Rahul Dev Burman
Encyclopedia
Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) commonly known as R. D. Burman and nicknamed Pancham da (पंचम दा) or simply Pancham, was an influential Bollywood
music composer. He was the only son of singer and Bollywood music composer Sachin Dev Burman
and his wife Meera. He is credited with revolutionizing the filmi
music in Hindi
films, and his style and techniques continue to be followed by the composers of today. Burman also did playback singing in eighteen movies for which he himself composed the scores.
. According to some stories, he was nicknamed as Pancham because, as a child, whenever he cried, it sounded in the fifth note (Pa) of the Indian musical scale. The word Pancham means five (or fifth) in Bengali
. Another version is that when the veteran Indian actor Ashok Kumar
saw a newborn Rahul Dev Burman uttering the syllable Pa repeatedly, he nicknamed the boy Pancham. After coming to Mumbai
, he learnt sarod
from Ustad Ali Akbar Khan
. He received his early education at Ballygunge Government High School
, Kolkata
.
When he was nine years old, he composed his first song, Aye meri topi palat ke aa, which his father used in the film Funtoosh (1956). The tune of the song Sar jo tera chakraaye was composed by him as a child. His father loved the tune and included it in the soundtrack of Guru Dutt's
Pyaasa
. In 2004, the soundtrack for Pyaasa was given an award for "The Best Music in Film" by Sight & Sound
, the British Film Institute
magazine.
As a child, Pancham also played the Harmonica
(mouth organ
) in the famous song Hai apna dil to aawara (from film Solva Saal - 1958, starring Dev Anand
).
. He assisted his father in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi
(1958) and Kaagaz Ke Phool
(1959), and his first music interlude, in his father composition, was for the song, Jaane Kya Tune Kahi, sung by Geeta Dutt
, for film Pyaasa
(1957). His first film as a music director was Guru Dutt's Raaz (1959) unreleased.
Out of his 331 released movies 292 were in Hindi, 31 in Bangla, 3 in Telugu, 2 each in Tamil & Oriya and 1 in Marathi. RD also composed for 5 TV Serials in Hindi and Marathi. He also scored a large number of non-film songs in Bangla (also known as Pooja songs or modern songs), which are available in different albums.
Burman continued to work as his father's assistant in movies like Bandini (1963), Teen Deviyaan (1965) and Guide (1965). Mehmood gave him his second movie as a music director in 1965 - Bhoot Bangla. The soundtrack is notable for a sedate "Jaago sonewalo" sung by Kishore Kumar
and a contrasting "Aao twist karein", sung by Manna Dey
, a Desi
version of Chubby Checker
's "Let's Twist". In the movie, Burman also acted alongside Mehmood. He also composed the music of Teesra Kaun in 1965.
Burman's first hit movie was Teesri Manzil
(1966). Burman gave credit to lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri
for recommending him to Nasir Hussain
, the producer and writer of Teesri Manzil. Vijay Anand also said that he had arranged a music session for him before Nasir Hussain. After hearing his music, Nasir Hussain made him the music director of Teesri Manzil. Initially, Shammi Kapoor
(hero of the movie) was unhappy over choice of Burman. He wanted the tried and tested Shankar Jaikishan
, who had composed music for most of his films. However, after hearing R. D. Burman's music, he had no problems. The songs "O haseena" and "Aaja aaja" belonged to a genre that Indian music lovers were unaware of. Mohammed Rafi
sang all six songs, four of them were duets with Asha Bhosle
. Nasir 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).
In 1967, Burman composed music for the movies Chandan Ka Palna
and Baharon Ke Sapne but neither film did particularly well at the box office, even though Burman's compositions such as "Chunari Sambhal Gori, Udi Chali Jay Re" became generational favorite. Meanwhile, he continued to work as his father's assistant for movies like Jewel Thief (1967) and Talash (1969).
In 1968, Burman had his second major box office hit after Teesri Manzil titled Padosan
. His music for the comedy film was much appreciated.
In 1969, Waris and the musical hit Nasir Hussain's Pyar Ka Mausam (where he also acted in a supporting role) were released. For Aradhana (1969), Burman was credited as associate composer. When S. D. Burman fell ill during the recording of Aradhanas (1969) music, he took over and completed the music.
, Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar
, Lata Mangeshkar and others to churn up some of the biggest hits in the Filmi music history.
In 1970, R D Burman composed music for six movies, of which Kati patang (a Rajesh Khanna
starrer) was a musical hit, this was the beginning of a series of films that were directed by Shakti Samanta
in the 70s. Kati Patang songs like 'Yeh Shaam Mastani' and 'Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai' became chartbusters. He also worked in Bhoot Bangla & Pyar ka Mausam
Eleven more movies with R D Burman as music director were released in 1971. Of these, Amar prem
, Buddha Mil gaya
, Caravan
, and Hare Rama Hare Krishna were musical hits. Amar prem is noted for intricate songs based on Indian classical music
such as Raina beeti jaaye (sung by Lata Mangeshkar) was also in this film. The Kishore Kumar sung songs (Chingari Koi Bhadke, Yeh Kya Hua and Kuch To Log Kahenge) in the film were also very successful. The film also established Anand Bakshi
to be a lyricist of great repute and he went on to work for a large number of films with Burman. Buddha mil gaya had simple, peppy numbers like Raat kali ek khwab mein aayee and Bhali bhali si ek soorat. It also had a classical song Aayo kahan se Ghanshyam?. Caravan had the best Bollywood cabaret
ever - Piya tu ab to aaja
, picturized on Helen and sung by Asha Bhosle and R D Burman ("Monica! O my darling"). He also received his first Filmfare
Best Music nomination for "Caravan." The title song of Hare Krishna Hare Rama sung by Asha became the hip-hop anthem for the youngsters. The song is used in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories soundtrack
, titled Dum Maro Dum for Radio Del Mundo in 2006. Over the years the song has been given cult status. Other songs like Phoolon ka taaron ka and Kaanchi re were also popular. Paraya Dhan
also featured some memorable songs like 'Tera Mera Juda Hona' and 'Haye Mera Dil.' 'Koi Maane Ya Naa Maane' from Adhikar
is also notable.
