Some of the notable films in which R. D.

Burman is credited as the music assista

nt include Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi The playback singer Kumar Sanu was given his fir
st break by R. D. Burman in Yeh Desh (1984) as voice of Kamal Haasan. s born to
the Bollywood composer/singer Sachin Dev Burman and his lyricist wife Meera Dev
Burman (ne Dasgupta), in Kolkata.[5] Initially, he was nicknamed Tublu by his mat
ernal grandmother although he later became known by the nickname of Pancham. Acc
ording to some stories, he was nicknamed as Pancham because, as a child, wheneve
r he cried, it sounded in the fifth note (Pa), G scale, of music notation. The w
ord Pancham means five (or fifth) in Bengali, his mother tongue. Another theory
says that the baby was nicknamed Pancham because he could cry in five different
notes. Yet another version is that when the veteran Indian actor Ashok Kumar saw
a newborn Rahul uttering the syllable Pa repeatedly, he nicknamed the boy Panch
am.[6]
R. D. Burman received his early education in Kolkata. His father S. D. Burman wa
s a noted music director in Bollywood, the Mumbai-based Hindi film industry. Whe
n he was nine years old, R. D. Burman composed his first song, Aye meri topi pal
at ke aa, which his father used in the film Funtoosh (1956). The tune of the son
g Sar jo tera chakraaye was also composed by him as a child; his father included
it in the soundtrack of Guru Dutt's Pyaasa (1957).[7]
In Mumbai, R. D. Burman was trained by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (sarod) and Samta Pr
asad (tabla).[8] He also considered Salil Chowdhury as his guru.[9] He served as
an assistant to his father, and often played harmonica in his orchestras.[3].
weys that the baby was nicknamed Pancham because he could cry in five different
notes. Yet another version is that when the veteran Indian actor Ashok Kumar saw
a newborn Rahul uttering the syllable Pa repeatedly, he nicknamed the boy Panch
am.[6]
R. D. Burman received his early education in Kolkata. His father S. D. Burman wa
s a noted music director in Bollywood, the Mumbai-based Hindi film industry. Whe
n he was nine years old, R. D. Burman composed his first song, Aye meri topi pal
at ke aa, which his father used in the film Funtoosh (1956). The tune of the son
g Sar jo tera chakraaye was also composed by him as a child; his father included
it in the soundtrack of Guru Dutt's Pyaasa (1957).[7]
In Mumbai, R. D. Burman was trained by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (sarod) and Samta Pr
asad (tabla).[8] He also considered Salil Chowdhury as his guru.[9] He served as
an assistant to his father, and often played harmonica in his orchestras.[3]
lean phase during the recording of Zabardast (1985).[16] But after these three f
ilms flopped, Hussain stepped down as a director, and his son and successor Mans
oor Khan switched to other composers. The filmmaker Subhash Ghai promised R. D.
Burman Ram Lakhan (1989), but gave it instead to Laxmikant-Pyarelal, who had ear
lier played in Burman's orchestra.[6]
In 1986, R. D. Burman composed songs for Ijaazat; the score is regarded as one o
f his best. However, the film belonged to the Parallel Cinema genre of (art film
s), so it did not stop the decline of R. D. Burman's commercial film career. All
four of th
e songs in Ijaazat were sung by Asha Bhosle and written by Gulzar. R. D. Burman
was greatly appreciated by the critics for setting the non-rhyming lyrics of the
song Mera Kuchh Saamaan to the music. While both Asha Bhosle (Best Female Playb
ack) and Gulzar (Best Lyrics) received National Awards for the score, R. D. Burm
an received none.[17]
In 1970, R. D. Burman composed the music for Dev Anand's Hare Rama Hare Krishna
(1971).[14] The Asha Bhosle song Dum Maro Dum from this film proved to be a semi
nal rock number in the Hindi film music.[7] The filmmaker Dev Anand did not incl
ude the complete version of Dum Maro Dum in the movie, because he was worried th
at the song would overshadow the film.[6] In the same year, R. D. Burman compose

