound like a conventional percussion instrument.
In the song's picturization, it is Aman who is creating the beat by tapping
various parts of her own body (as well as a few extras). In the studio, that
beat was played by Burman, literally, on the back of one of his trusted percussionists,
Amrutrao Katkar. During the recording, he asked Amrutrao to remove his shirt.
Naturally, he [the percussionist] was embarrassed and bewildered by this. Then,
he proceeded to play a Latin American
beat on his back, with a microphone recording everything. It was okayed in one
take and used in the movie.
R.D.Burman had a penchant for
using natural, foley-inspired techniques or unusual instruments to create
interesting sounds and rhythms in his songs, which would be depicted on screen
similarly. In 'Chura Liya Hai Tumne',
from Yaadon Ki Baaraat ,
the spoon-on-glass sound heard in the beginning is an actual recording of a
glass being struck by a spoon. In 'Dheere Dheere Zara Zara' from Agar Tum
Na Hote , the rhythm created by actress Rekha on
screen, where she's shown tapping a piece of jewellery around her waist, was actually the sound of a bunch of keys
that was used in lieu of the traditional hi-hat.Only Pancham Da could do
such orchestration and create magic which is remembered till date by his fans.
Like many Bollywood composers, R.D
Burman's tunes were often 'lifted', either directly or partially, from Western
compositions. However, he was always honest about the sources, unlike many
music directors, and didn't quite consider it 'stealing'. He would say, 'I am
trained in Indian classical, not Western or jazz, so I can't just create
something I don't know out of thin air. But what I'm doing is not stealing: I'm
merely taking the essence of the tune, and making something unique with it.'"
Many are aware of numbers like 'Mehbooba Mehbooba' (inspired by Demis Roussos' version of the
traditional Cyprus tune 'Say You Love Me') and 'Mil Gaya Humko Saathi' (whose mukhda resembles
the guitar intro to ABBA's 'Mamma Mia'), which were done at the behest of the
film's producers, taking advantage of the unlikelihood of legal action at the
time, when Bollywood was a self-contained industry.
But the genius as he was Pancham
Da would succeed in changing a song beyond recognition, citing the example of 'Chura
Liya Hai Tumne', whose opening chords resemble those of Bojoura's 'If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium'.
"The opening bars are similar, but then he took the song and added so many arrangements
and layers to it, He made it his own. That's why he was such a genius.
This blog is my tribute to that
genius of a composer who created lilting melodies and foot tapping dance
numbers with equal aplomb.
So
next time you hear R.D.Burman’s hit song stop a while listen carefully and
enjoy the unique composition which has his trademark style written all over
it.. Like the song O Hansini
O hansini meri
hansini, kahan ud chali
Mere armaanon ke pankh lagaake kahan ud chali)
Aaja meri saanson mein mahek raha re tera gajra
Aaja meri raaton mein lahek raha re tera kajra
Ho, aaja meri saanson mein mahek raha re tera gajra
Ho, aaja meri raaton mein lahek raha re tera kajra
(O hansini meri hansini, kahan ud chali
Mere armaanon ke pankh lagaake kahan ud chali)
Mere armaanon ke pankh lagaake kahan ud chali)
Aaja meri saanson mein mahek raha re tera gajra
Aaja meri raaton mein lahek raha re tera kajra
Ho, aaja meri saanson mein mahek raha re tera gajra
Ho, aaja meri raaton mein lahek raha re tera kajra
(O hansini meri hansini, kahan ud chali
Mere armaanon ke pankh lagaake kahan ud chali)
If you listen carefully you will hear a violin playing out
the melody as Kishore Kumar sings the Mukhda and when he opens each Antaraa.
There is an Interplay between Trumpet and Accordion which dominates the
rhythmic component. A melodic riff played out on a hammered dulcimaer which
sound like a Santoor , followed by a turn around phrase played out on the
strings to bring in the tail end of the interlude.
The 2nd interlude revisits the prelude which
begins with Hammered Dulcimer and acoustic guitar, while shakers provide the
required consistent percussion. A fading wafting fluet -toned riff is tossed
into the mix. The accordion plays out a short melodic riff , which is notable
for introducing the triton. A special improvisation unique to Pancham Da….
You are sure to get lost in the
ethereal music of this timeless
classic….Hats off to this great music composer …simply called Pancham….
Click the below link to enjoy the
song “ O Hansini”
SD Burman Songs
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