In 1972, R D Burman composed music for nineteen films. Seeta aur Geeta, Rampur ka Lakshman, Mere jeevan saathi, Bombay to Goa, Apna Desh and Parichay were musically successful. The high-pitched Asha
-R D Burman duet Duniya mein logon ko from Apna desh became popular. Songs like Beeti na beetayi raina and Musafir Hoon Yaron from Parichay marked the beginning of a fruitful association between R D Burman and lyricist Gulzar which would go on till the late eighties. Rajesh Khanna's Mere jeevan sathi had beautiful evergreen Kishore Kumar numbers like O Mere Dil Ke Chain. Also released in 1972 Jawaani diwaani was a hit. Songs like Abhi nahi, Jaan-e-jaan dhoondhta phir raha and the title track were all chart-busters that year. Bombay to Goa
, a comedy had hilarious songs like 'Dekha Naa Haye Re.' Seeta aur Geeta
was the first film where Ramesh Sippy worked with Burman. Subsequently all his films till the end of the 80s would have Burman's music.
1973 saw fourteen more R D Burman soundtracks, of which the most successful ones were Nasir Hussain's Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Shareef badmash, Heera panna
and Anamika, whose 'Bahon Mein Chali Aa' and Meri Bheegi Bheegi' became popular. Yaadon Ki Baaraat was a musical with numbers such as 'Chura Liya Hai', 'Yaadon Ki Baarat', 'Lekar Hum Diwana Dil', 'Meri Soni Tamanna.'
In 1974, sixteen movies with R D Burman music were released. Aap ki kasam and Ajanabee were major hits.
In 1975, there were nine movies with R D Burman soundtracks including the superhit Sholay
, Deewaar ,Aandhi, Khushboo and Dharam karam. In Sholay, he sang Mehbooba mehbooba, picturised on Helen
and Jalal Agha and for which he received his sole Filmfare nomination for playback singing. Aandhi had classic Gulzar songs sung by Kishore-Lata - Is mod se jaate hain, tum aa gaye ho, Tere bina zindagi se koi and others. Khushboo was another R D Burman-Gulzar masterpiece with songs like O manjhi re.
He did a song for a small documentary film called Maa Ki Pukaar, in 1975.
R D Burman also completed the music of Mili (1975) after his father went into coma and died. In 1976, there were 8 movies with R D Burman as music director, of which Mehabooba (1976) was a classic musical film based on reincarnation, where Rajesh Khanna played double role as Singer (Classical and Modern) with a very sophisticated way. Nine more movies were released in 1977. Naam gum jaayega (Kinara, 1977) is another of R D Burman-Gulzar gems, but it was "Kya Hua Tera Wada"(Nasir Hussain's Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin
, 1977) rendered fascinatingly by Mohd. Rafi
that became one of the most popular songs ever. Although, Kishore Kumar still continued to be the dominant male playback singer for R.D. Burman's songs, the success of "Kya Hua Tera Wada" enabled Burman to use Rafi more frequently.
In 1978, nine more R D Burman releases, including Shalimar and Kasme vaade. Shalimar included hits like Hum bewafa hargiz na the (Kishore Kumar) and the title track (Asha Bhosle). The title track, Mile jo kadi kadi and Aati rahengi baharein of Kasme Vaade were very popular. The title track and Raju chal Raju of Dharmendra
-starrer Azaad were also moderately popular. Ghar was a huge hit for R.D. Burman-Gulzar duo with songs like Tere bina jiya jaaye na, Aaj Kal paon zameen par, Phir Wohi Raat hai.
1979 was a relatively full year for R D Burman, although he composed music for ten films. His biggest hit was Golmaal. The most popular songs were Aanewala pal (Kishore Kumar) and the title track (Golmaal hai bhai sab golmaal hai) sung by R D Burman and his assistant Sapan Chakraborty. Few other R D Burman hit songs in 1979 were Jeevan ke har mod pe (Jhoota kahin ka), Rim jhim gire saawan (Manzil), Saawan ke jhoole pade (Jurmana) and Do lafzon ki hai dil ki kahani (The great gambler, sung by Asha Bhosle and actor Sharad Kumar).
), who received the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer. R D Burman orchastrated for songs of The Burning Train
and Shaan
. The Burning Train included Sahir Ludhianvi
's qawwali
sung by Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi
- "Pal do pal ka saath hamara". The film is also noted for "Teri hai zameen", sung by Sushma Shrestha
and Padmini Kolhapure as child-singers. Shaan had songs like "Pyar karne wale pyar karte hain shaan se" (Asha Bhosle), "Doston se pyaar kiya" (Usha Uthup
) and "Yamma yamma" (duet sung by Rafi and R D Burman). R D Burman also composed for Alibaba Aur 40 Chor
(Приключения Али-Бабы и сорока разбойников in Russian), an Indo-Russian collaboration. Actress Rekha sang the song "Kaayada kaayada" in Khubsoorat
(1980), the lyrics of which were penned by Gulzar. Other songs included "Sun sun didi tere liye" (Asha Bhosle) and "Piya bavari" (Asha and Ashok Kumar). The score is noted for Rafi
's song "Maine poocha chaand se", in which R D Burman modernised his father Sachin Dev Burman's tune.
The years 1981 saw R D Burman composing for fifteen films. He created two soundtracks with lyricist Gulshan Bawra
and Universal Music India (then called Music India) - Satte Pe Satta
and Yeh Wada Raha. Amitabh Bachchan
-starrer Satte Pe Satta was a story of 7 brothers and their 7 brides. The songs picturized on the seven brothers were sung by R D Burman, his assistants Basu and Sapan Chakravorty, lyricist Gulshan Bawra, Bhupendra, Anand Kumar C and Kishore Kumar. The songs for the ladies were sung by Asha Bhosle, Annette and Dilraj Kaur. The songs include "Dukki pe dukki ho", "Pyar hamein kis mod pe", "Dilbar mere" and "Zindagi milke bitaayenge". R D Burman's composed song in 1981 for Sanam Teri Kasam
. The soundtrack included "Kitne bhi tu kar le sitam", "Jaan-e-jaan" and "Dekhta hoon koi ladki haseen" among other songs. He received his first Filmfare Best Music Director Award
for this film, after being nominated for 12 years. In 1981, R D Burman also composed music for Rocky
and Love Story
.
Fourteen more R D Burman soundtracks were released in 1982. The team of Nasir Hussain, R D Burman and Majrooh Sultanpuri (which had started with Teesri Manzil (1966)) presented Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai in 1982. Rafi would be heard in a Nasir Hussain-R.D. Burman-Majrooh Sultanpuri collaboration. Ashok Kumar's last song "Chalo haseen geet" (Shaukeen
, 1982) was composed by R D Burman. Angoor (1982) is noted for R D Burman's spoof
on the O. P. Nayyar
song "Preetam aan milo", sung by Sapan Chakravorty. In 1983, there were fifteen R D Burman soundtracks, including Masoom and Agar Tum Na Hote
. He also received his second consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Music forMasoom.
