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Rahul Dev ("Pancham") Burman (June 27, 1939 - January 4, 1994) was one of the greatest Bollywood music composers.
He was son of the legendary composer Sachin Dev Burman. His nickname was Pancham.
Pancham was born in Calcutta. After coming to Mumbai, he learnt sarod froom Ustad Akbar Ali Khan. When he was nine years old, he composed his first song, 'Aye meri topi palat', which his father used in the film Funtoosh (1956). The tune of the song 'Sar jo tera chakraaye' was composed by him as a kid. His father loved the tune and included it in the soundtrack of Guru Dutt's Pyasa. As a child, Pancham also played the mouth organ in the famous 'Hai apna dil to aawara' song. Pancham began his music career as an assistant to his father. His first film as a music director was 'Bhoot Bangla'. He shot to fame with the music of the film Teesri Manzil (1966). The songs 'O haseena' and 'Aaja aaja' belonged to a genre that Indian music lovers were unaware of.
Teesri Manzil's success was followed by the music of laugh-riot Padosan (1968) and Pyar Ka Mausam (1969). When S D Burman fell ill during the recording of Aradhana's (1969) music, RD completed the music. The film was a turning point in the Bollywood's history. It made Rajesh Khanna a superstar; Kishore Kumar replaced Mohammed Rafi as Bollywood's No. 1 singer and RD Burman became the industry's most sought-after composer.
Pancham was India's most popular composer in 1970s, famous for his peppy tunes. He teamed up with singers Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar and others to churn up some of the biggest hits in the Bollywood music history.The score of films Kati Patang (1970), Amar Prem (1971), Caravan (1971), Hare Krishna Hare Rama (1972) made him music lovers' favorite composer.
Pancham was comfortable with all types of music. Be it the romantic 'Raat Kali' from Buddha Mil Gaya(1971), the sexy cabaret 'Piya tu ab to aaja' from Caravan (1971), the ultimate hippie anthem 'Dum Maro Dum' from Hare Krishna Hare Rama (1972) or the classical 'Raina Beeti Jaaye', Pancham proved himself to be a genius. At times, RD doubled up as a singer too. It is said that Dev Anand did not include the complete version of 'Dum Maro Dum' in Hare Rama Hare Krishna, as he was worried the song would overshadow the film.
Pancham married a lady named Rita in 1960, but they were divorced in 1971. He then married Asha Bhonsle. Together, they recorded many memorable tunes and also staged many live performances.
Pancham was a very creative person. His percussion included a spoon against a glass ('Chura Liya hai' from Yaadon ki Barat), desks ('Masterji Ki Aayee Chittee' from Kitaab) a bamboo whistle with a balloon (Abdullah) and bottles filled with water at different levels ('O Maajhi Re' from Khusboo).
Pancham's last years weren't very pleasant. He stopped getting work in late 1980s. The few films he gave music for flopped at the box office. Subhash Ghai promised him 'Ram Lakhan' but gave it instead to Laxmikant Pyarelal - who had played in Pancham's orchestra. This greatly upset RD. He suffered from a heart attack in 1988 and underwent heart surgery. During this period, he composed many tunes, which were never released. But before he died in 1994 in Mumbai, Pancham left behind him, the unforgettable score of 1942 - A love story. After his death, in the late 1990s, the remix versions of RDs hits ruled the Indian music scene. Even today, most of the Indian remix songs are RD's tunes remixed.
Although Pancham was a genius, some of his songs were 'inspired' (read lifted) from popular western tunes. For example,'Aao twist karein' (Bhoot Bangla) was a direct lift of 'Come lets twist again' by Chubby Checker while 'Tera mujhse hai pehle ka naata koi'(Aaa Gale Lag Ja) is said to be a copy of 'The Yellow Rose of Texas' by Elvis Presley. There are many such other examples available at
RD's non-filmi music comprises of few albums, including 'Pentara' - the international album for which he shares credit with Latin American composer, Jose Flores.
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