Remembering Great Pancham Da aka R D Burman

Mere Jeevan Saathi

Aandhi

Anamika

Born: 27 June 1939, Kolkata
Died: 4 January 1994, Mumbai
Rahul Dev Burman, better known as R.D. Burman, was a famous Bollywood music director during the 60's through the early 90's.  He was known for introducing an upbeat, Western copied music that defined much of the music of the 1970's.  This style has influenced generations of music directors till today.
R.D. Burman was born in Calcutta on June 27th, 1939, in Calcutta.  His father was the legendary music director S.D. Burman. As a child he was nicknamed "Pancham".
His music education began very early on.  Naturally there was the influence of growing up in his father's home, with constant music surrounding him.  Furthermore after the family moved from Calcutta to Bombay, he started to learn sarod from the famous Ali Akbar Khan.  He also learned to play the harmonica.  With such a musical environment, it is not surprising that he started to compose music very quickly.  He was only nine years old when he composed his first song; this was Aye Meri Topi Palat Ke Aa and his father used it in the film "Funtoosh" 1956).
His professional career began in 1958.  He began assisting his father on films such as "Solva Saal" (1958), "Chalti Ka Naaam Gaadi" (1958), and "Kaagaz ka Phool" (1957).  His first film as music director was Guru Dutt's film "Raaz" (1959); unfortunately, this film was shelved in the middle of the project.  His first released film as a music director was Mehmood's "Chote Nawaab" (1961).  From there his career was firmly launched.
The 1960's saw RD. Burman working in various capacities.  Sometimes he worked as an assistant music director to his father; he assisted his father on such films as "Bandini" (1963), "Teen Deviyaan" (1965), "Guide" (1965), "Jewel Thief" (1967) and "Talash" (1969).  He also tried his hand at acting; he acted in such films as "Bhoot Bangla" (1965) and "Pyaar Ka Mausam" (1967).  But more significantly he started working as a music director in his own right.  For instance, there was "Bhoot Bangla" (1965), and his first hit film "Teesri Manzil" (1966). "Tesri Manzil" marked a major milestone in his career.  From this point on, he was well established, and was able to be the music director for a number of major films.  This brought him a number of successful films such as "Padosan" (1968) and "Waris" (1969).  The dawn of the 70s saw, RD Burman become Bollywood's most sought after music director.  This was represented by such immortal hits as "Amar Prem" (1971), "Hare Rama Hare Krishna" (1971), "Seetha Aur Geeta" (1972), and "Sholay" (1975).
This period of his life was marked by both personal success and hardships.  He married Rita Patel in 1966, but the marriage did not last; they were divorced in 1971.  In 1975 his father passed away.
The death of his father may be seen as a punctuation mark in his career.  It did not stop him, but marked the start of another decade of successful films in Bollywood.  It is pointless to try and name them all, but a few which particularly stand out are "Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin" (1977), "Golmal" (1979), "Kudrat" (1980), and "Burning Train" (1980)
His personal life was also good in this period.  In 1980 he married Asha Bhosle in 1980.  They remained happily married until his death.