In 1984, fourteen R D Burman soundtracks were released. This year, Gulshan Kumar
's T-Series made its entry into the arena of original film soundtracks. The company's first major music rights acquisition were for Pramod Chakravorty
’s bi-lingual Jagir(Hindi)/Teen Murti(Bengali). The film's music was composed by R D Burman. Kumar Sanu
was given his first break by R D Burman in Yeh desh (1984) as voice of Kamal Haasan
. Abhijeet was given his major break by R D Burman in Anand aur Anand (1984). Although he made his debut a long time ago, Hariharan
was first noticed in a duet with Kavita Krishnamurthy in "Hai mubarak aaj ka din" (Boxer, 1984), which was composed by R D Burman.
In 1985, Mohammed Aziz, made his debut with Shiva Ka Insaaf (1985) under R D Burman. Hussain defended Burman to the press: "I disagree that RD gave weak music in (Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai (1982) and Manzil Manzil (1984)). He was passing through a lean phase during Zabardast." Hussain stopped directing films and handed the reins over to his son Mansoor Khan
, who hired other music directors. Hussain put a positive spin on it at the time by saying, "We did not ‘drop’ Pancham – Mansoor felt that he could not possibly tell Pancham Uncle to change his style for him. Pancham will come back the day I direct again, which I plan to do soon." The partnership between Hussain and Burman which had started nearly twenty years ago with Teesri Manzil (1966) ended.
After 1986, he started getting less work. The year 1987 saw only 5 releases including Ijaazat
. Ijaazat included songs like "Choti si kahani se", "Khaali haath shaam aayi hi", "Katra katra" and "Mera Kuchh Saamaan
" which won Asha Bhosle the National Film Award for Best Singer
.
Noted lyricist, Gulzar, R.D. Burman and Asha Bhosle
, came together in 1987, to create a double album, titled, Dil Padosi Hai
, which was released on 8 September 1987, Asha Bhosle's birthday. R D Burman also produced private albums, including one based on the samba
, and also collaborated with Boy George
. He has also composed music for an album called Pantera produced by Pete Gavankar in 1987 whose lyrics were written by Jose Flores.
1988 saw four more R D Burman soundtracks of which Libaas had songs, but the producer refused to release the film. R D Burman gave music for 6 more movies in 1989, including Parinda and Joshilaay.
promised him Ram Lakhan but gave it instead to Laxmikant-Pyarelal. This greatly upset Pancham.
He suffered from a heart attack in 1988 and underwent heart surgery. During this period, he composed many tunes, which were never released.
R D Burman gave music for few mediocre movies in 1990 (two), 1991 (three) and 1992 (six). In 1994, there were four more releases, of which 1942: A Love Story
(released after his death) has an unforgettable score. The film won him the third and last of his Filmfare Awards
. The music of Janam Se Pehle (1994) was also composed by R D Burman. Thenmavin Kombath
, a Malayalam film by Priyadarshan
was the last film he signed, but he died before he could score for the film.
Gang (2000) was released long after R D Burman's death. He was also credited for music of few more films after his death. For example, Monsoon Wedding (credit for "Chura liya hai") and Dil Vil Pyar Vyar
(2002), which had R D Burman songs "recreated" by one of his assistants Babloo Chakravorty.
Jhankaar Beats (2003 movie) starring Sanjay Suri
, Rahul Bose
, Juhi Chawla
& Rinke Khanna
was sort of a tribute to RDB, wherein Suri & Bose play musicians who revere RDB & his music & whose music is influenced by Burman. There was a remixed version of Burmans popular Kishore Kumar number "Humein tumse pyaar kitna" which was integral to the film. Both the films, Dil Vil Pyaar Vyaar and Jhankaar Beats paid tribute to R.D. Burman, and his music. . "Jhankaar Beats" features one of his famous tunes from the movie, Kudrat while paying tribute to him.
In, 1995, Filmfare Awards
, constituted a new award in the memory of R D Burman, Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent
, given each year, to new music directors and singers in Hindi cinema
. Before that an Indian Television progarmme Superhit Muqabala's SUMU Award for R D Burman also started. Though that Award was not continued in later years as producers of the programme had some problems. The Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent is awarded to upcoming music talents every year.
In 2008 on 26 April 113 Minute documentary film, titled 'Pancham Unmixed - Mujhe Chalte Jana Hai', was premiered at IIFLA (ArcLight Hollywood), in Los Angeles
. The film takes an incisive look into the Pancham’s reflective artistry and buoyant-but-also-lonely inner being. Featuring a host of close friends, colleagues and admirers, the film evoke awe, admiration and nostalgia the way most of his music does, till date and will be doing forever.
in 1980. Together, they recorded many memorable tunes and also staged many live performances. After his father died in 1975, he took care of his mother. After Pancham's death, his mother eventually ended up in an old-age home but returned to her late son's house to die on 15 October 2007.
Burman had financial difficulties, particularly later in his life. There have been wide discussions about the disconnect between the success of his music and his financial success.
(1971), the sexy cabaret Piya tu ab toh aaja from Caravan
(1971), the ultimate hippie
anthem Dum Maro Dum from Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1972) or the classical Raina beeti jaaye. 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. At times, RD doubled up as a singer too. His most famous song as a singer was Mehbooba
from Sholay
. This song is inspired from the traditional Cypriot song "Ta Rialia".
Pancham was a very creative person. His percussion included a spoon against a glass (Chura liya hai from Yaadon Ki Baaraat").
Pancham has also directed music for some regional films, including Bangla
, Oriya
, Telugu
, Tamil
, and Marathi
. He also acted in one of the Bengali film named Gayak (starring Amit Kumar and Debasri Roy), where RD plays himself and 'discovers' Amit singing on a beach. Pancham's non-filmi music comprises few albums, including Pantera - the international album for which he shares credit with Latin American composer Jose Flores.
In the only experiment of its kind he recorded the light version of Hume tumse pyar kitna in the voice of playback singer Kishore Kumar
while the classical version in the voice of Parveen Sultana
.
He recorded a variety of songs rendered by Kishore Kumar notably the classical song Mere naina sawan bhado, the sad song Chingari koi bhadake, the philosophical song Aanewala pal, the piano song Pyar diwana hota hai, the romantic song O mere dil ke chain, the hummable wonder Raat kali, the separation song Zindagi ke safar me, the rainy song Rimjhim gire saawan.
He recorded Tum bin jaun kahan in the voices of Kishore Kumar
and Mohd. Rafi
separately.
Notable musical assistants to Burman include Manohari Singh
and Sapan Chakraborty
.
