R. D. Burman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
R. D. Burman
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Burman in 1981
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| Born |
Rahul Dev Burman
27 June 1939 |
| Died | 4 January 1994 (aged 54) |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Other names | Pancham Da, Shahensha-E-Music |
| Occupation | Music director, Score composer, Singer, Actor, Music Arranger, Music Producer, Musician |
| Years active | 1961–1994 |
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| Relatives | See Manikya dynasty and Mangeshkar-Hardikar-Abhisheki family (in-laws) |
Rahul Dev Burman (born June 27, 1939 – died January 4, 1994) was an Indian music director. He is known as one of India's most important and successful music composers. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman created music for 331 films.
He worked closely with his wife, Asha Bhosle, and singer Kishore Kumar. He composed many famous songs that helped these singers become well-known. He also worked a lot with his sister-in-law, Lata Mangeshkar. Rahul Dev Burman was often called Pancham. He was the only son of the famous composer Sachin Dev Burman and singer Meera Dev Burman.
He mostly worked in the Hindi film industry as a composer. He also sang in some of his own songs. His music inspired many Indian music directors who came after him. His songs are still very popular in India and around the world.
Contents
About R. D. Burman
His Early Life
Rahul Dev Burman was born in Calcutta. His father, Sachin Dev Burman, was a famous Hindi film composer. His mother, Meera Dev Burman, was a lyricist and singer. When he was a baby, his grandmother called him Tublu. Later, he became known as Pancham.
There are a few stories about how he got the nickname Pancham. One story says that when he cried as a child, his cries sounded like the fifth note (Pa) in music. In Indian classical music, Pancham is the name for the fifth note. Another story says he could cry in five different notes. A third story suggests that actor Ashok Kumar saw baby Rahul saying "Pa" repeatedly and gave him the name Pancham.
Burman went to school in Kolkata, West Bengal. His father was a well-known music director in the Hindi film industry in Mumbai. When Rahul was seventeen, he composed his first song, Aye meri topi palat ke aa. His father used this song in the film Funtoosh (1956). He also composed the tune for Sar jo tera chakraaye when he was a child. His father included it in the movie Pyaasa (1957).
In Mumbai, Burman learned from famous musicians. He was taught sarod by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and tabla by Samta Prasad. He also saw Salil Chowdhury as his teacher. He worked as an assistant to his father. He often played the harmonica in his father's music groups.
Burman helped his father with music for many films. These include Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958) and Guide (1965). He also played the mouth organ for his father's hit song "Hai Apna Dil To Aawara." This song was from the film Solva Saal.
In 1959, Burman was hired to be the music director for a film called Raaz. However, this film was never finished. He recorded two songs for it before it was stopped.
Burman's first film as an independent music director was Chhote Nawab (1961). The comedian Mehmood was making this film. He first asked Burman's father for the music. But his father was busy. Mehmood saw Rahul playing the tabla and hired him for Chhote Nawab. Burman and Mehmood became good friends. Burman even appeared briefly in Mehmood's film Bhoot Bangla (1965).
Becoming a Music Star
Burman's first big hit as a film music director was Teesri Manzil (1966). He said that lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri helped him get this job. Teesri Manzil had six songs, all written by Majrooh Sultanpuri. All of them were sung by Mohammed Rafi. Four of these were duets with Asha Bhosle, who Burman later married. The director, Nasir Hussain, then hired Burman and Majrooh Sultanpuri for six more of his films. These included Pyar Ka Mausam (1969) and Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973). Burman's music for Padosan (1968) was also very popular. He also kept helping his father with films like Jewel Thief (1967).
Burman married Asha Bhosle in 1980. They created many hit songs together. They also performed live shows.
In the 1970s, Burman became very popular. This was especially true with the songs he composed for Kishore Kumar in films starring Rajesh Khanna. Kati Patang (1970) was a big musical hit. Its songs "Yeh Shaam Mastani" and "Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai" became instant successes. Besides Kishore Kumar, Burman also composed many popular songs for Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, and Asha Bhosle.
In 1970, Burman composed music for Dev Anand's Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971). The song "Dum Maro Dum" sung by Asha Bhosle was a groundbreaking rock song in Hindi films. In the same year, Burman composed music for Amar Prem. The song "Raina Beeti Jaaye" from this film is considered a classical music masterpiece. Other hits in 1971 included "Raat kali ek khwab mein" from Buddha Mil Gaya. He received his first Filmfare Award nomination for Caravan.
In 1972, Burman composed music for many films. These included Seeta Aur Geeta and Bombay To Goa. His success continued with hits like Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973), Sholay (1975), and Aandhi (1975). After his father went into a coma, Burman also finished the music for Mili (1975).
Mohammed Rafi won a National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the song "Kya Hua Tera Wada" from Hum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977). This song was composed by Burman. He continued to create popular songs for films like Ghar (1978) and Gol Maal (1979). He won his first Filmfare Best Music Director Award for Sanam Teri Kasam (1981). In 1981, he also made hit music for Rocky and Love Story.
Burman helped new singers get their start. He gave Abhijeet his first big break in Anand Aur Anand (1984). He also composed for 40 films starring Rajesh Khanna. The team of Kishore Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, and R.D. Burman worked together on 32 films. Their songs are still loved today.
