Seldom do we see both father and Son turning out be geniuses in the same profession , Unless you are SD Burman and RD Burman! It was indeed difficult to come out of the shadow of his towering father, RD not only did that but took it one notch higher than his father and monopolized the Hindi Film music in 70's and 80's.
Legend has it that he was nicknamed 'Pancham" by Ashok Kumar because he used to cry in five different tones!
RD assisted his father in music and composed tunes like "Ae mere topi Palat Ke aa" from Funtoosh at the age age of 9! He also played the mouth organ in "Hai apna dil toh awara" from Solva Saal-(1958) .He contributed greatly to SD Burman's Musical journey.
His first break as an independent Music composer came in 1961 with Chote Nawab, when SD Burman was too busy to compose the songs. Mehmood gave the job to RD Burman.
RD was Eager to get his first song recorded by Lata Mangeshkar, he composed a classical Based Song "Ghar aaja Ghir aayee, Badra sawariya" in Raag Malgunji. Lata sang the song brilliantly and film also had songs like "Matwali ankhon wale" a duet with Rafi and Lata ,It oozes freshness of tune not heard since. RD was paid a princely sum of 100 Rupees for the movie! A 22 year old man giving such music was truly astonishing,but he had to wait till for his time to come.
His moment of reckoning came in 1966 in "Teesri Manzil" a thriller directed by Vijay Anand. The hero Shammi kapoor wanted RK camp loyalist Shankar-Jaikishan,but Vijay Anand insisted that he listen to the songs. When Shammi Kapoor listened to the songs composed by RD , he danced in Joy.
The film and the music was a blockbuster hit and RD had arrived and How!
It changed the way film music was composed in movies, the new era had arrived.
RD went on to compose music in Films like "Padosan" "Kati Patang", "Amar prem", "Mere jeevan sathi" Kinaara, Khushboo, Jawwani Diwani, and many more movies.
The era saw his association with Kishore kumar for Rajesh Khanna films and produced unforgettable gems which was instrumental in Rajesh Khanna' s super stardom.
He fully utilised Asha Bhosle's versatlity in Songs like 'Daiya yeh Mein Kahan phasi' from Caravan and "Do lafzon Ki yeh Dil ki Kahaani" from The great Great gambler and " Mera naam hai Shabnam"from Kati Patang ,"Bechaara dil Kya karein" From Khushboo.
RD Burman and Asha Bhosle got married in 1980.Their association produced memorable songs in films like Teesri Manzil,Yaadon Ki baaraat , Khushboo,Jawaani Diwani.
Asha Bhosle says in an interview,though he produced great romantic songs, he was hardly romantic in real life . "Bubs" as she called him was also a great cook. There would always be a competition as who cooked a better biryani among them!
RD shared a great rapport with Gulzar and gave outstanding songs in Films like Khushboo, Parichay Aandhi, Gharonda, IJaazat .
Surprisingly He had reserved His best songs for Lata Mangeshkar, rather than his muse Asha Bhosle with such Gems as " Baahon Mein Chali aao"from Anamika, "Aaja Piya Tohe Pyar doon" from Baharon Ke sapne, " Sharm aati Hai Mujhe" from Padosan.
His range and bandwidth was staggering, from Classical to Jazz, Rock, Latin and even comic songs. His innate ability to compose as per the story and characters in the film separated him from others. Such was his sheer dominance that he completely revolutionized the film Music and every other Music director tried to ape him ,but fell flat.
He would produce Music from everyday articles like rubbing sand paper, Rubbing a comb on Hard surface in " Mere Samne wali Kidki mein" and Spoon and Glass in "churaliya hain tumne jo dilko" and a motor pump in "O majhi re" or a Flanger in "Dhanno Ki ankon Mein ". He even asked his musician to remove his shirt and played drums on his back to produce music!
Mid 1980's saw different type of music becoming popular and with the demise of Kishore and lata singing fewer songs ,his music began to flop. With the popularity of Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Bappi Lahiri , he was no longer the preferred music director. Though he was nominated for Filmfare Awards 17 times, he won only 2 times for films which were way past his prime. Now they even have an RD Burman award for music, how ironic!
He felt frustrated, took to alcohol and chain smoking. Late 80's saw him separate from Wife Asha and work was hard to come by. He did give a parting shot in '1942 A love story" with such Gems as "Kuch na Kaho" and "Ek ladki ko Dekha to aisa laga". He was not there to see the success of these songs. RD Burman exited untimely into Immortality, at the age of 54,on 04.Jan.1994.
He left behind a legion of fans who swore by his rich repertoire of timeless classics. He left a legacy of unparalleled Music which may never be forgotten ,a treasure trove of pure melody ,sublime tunes .
A musical genius who was way ahead of his time and his creativity knew no bounds. Even today many of the remixes try to create the magic of his tunes,but alas the magic is is missing! His influence on younger singers and Music directors is immeasurable.
Without him,Hindi film music will never be same again!