. His songs were also inspired from musical styles of ABBA
,the popular Swedish Band
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
music composer. He was the only son of singer and Bollywood music composer Sachin Dev Burman
Sachin Dev Burman
Sachin Dev Burman , also credited as Burman da, Kumar Sachindra Dev Barman, Sachin karta or S. D. Burman, was one of the most famous music composers for Hindi movies and a Bengali singer and composer. His son Rahul Dev Burman also achieved great success as a Bollywood music director in his own...
and his wife Meera. He is credited with revolutionizing the filmi
Filmi
Filmi is Indian popular music as written and performed for Indian cinema. Music directors make up the main body of composers; the songs are performed by playback singers and it makes up 72% of the music sales in India....
music in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
films, and his style and techniques continue to be followed by the composers of today. Burman also did playback singing in eighteen movies for which he himself composed the scores.
Early life
Rahul Dev Burman was born in CalcuttaKolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
. According to some stories, he was nicknamed as Pancham because, as a child, whenever he cried, it sounded in the fifth note (Pa) of the Indian musical scale. The word Pancham means five (or fifth) in Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
. Another version is that when the veteran Indian actor Ashok Kumar
Ashok Kumar
Ashok Kumar also fondly called Dadamoni was an Indian film actor. Born Kumudlal Ganguly in Bhagalpur, Bengal Presidency he attained iconic status in Indian cinema...
saw a newborn Rahul Dev Burman uttering the syllable Pa repeatedly, he nicknamed the boy Pancham. After coming to Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, he learnt sarod
Sarod
The sarod is a stringed musical instrument, used mainly in Indian classical music. Along with the sitar, it is the most popular and prominent instrument in the classical music of Hindustan...
from Ustad Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan
Ali Akbar Khan , often referred to as Khansahib or by the title Ustad , was a Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod...
. He received his early education at Ballygunge Government High School
Ballygunge Government High School
Ballygunge Government High School, , is one of the oldest and best schools in West Bengal, India. The school is adjacent to Kolkata RTO/Beltala police station.The school is Bengali medium, with Bengali taught as main language...
, Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
.
When he was nine years old, he composed his first song, Aye meri topi palat ke aa, which his father used in the film Funtoosh (1956). The tune of the song Sar jo tera chakraaye was composed by him as a child. His father loved the tune and included it in the soundtrack of Guru Dutt's
Guru Dutt
Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone , popularly known as Guru Dutt, was an Indian film director, producer and actor. He is often credited with ushering in the golden era of Hindi cinema...
Pyaasa
Pyaasa
Pyaasa is a 1957 Indian film produced and directed by Guru Dutt. The film tells the story of struggling poet, Vijay , trying to make his works known in post-independence India...
. In 2004, the soundtrack for Pyaasa was given an award for "The Best Music in Film" by Sight & Sound
Sight & Sound
Sight & Sound is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute .Sight & Sound was first published in 1932 and in 1934 management of the magazine was handed to the nascent BFI, which still publishes the magazine today...
, the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
magazine.
As a child, Pancham also played the Harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
(mouth organ
Mouth organ
A mouth organ is a generic term for free reed aerophone with one or more air chambers fitted with a free reed.Though it spans many traditions, it is played universally the same way by the musician placing their lips over a chamber or holes in the instrument, and blowing or sucking air to create a...
) in the famous song Hai apna dil to aawara (from film Solva Saal - 1958, starring Dev Anand
Dev Anand
Dharam Dev Anand , better known as Dev Anand , is an Indian Hindi Cinema actor, director and film producer. Dev is the second of three brothers who were active in Hindi Cinema. His brothers are Chetan Anand and Vijay Anand. Their sister, Sheel Kanta Kapur, is the mother of renowned Hindi and...
).
Career
R D Burman started his career as assistant to his father, Sachin Dev BurmanSachin Dev Burman
Sachin Dev Burman , also credited as Burman da, Kumar Sachindra Dev Barman, Sachin karta or S. D. Burman, was one of the most famous music composers for Hindi movies and a Bengali singer and composer. His son Rahul Dev Burman also achieved great success as a Bollywood music director in his own...
. He assisted his father in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi
Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi
Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi is a famous 1958 Bollywood comedy. The film featured Kishore Kumar, his two brothers Anoop Kumar and Ashok Kumar, and Madhubala. Kishore Kumar sang many of the songs in the film, along with Asha Bhosle. The music was composed by SD Burman, and the lyrics were written by...
(1958) and Kaagaz Ke Phool
Kaagaz Ke Phool
Kaagaz Ke Phool, , is a 1959 Hindi film produced and directed by Guru Dutt, who also played the lead role in the film .The film was a box office disaster of its time but was later resurrected as a world cinema cult classic in the 1980s. The film's music was composed by S. D...
(1959), and his first music interlude, in his father composition, was for the song, Jaane Kya Tune Kahi, sung by Geeta Dutt
Geeta Dutt
Geetā Dutt was a prominent singer in India. She found particular prominence as a playback singer in Hindi cinema...
, for film Pyaasa
Pyaasa
Pyaasa is a 1957 Indian film produced and directed by Guru Dutt. The film tells the story of struggling poet, Vijay , trying to make his works known in post-independence India...
(1957). His first film as a music director was Guru Dutt's Raaz (1959) unreleased.
Out of his 331 released movies 292 were in Hindi, 31 in Bangla, 3 in Telugu, 2 each in Tamil & Oriya and 1 in Marathi. RD also composed for 5 TV Serials in Hindi and Marathi. He also scored a large number of non-film songs in Bangla (also known as Pooja songs or modern songs), which are available in different albums.
1960s
Burman's first released movie as a music director was Mehmood's Chhote Nawab (1961). Mehmood once said that he gave the movie to Burman because he got tired of Burman denting his car with the persistent drumming of his fingers. The song brought together S. D. Burman and Lata Mangeshkar who had stopped recording together since 1957.Burman continued to work as his father's assistant in movies like Bandini (1963), Teen Deviyaan (1965) and Guide (1965). Mehmood gave him his second movie as a music director in 1965 - Bhoot Bangla. The soundtrack is notable for a sedate "Jaago sonewalo" sung by Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar , born Abhas Kumar Ganguly, was an Indian film playback singer and an actor who also worked as lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter.Kishore Kumar was one of India's greatest performers of the late 20th century...
and a contrasting "Aao twist karein", sung by Manna Dey
Manna Dey
Prabodh Chandra Dey , better known by his nickname Manna Dey , is a playback singer in Bengali Assamese and Hindi films. Along with Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, he was a part of Indian film playback music from the 1950s to the 1970s. He has recorded more than 3500 songs over the course of...
, a Desi
Desi
Desi or Deshi refers to the people, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent and, increasingly, to the people, cultures, and products of their diaspora. Desi countries include India, Pakistan, Bangladesh...
version of Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
's "Let's Twist". In the movie, Burman also acted alongside Mehmood. He also composed the music of Teesra Kaun in 1965.