Later Career and Legacy
In the late 1980s, other music composers became more popular. Many filmmakers stopped hiring Burman because his films were not doing well. However, his music for Ijaazat (1986) is considered one of his best. The film's songs were sung by Asha Bhosle and written by Gulzar. Burman was praised for setting non-rhyming lyrics to music in the song "Mera Kuchh Samaaan".
Burman had a heart attack in 1988. He had heart surgery a year later in London. During this time, he composed many tunes that were never released. He composed music for Vidhu Vinod Chopra's film Parinda in 1989.
The music for 1942: A Love Story (1994) was released after his death. It was very successful. This film won him his third and last Filmfare Awards after he passed away.
R. D. Burman also composed many songs for the Durga Puja festival in Bengal. He later used some of these tunes in Hindi films. Examples include "Meri bheegi bheegi si" from Anamika and "Pyar diwaana hota hai" from Kati Patang.
His Unique Style
Burman is known for changing Hindi film music. He used many different music styles in his songs. His main inspiration came from Bengali folk music. He made electronic rock popular in romantic films. He often mixed disco and rock with Bengali folk music. He also used jazz, which he learned from a studio pianist named Kersi Lord.
Burman was influenced by Western, Latin, Oriental, and Arabic music. He used parts of these styles in his own music. He also experimented with sounds. He would rub sandpaper or knock bamboo sticks together to make music. He blew into beer bottles for the start of "Mehbooba, Mehbooba." He used cups and saucers to make a tinkling sound for "Chura Liya Hai" from Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973). For Satte Pe Satta (1982), he made a singer gargle to create a background sound. He even rubbed a comb on a rough surface for a whooshing sound in "Meri Samne Wali Khidki Main" from Padosan (1968).
Sometimes, Burman recorded the same song with different singers. For Kudrat (1981), he recorded "Hume tumse pyar kitna" with Kishore Kumar for a light version. He recorded a classical version with Parveen Sultana.
Burman sometimes used Western dance music for his songs. Like many in Hindi films, some of his songs used tunes from popular foreign songs. Sometimes, filmmakers asked him to copy these tunes. This led to claims that he copied music. For example, the director of Sholay (1975) wanted the tune of a Cyprus song for "Mehbooba Mehbooba."
Collaborators
Burman often worked with the same film directors and musicians.
Some of his music assistants included Manohari Singh and Sapan Chakraborty. He worked with many talented instrumentalists. These included guitarists like Bhanu Gupta and Bhupinder Singh. For percussion, he worked with tabla players like Shashikant Kudalkar and drummers like Trilok Gurtu and Kersi Lord. On keyboards, he had Louis Banks and Kersi Lord. For wind instruments, he worked with flutists like Hari Prasad Chaurasia and saxophonists like Manohari Singh.
He is also known for his partnership with the lyricist Gulzar. Gulzar wrote the words for many of his best songs.
His Music and Awards
Discography
R. D. Burman composed music for 331 films. Most of these (292) were in Hindi. He also composed for films in Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Oriya, and Marathi. He also created music for 5 TV serials.
Pancham also made a few non-film music albums. One was Pantera (1987), a Latin rock album. In 1987, Burman, Gulzar, and Asha Bhosle worked on an album called Dil Padosi Hai. Burman and Asha Bhosle also recorded the song "Bow Down Mister" with Boy George. He also composed many Bengali non-film songs. Many of these were later used in Hindi films. Burman also sang in eighteen films where he composed the music himself.
Awards and Recognitions
Burman set the stage for many future Hindi film music directors.
- Filmfare Awards
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- Wins
- 1983 – Best Music Director – Sanam Teri Kasam
- 1984 – Best Music Director – Masoom
- 1995 – Best Music Director – 1942: A Love Story (awarded after his death)
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- Nominations
- 1972 – Best Music Director – Caravan
- 1973 – Best Music Director – Amar Prem
- 1974 – Best Music Director – Yaadon Ki Baaraat
- 1975 – Best Music Director – Aap Ki Kasam
- 1976 – Best Music Director – Sholay
- 1976 – Best Male Playback Singer – "Mehbooba Mehbooba" from Sholay
- 1977 – Best Music Director – Mehbooba
- 1978 – Best Music Director – Hum Kisise Kum Naheen
- 1983 – Best Music Director – Betaab
- 1986 – Best Music Director – Saagar
On June 27, 2016, which would have been his 77th birthday, Google honored R.D Burman with a special Doodle on its Indian homepage.
In 1995, the Filmfare Awards created the Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent in his memory. This award is given to new music talent in Hindi cinema. In 2009, a public square in Santa Cruz, Mumbai, was named after Burman.
Burman inspired many later Hindi film music composers, like Vishal–Shekhar and Jatin–Lalit.
Pancham Unmixed is a 113-minute documentary film about Burman. It won 2 National Awards. On May 3, 2013, India Post released a postage stamp with Burman's picture to honor him.
Images for kids
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Burman on a 2013 stamp of India
See also
In Spanish: Rahul Dev Burman para niños