d the music for Amar Prem. The Lata Mangeshkar song Raina Beeti Jaaye from this
soundtrack is regarded as a classical music gem in Hindi film music.[7] R. D. Bu
rman's other hits in 1971 included the romantic song "Raat kali ek khwab mein" f
rom Buddha Mil Gaya and the Helen-starrer cabaret song "Piya Tu Ab To Aaja" from
Caravan. He received his first Filmfare Award nomination for Caravan.
The superhit Kishore Kumar song Mere Sapnon ki Raani from Aradhana (1969), thoug
h credited to his father, is rumoured to have been R. D. Burman's composition.[7
] Kora Kagaz tha Yeh Man Mera from the same film was also his tune.[10] It is be
lieved that when S. D. Burman fell ill during the recording of the film's music,
R. D. Burman took over and completed the music. He was credited as an associate
composer for the film.
Rise to popularity[edit]
In the 1970s, R. D. Burman became highly popular with the Kishore Kumar songs in
Rajesh Khanna-starrer movies.[7] Kati Patang (1970), a musical hit, was the beg
inning of a series of the 1970s films directed by Shakti Samanta of Aradhana fam
e. Its songs Yeh Shaam Mastani and Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai, sung by Kishore Kumar, b
ecame instant hits. Apart from Kishore Kumar, R. D. Burman also composed several
of the popular songs sung by Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar.
In 1959, R. D. Burman signed up as a music director for the film Raaz, directed
by Guru Dutt's assistant Niranjan. However, the film was never completed. The ly
rics of this Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman-starrer film were written by Shailendr
a. R. D. Burman recorded two songs for the film, before it was shelved. The firs
t song was sung by Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle, and the second one had vocals by
Shamshad Begum.[11]
R. D. Burman's first released film as an independent music director was Chhote N
awab (1961). When the noted Bollywood comedian Mehmood decided to produce Chhote
Nawab, he first approached R. D. Burman's father Sachin Dev Burman for the musi
c. However, S. D. Burman turned down the offer, saying that he did not have any
free dates. At this meeting, Mehmood noticed Rahul playing tabla, and signed him
up as the music director for Chhote Nawab.[11] R. D. Burman later developed a c
lose association with Mehmood, and did a cameo (apart from composing the music)
in Mehmood's Bhoot Bangla (1965).[11]
Initial successes[edit]
Burman's first hit movie as a film music director was Teesri Manzil (1966). Burm
an gave credit to lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri for recommending him to Nasir Huss
ain, the producer and writer of the film.[12] Vijay Anand also said that he had
arranged a music session for Burman before Nasir Hussain.[13] 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 Burman later married. Nas
ir Hussain went on to sign R. D. Burman and lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri for six
of his films including Baharon Ke Sapne (1967), Pyar Ka Mausam (1969) and Yaadon
Ki Baaraat (1973). Burman's score forzsos Padosan (1968) was well received. Mea
nwhile, he continued to work as his father's assistant for movies like Jewel Thi
ef (1967) and Prem Pujari (1970).
Rahul Dev Burman (Bengali pronunciation: [Rahul Deb Brmon]; 27 June 1939
4 Januar
y 1994) was an Indian film score composer, who is considered one of the seminal
music directors of the Indian film industry.[1] Nicknamed Pancham da, he was the
only son of the composer Sachin Dev Burman.
From the 1960s to the 1990s, R. D. Burman composed musical scores for 331 movies
.[2] He was mainly active in the Hindi film industry as a composer, and also pro
vided vocals for a few of compositions.[3] R. D. Burman did major work with Asha
Bhosle (his wife) and Kishore Kumar, and scored many of the songs that made the
se singers famous.[3] He also scored many songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar. He serv
ed as an influence to the next generation of Indian music directors
Rahul Dev Burman (Bengali pronunciation: [Rahul Deb Brmon]; 27 June 1939 4 Januar
y 1994) was an Indian film score composer, who is considered one of the seminal

music directors of the Indian film industry.[1] Nicknamed Pancham da, he was the
only son of the composer Sachin Dev Burman.
R. D. Burman was born to the Bollywood composer/singer Sachin Dev Burman and his
lyricist wife Meera Dev Burman (ne Dasgupta), in Kolkata.[5] Initially, he was n
icknamed Tublu by his maternal grandmother although he later became known by the
nickname of Pancham. According to some stories, he was nicknamed as Pancham bec
ause, as a child, whenever he cried, it sounded in the fifth note (Pa), G scale,
of music notation. The word Pancham means five (or fifth) in Bengali, his mothe
r tongue. Another theory says that the baby was nicknamed Pancham because he cou
ld cry in five different notes. Yet another version is that when the veteran Ind
ian actor Ashok Kumar saw a newborn Rahul uttering the syllable Pa repeatedly, h
e nicknamed the boy Pancham.[6]
R. D. Burman received his early education in Kolkata. His father S. D. Burman wa
s a noted music director in Bollywood, the Mumbai-based Hindi film industry. Whe
n he was nine years old, R. D. Burman composed his first song, Aye meri topi pal
at ke aa, which his father used in the film Funtoosh (1956). The tune of the son
g Sar jo tera chakraaye was also composed by him as a child; his father included
it in the soundtrack of Guru Dutt's Pyaasa (1957).[7]
In Mumbai, R. D. Burman was trained by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (sarod) and Samta Pr
asad (tabla).[8] He also considered Salil Chowdhury as his guru.[9] He served as
an assistant to his father, and often played harmonica in his orchestras.[3]
Some of the notable films in which R. D. Burman is credited as the music assista
nt include Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Tere Ghar Ke Sam
ne (1963), Bandini (1963), Ziddi (1964), Guide (1965) and Teen Devian (1965). R.
D. Burman also played mouth organ for his father's hit composition Hai Apna Dil
To Aawara which was featured in the movie Solva Saal (1958).[10]