Burman's first hit movie was Teesri Manzil
Teesri Manzil
Teesri Manzil is a Bollywood thriller directed by Vijay Anand and produced by Nasir Hussain. It starred his regular actors Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh. Nazima, Premnath, Prem Chopra, Iftekhar, Helen, K. N. Singh and Salim Khan were part of the supporting cast...
(1966). Burman gave credit to lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri
Majrooh Sultanpuri
Majrooh Sultanpuri was an Urdu poet, lyricist and songwriter...
for recommending him to Nasir Hussain
Nasir Hussain
Nasir Husain was an Indian film producer, director and screenwriter.-Early career:Husain first worked with A. R. Kardar when he joined Filmistan as a writer in 1948. The famous films he wrote for Filmistan include Anarkali , Munimjee , and Paying Guest...
, the producer and writer of Teesri Manzil. Vijay Anand also said that he had arranged a music session for him before Nasir Hussain. After hearing his music, Nasir Hussain made him the music director of Teesri Manzil. Initially, Shammi Kapoor
Shammi Kapoor
Shammi Kapoor was an Indian film actor and director. He was a prominent lead actor in Hindi cinema from the late 1950s until the early 1970s....
(hero of the movie) was unhappy over choice of Burman. He wanted the tried and tested Shankar Jaikishan
Shankar Jaikishan
Shankar Jaikishan , also known as S/J, is an Indian music composer duo in the Hindi film industry, working together from 1949–1971....
, who had composed music for most of his films. However, after hearing R. D. Burman's music, he had no problems. The songs "O haseena" and "Aaja aaja" belonged to a genre that Indian music lovers were unaware of. Mohammed Rafi
Mohammed Rafi
Mohammad Rafi , was an Indian playback singer whose career spanned four decades. He was awarded National Award and 6 Filmfare Awards. In 1967, he was honoured with the Padma Shri awarded by the Government of India....
sang all six songs, four of them were duets with Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle is an Indian singer. She is one of the best-known and most highly-regarded Hindi playback singers in India, although she has a wider repertoire. Bhosle's career started in 1943 and has spanned over six decades. She has done playback singing for over a thousand Bollywood movies...
. Nasir Hussain went on to sign R D Burman and lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri for six of his films including Baharon Ke Sapne
Baharon Ke Sapne
Baharon Ke Sapne is a 1967 Hindi movie under Nasir Hussain films banner. It starred Rajesh Khanna ,and the Nasir Husain fixture- Asha Parekh. It also had Premnath , Madan Puri and another Nasir Husain fixture Rajendranath....
(1967), Pyar Ka Mausam (1969) and Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973).
In 1967, Burman composed music for the movies Chandan Ka Palna
Chandan Ka Palna
Chandan Ka Palna is a 1967 Bollywood film starring Dharmendra....
and Baharon Ke Sapne but neither film did particularly well at the box office, even though Burman's compositions such as "Chunari Sambhal Gori, Udi Chali Jay Re" became generational favorite. Meanwhile, he continued to work as his father's assistant for movies like Jewel Thief (1967) and Talash (1969).
In 1968, Burman had his second major box office hit after Teesri Manzil titled Padosan
Padosan
Padosan is a 1968 Indian Hindi film. Directed by Jyoti Swaroop, Produced by Mehmood, N. C. Sippy, and written by Rajendra Krishan. The music is by R.D. Burman. The movie stars Sunil Dutt, Saira Banu in the lead roles. Kishore Kumar, Mukri, Raj Kishore and Keshto Mukherjee played the supporting roles...
. His music for the comedy film was much appreciated.
In 1969, Waris and the musical hit Nasir Hussain's Pyar Ka Mausam (where he also acted in a supporting role) were released. For Aradhana (1969), Burman was credited as associate composer. When S. D. Burman fell ill during the recording of Aradhanas (1969) music, he took over and completed the music.
1970s
R D Burman was India's most popular composer in 1970s (Hindi Cinemas's superstar era), famous for his hippy tunes. He teamed up with singers Mohammed RafiMohammed Rafi
Mohammad Rafi , was an Indian playback singer whose career spanned four decades. He was awarded National Award and 6 Filmfare Awards. In 1967, he was honoured with the Padma Shri awarded by the Government of India....
, Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar , born Abhas Kumar Ganguly, was an Indian film playback singer and an actor who also worked as lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter.Kishore Kumar was one of India's greatest performers of the late 20th century...
, Lata Mangeshkar and others to churn up some of the biggest hits in the Filmi music history.
In 1970, R D Burman composed music for six movies, of which Kati patang (a Rajesh Khanna
Rajesh Khanna
Rajesh Khanna is an Indian actor of from Hindi films, and has been Hindi film producer and an Indian politician....
starrer) was a musical hit, this was the beginning of a series of films that were directed by Shakti Samanta
Shakti Samanta
Shakti Samanta was an Indian film director and producer, who founded Shakti Films in 1957, which is most known for films like Howrah Bridge, China Town, Kashmir Ki Kali, An Evening in Paris, Kati Patang and Amar Prem.He received Filmfare Awards for Best Film for Aradhana, Anuraag and Amanush,...
in the 70s. Kati Patang songs like 'Yeh Shaam Mastani' and 'Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai' became chartbusters. He also worked in Bhoot Bangla & Pyar ka Mausam
Pyar ka Mausam
Pyar Ka Mausam is a 1969 movie under Nasir Hussain films banner. Hussain wrote, produced, and directed the film. It starred Shashi Kapoor ,and the Nasir Husain fixture- Asha Parekh. It also had Bharat Bhushan , Nirupa Roy , Madan Puri and another Nasir Husain fixture Rajendranath. Nasir's nephew...
Eleven more movies with R D Burman as music director were released in 1971. Of these, Amar prem
Amar Prem
Amar Prem is a 1971 Hindi film directed by Shakti Samanta, based on a story by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay and starring Sharmila Tagore, Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Mehra and Madan Puri....
, Buddha Mil gaya
Buddha Mil Gaya
Buddha Mil Gaya is a 1971 Hindi film. Produced by L.B. Thakur, the film is directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee.The film stars Om Prakash, Navin Nischol, Archana, Sonia Sahni, Deven Verma, Aruna Irani, Asit Sen, Lalita Pawar and Shetty. The music is by R.D...
, Caravan
Caravan (1971 film)
Caravan is a 1971 movie under Nasir Hussain films banner. Nasir Hussain and Sachin Bhowmick wrote the screenplay. Hussain's brother Tahir Hussain is credited as producer. It starred Jeetendra and the Nasir Husain fixture- Asha Parekh. It also had Aruna Irani , Helen and Madan Puri...
, and Hare Rama Hare Krishna were musical hits. Amar prem is noted for intricate songs based on Indian classical music
Indian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...
such as Raina beeti jaaye (sung by Lata Mangeshkar) was also in this film. The Kishore Kumar sung songs (Chingari Koi Bhadke, Yeh Kya Hua and Kuch To Log Kahenge) in the film were also very successful. The film also established Anand Bakshi
Anand Bakshi
Anand Bakshi was a popular Indian poet and lyricist.-Early days:Anand Bakshi was born in Rawalpindi, now in Pakistan, on 21 July 1930. His ancestors were from Kurree, near Rawalpindi, and had origins in Kashmir. His mother, Sumitra, died 1940, when he was 10...
to be a lyricist of great repute and he went on to work for a large number of films with Burman. Buddha mil gaya had simple, peppy numbers like Raat kali ek khwab mein aayee and Bhali bhali si ek soorat. It also had a classical song Aayo kahan se Ghanshyam?. Caravan had the best Bollywood cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
ever - Piya tu ab to aaja
Piya Tu Ab To Aaja
"Piya Tu Ab To Aaja" is a song from the 1971 Hindi film Caravan. It is considered the quintessential cabaret item number by Helen. The song was sung by Asha Bhosle and R.D. Burman. It was composed by R.D. Burman with lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri...
, picturized on Helen and sung by Asha Bhosle and R D Burman ("Monica! O my darling"). He also received his first Filmfare
Filmfare
Filmfare is an English-language tabloid-sized magazine about Indian cinema. Published by The Times Group, India's largest media services conglomerate, in Mumbai , it highlights the doings of the Bollywood film scene...
Best Music nomination for "Caravan." The title song of Hare Krishna Hare Rama sung by Asha became the hip-hop anthem for the youngsters. The song is used in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories soundtrack
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories soundtrack
The soundtrack of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories comprises radio stations that broadcast music and information to Liberty City, circa 1998. The only time a player can hear the radio is when the protagonist acquires a car...
, titled Dum Maro Dum for Radio Del Mundo in 2006. Over the years the song has been given cult status. Other songs like Phoolon ka taaron ka and Kaanchi re were also popular. Paraya Dhan
Paraya Dhan
Paraya Dhan is a film directed by Rajendra Bhatia. The film starred Balraj Sahni, Hema Malini, Rakesh Roshan and Ajit Khan.-Synopsis:...
also featured some memorable songs like 'Tera Mera Juda Hona' and 'Haye Mera Dil.' 'Koi Maane Ya Naa Maane' from Adhikar
Adhikar (1971 film)
Adhikar is a 1971 Bollywood drama film directed by S.M. Sagar. The film stars Ashok Kumar, Nanda and Deb Mukherjee....
is also notable.
In 1972, R D Burman composed music for nineteen films. Seeta aur Geeta, Rampur ka Lakshman, Mere jeevan saathi, Bombay to Goa, Apna Desh and Parichay were musically successful. The high-pitched Asha
Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle is an Indian singer. She is one of the best-known and most highly-regarded Hindi playback singers in India, although she has a wider repertoire. Bhosle's career started in 1943 and has spanned over six decades. She has done playback singing for over a thousand Bollywood movies...
-R D Burman duet Duniya mein logon ko from Apna desh became popular. Songs like Beeti na beetayi raina and Musafir Hoon Yaron from Parichay marked the beginning of a fruitful association between R D Burman and lyricist Gulzar which would go on till the late eighties. Rajesh Khanna's Mere jeevan sathi had beautiful evergreen Kishore Kumar numbers like O Mere Dil Ke Chain. Also released in 1972 Jawaani diwaani was a hit. Songs like Abhi nahi, Jaan-e-jaan dhoondhta phir raha and the title track were all chart-busters that year. Bombay to Goa
Bombay to Goa
Bombay to Goa is a 1972 adventure-comedy Hindi movie starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Aruna Irani and Mehmood. The movie is known particularly for its catchy tunes.It is a remake of the hit Tamil film Madras to Pondicherry....
, a comedy had hilarious songs like 'Dekha Naa Haye Re.' Seeta aur Geeta
Seeta Aur Geeta
Seeta aur Geeta is a 1972 Hindi film directed by Ramesh Sippy. The story is by Salim-Javed and the music by R.D. Burman.The story is about identical twins who are separated at birth and grow up with different temperaments. The twins then swap places...
was the first film where Ramesh Sippy worked with Burman. Subsequently all his films till the end of the 80s would have Burman's music.
1973 saw fourteen more R D Burman soundtracks, of which the most successful ones were Nasir Hussain's Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Shareef badmash, Heera panna
Heera Panna
Heera Panna is a 1973 Hindi film. Written, produced and directed by Dev Anand for Navketan films, the film stars Dev Anand, Zeenat Aman, Rakhee, Rehman, Jeevan, A.K. Hangal, Paintal and Dheeraj Kumar.The film's music is composed by R. D. Burman.-Plot:...
and Anamika, whose 'Bahon Mein Chali Aa' and Meri Bheegi Bheegi' became popular. Yaadon Ki Baaraat was a musical with numbers such as 'Chura Liya Hai', 'Yaadon Ki Baarat', 'Lekar Hum Diwana Dil', 'Meri Soni Tamanna.'
In 1974, sixteen movies with R D Burman music were released. Aap ki kasam and Ajanabee were major hits.
In 1975, there were nine movies with R D Burman soundtracks including the superhit Sholay
Sholay
Sholay is a 1975 Indian action-adventure film produced by G.P. Sippy and directed by his son Ramesh Sippy. It is considered among the greatest films in the history of Indian cinema. Released on 15 August 1975, it stars Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri and...
, Deewaar ,Aandhi, Khushboo and Dharam karam. In Sholay, he sang Mehbooba mehbooba, picturised on Helen
Helen (actress)
Helen Jairag Richardson is an Indian film actress and dancer of Anglo-Burmese descent, working in Hindi films. She is often cited as the most popular dancer of the item number in her time. She was the inspiration for four films and a book.-Early life and background:Helen was born in Burma on 21...
and Jalal Agha and for which he received his sole Filmfare nomination for playback singing. Aandhi had classic Gulzar songs sung by Kishore-Lata - Is mod se jaate hain, tum aa gaye ho, Tere bina zindagi se koi and others. Khushboo was another R D Burman-Gulzar masterpiece with songs like O manjhi re.
He did a song for a small documentary film called Maa Ki Pukaar, in 1975.
R D Burman also completed the music of Mili (1975) after his father went into coma and died. In 1976, there were 8 movies with R D Burman as music director, of which Mehabooba (1976) was a classic musical film based on reincarnation, where Rajesh Khanna played double role as Singer (Classical and Modern) with a very sophisticated way. Nine more movies were released in 1977. Naam gum jaayega (Kinara, 1977) is another of R D Burman-Gulzar gems, but it was "Kya Hua Tera Wada"(Nasir Hussain's Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin
Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin
Hum Kisi Se Kum Naheen is a 1977 Hindi action film, produced and directed by Nasir Hussain. The film became a "super hit" at the box office, and took the third top spot at the box office in 1977....
, 1977) rendered fascinatingly by Mohd. Rafi
Mohammed Rafi
Mohammad Rafi , was an Indian playback singer whose career spanned four decades. He was awarded National Award and 6 Filmfare Awards. In 1967, he was honoured with the Padma Shri awarded by the Government of India....
that became one of the most popular songs ever. Although, Kishore Kumar still continued to be the dominant male playback singer for R.D. Burman's songs, the success of "Kya Hua Tera Wada" enabled Burman to use Rafi more frequently.
In 1978, nine more R D Burman releases, including Shalimar and Kasme vaade. Shalimar included hits like Hum bewafa hargiz na the (Kishore Kumar) and the title track (Asha Bhosle). The title track, Mile jo kadi kadi and Aati rahengi baharein of Kasme Vaade were very popular. The title track and Raju chal Raju of Dharmendra
Dharmendra
Dharmendra Singh Deol |Punjab]]), better known as Dharmendra, is an award-winning Hindi film actor who has appeared in more than 247 Hindi-language films as of 2011. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi cinema and also another Lifetime...
-starrer Azaad were also moderately popular. Ghar was a huge hit for R.D. Burman-Gulzar duo with songs like Tere bina jiya jaaye na, Aaj Kal paon zameen par, Phir Wohi Raat hai.
1979 was a relatively full year for R D Burman, although he composed music for ten films. His biggest hit was Golmaal. The most popular songs were Aanewala pal (Kishore Kumar) and the title track (Golmaal hai bhai sab golmaal hai) sung by R D Burman and his assistant Sapan Chakraborty. Few other R D Burman hit songs in 1979 were Jeevan ke har mod pe (Jhoota kahin ka), Rim jhim gire saawan (Manzil), Saawan ke jhoole pade (Jurmana) and Do lafzon ki hai dil ki kahani (The great gambler, sung by Asha Bhosle and actor Sharad Kumar).
1980s
In 1980, there were ten releases of his. The song "Humein Tumse Pyar Kitna" was recorded twice with a male singer (Kishore Kumar) and a female singer (Parveen SultanaParveen Sultana
Begum Parveen Sultana is an Assamese Hindustani classical singer of the Patiala Gharana. She is among the foremost classical vocalists in India and is known as Queen of Classical Vocal.She was conferred the Padmashri in 1976....
), who received the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer. R D Burman orchastrated for songs of The Burning Train
The Burning Train
The Burning Train is a Bollywood action film released in 1980 directed by Ravi Chopra and featuring a huge all-star cast. The plot revolves around a fast train named Super Fast Express, that catches fire on its inaugural run from New Delhi to Mumbai....
and Shaan
Shaan (film)
Shaan is a 1980 Indian Hindi film. It is director Ramesh Sippy's 2nd film with Amitabh Bachchan after Sholay. The story was written by Salim-Javed....
. The Burning Train included Sahir Ludhianvi
Sahir Ludhianvi
Sahir Ludhianvi was a popular Urdu poet and Hindi lyricist and songwriter. Sahir Ludhianvi is his pseudonym...
's qawwali
Qawwali
Qawwali is a form of Sufi devotional music popular in South Asia, particularly in the Punjab and Sindh regions of Pakistan, Hyderabad, Delhi, and other parts of northern India...
sung by Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi
Mohammed Rafi
Mohammad Rafi , was an Indian playback singer whose career spanned four decades. He was awarded National Award and 6 Filmfare Awards. In 1967, he was honoured with the Padma Shri awarded by the Government of India....
- "Pal do pal ka saath hamara". The film is also noted for "Teri hai zameen", sung by Sushma Shrestha
Sushma Shrestha
Sushma Shrestha also known as Poornima, is a noted Nepali singer who has sung many Nepali, Hindi and Marathi songs in the Nepali and Indian music industry. Sushma started her career as a child singer in the Ramesh Sippy directed, 1971 film Andaz...
and Padmini Kolhapure as child-singers. Shaan had songs like "Pyar karne wale pyar karte hain shaan se" (Asha Bhosle), "Doston se pyaar kiya" (Usha Uthup
Usha Uthup
Usha Uthup is a popular Indian pop, jazz and playback singer. She is well known for popular hits in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.She started her Bollywood playback career, when she sang an English verse in hit song, "Dum maro dum"" in Hare Rama Hare Krishna, and went on work with music...
) and "Yamma yamma" (duet sung by Rafi and R D Burman). R D Burman also composed for Alibaba Aur 40 Chor
Alibaba Aur 40 Chor
Ali Baba aur 40 chor is a 1980 India-USSR film based on the story of Ali Baba, starring Dharmendra, Hema Malini and Zeenat Aman. The story line is slightly altered to extend as a long movie. The movie was directed by Latif Faiziyev and Umesh Mehra. The writers were Shanti Prakash Bakshi and Boris...
(Приключения Али-Бабы и сорока разбойников in Russian), an Indo-Russian collaboration. Actress Rekha sang the song "Kaayada kaayada" in Khubsoorat
Khubsoorat
Khubsoorat is a 1980 Indian Hindi film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, whose direction together with dialogues by Gulzar created a comedy classic. Rekha shined in a first all-out comic role, with her brilliant comic timing....
(1980), the lyrics of which were penned by Gulzar. Other songs included "Sun sun didi tere liye" (Asha Bhosle) and "Piya bavari" (Asha and Ashok Kumar). The score is noted for Rafi
Mohammed Rafi
Mohammad Rafi , was an Indian playback singer whose career spanned four decades. He was awarded National Award and 6 Filmfare Awards. In 1967, he was honoured with the Padma Shri awarded by the Government of India....
's song "Maine poocha chaand se", in which R D Burman modernised his father Sachin Dev Burman's tune.
The years 1981 saw R D Burman composing for fifteen films. He created two soundtracks with lyricist Gulshan Bawra
Gulshan Kumar Mehta
Gulshan Kumar Mehta, popularly known by his pen name Gulshan Bawra was an Indian songwriter and actor in Hindi cinema...
and Universal Music India (then called Music India) - Satte Pe Satta
Satte Pe Satta
Satte Pe Satta is a Hindi film that was released in 1982. It featured Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Amjad Khan, Ranjeeta Kaur, Sachin, Shakti Kapoor, Paintal, Sarika, Kanwaljit Singh, Prema Narayan and Kalpana Iyer amongst others.-Story:...
and Yeh Wada Raha. Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
-starrer Satte Pe Satta was a story of 7 brothers and their 7 brides. The songs picturized on the seven brothers were sung by R D Burman, his assistants Basu and Sapan Chakravorty, lyricist Gulshan Bawra, Bhupendra, Anand Kumar C and Kishore Kumar. The songs for the ladies were sung by Asha Bhosle, Annette and Dilraj Kaur. The songs include "Dukki pe dukki ho", "Pyar hamein kis mod pe", "Dilbar mere" and "Zindagi milke bitaayenge". R D Burman's composed song in 1981 for Sanam Teri Kasam
Sanam Teri Kasam
Sanam Teri Kasam is a 1982 Hindi-language Indian feature film directed by Narendra Bedi, starring Kamal Haasan and Reena Roy. Reena's sister Barkha Roy produced the film. It became a "semi-hit" at the box office and was more successful in the big cities....
. The soundtrack included "Kitne bhi tu kar le sitam", "Jaan-e-jaan" and "Dekhta hoon koi ladki haseen" among other songs. He received his first Filmfare Best Music Director Award
Filmfare Best Music Director Award
The Filmfare Best Music Director Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to the best composer/arranger of a soundtrack. This category was first presented in 1954. Naushad was the first recipient of this award for his song "Tu Ganga Ki Mauj"...
for this film, after being nominated for 12 years. In 1981, R D Burman also composed music for Rocky
Rocky (1981 film)
Rocky is a 1981 Bollywood film produced and directed by Sunil Dutt who also has a cameo role. The film marks the debut of Sunil Dutt's son Sanjay Dutt and also stars Reena Roy, Tina Munim, Amjad Khan, Raakhee Gulzar, and Shakti Kapoor...
and Love Story
Love Story (1981 film)
Love Story is a 1981 film produced and directed by Rajendra Kumar. The film stars Rajendra Kumar alongside his son Kumar Gaurav and Vijeta Pandit, both making their film debut. Vidya Sinha, Amjad Khan, Danny Denzongpa and Aruna Irani also appear in supporting roles. The music was composed by R. D...
.
Fourteen more R D Burman soundtracks were released in 1982. The team of Nasir Hussain, R D Burman and Majrooh Sultanpuri (which had started with Teesri Manzil (1966)) presented Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai in 1982. Rafi would be heard in a Nasir Hussain-R.D. Burman-Majrooh Sultanpuri collaboration. Ashok Kumar's last song "Chalo haseen geet" (Shaukeen
Shaukeen
Shaukeen is a 1982 Hindi-language Indian feature film directed by Basu Chatterjee, starring Ashok Kumar, Utpal Dutt, A.K. Hangal, Rati Agnihotri and Mithun Chakraborty-Plot:...
, 1982) was composed by R D Burman. Angoor (1982) is noted for R D Burman's spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
on the O. P. Nayyar
O. P. Nayyar
Omkar Prasad Nayyar was an Indian film music director and composer born in Lahore, India, now in modern day Pakistan. He was particularly acclaimed for his peppy numbers.-Career:...
song "Preetam aan milo", sung by Sapan Chakravorty. In 1983, there were fifteen R D Burman soundtracks, including Masoom and Agar Tum Na Hote
Agar Tum Na Hote
Agar Tum Na Hote is a 1983 Indian Bollywood film directed by Lekh Tandon. The film stars Rajesh Khanna, Rekha and Raj Babbar in leading roles.-Story:...
. He also received his second consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Music forMasoom.
In 1984, fourteen R D Burman soundtracks were released. This year, Gulshan Kumar
Gulshan Kumar
Gulshan Kumar was the founder of the T-Series music label , the best known in India, and an Indian Bollywood movie producer. T series is now run by his son Bhushan Kumar...
's T-Series made its entry into the arena of original film soundtracks. The company's first major music rights acquisition were for Pramod Chakravorty
Pramod Chakravorty
Pramod Chakravorty was an Indian director and film producer.-Biography:Pramod Chakravorty was born on 15 August 1929 in West Bengal, India. Became a producer in the 1958 by 12 O'Clock...
’s bi-lingual Jagir(Hindi)/Teen Murti(Bengali). The film's music was composed by R D Burman. Kumar Sanu
Kumar Sanu
Kumar Sanu Kumar Sanu Kumar Sanu (alias Kedarnath Bhattacharya , born in Kolkata, is a leading Indian Bollywood playback singer. He was awarded the Filmfare Best Male Playback Award over five consecutive years. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 2009....
was given his first break by R D Burman in Yeh desh (1984) as voice of Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan is an Indian film actor, screenwriter and director, considered to be one of the leading method actors of Indian cinema. He is widely acclaimed as an actor and is well known for his versatility in acting...
. Abhijeet was given his major break by R D Burman in Anand aur Anand (1984). Although he made his debut a long time ago, Hariharan
Hariharan (singer)
Hariharan , born 3 April 1955) is an Indian playback singer in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Bhojpuri and Telugu movies, an established ghazal singer, and one of the pioneers of Indian fusion music. His melody is strongly appreciated by the film fraternity...
was first noticed in a duet with Kavita Krishnamurthy in "Hai mubarak aaj ka din" (Boxer, 1984), which was composed by R D Burman.
In 1985, Mohammed Aziz, made his debut with Shiva Ka Insaaf (1985) under R D Burman. Hussain defended Burman to the press: "I disagree that RD gave weak music in (Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai (1982) and Manzil Manzil (1984)). He was passing through a lean phase during Zabardast." Hussain stopped directing films and handed the reins over to his son Mansoor Khan
Mansoor Khan
Mansoor Khan, son of film maker Nasir Hussain, made his directorial debut with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak which launched the career of his cousin Aamir Khan. The film, a soft Romeo-Juliet inspired romantic drama, was a huge success...
, who hired other music directors. Hussain put a positive spin on it at the time by saying, "We did not ‘drop’ Pancham – Mansoor felt that he could not possibly tell Pancham Uncle to change his style for him. Pancham will come back the day I direct again, which I plan to do soon." The partnership between Hussain and Burman which had started nearly twenty years ago with Teesri Manzil (1966) ended.
After 1986, he started getting less work. The year 1987 saw only 5 releases including Ijaazat
Ijaazat
Ijaazat is an acclaimed 1987 Indian Hindi film directed by Gulzar, based on a Bengali story, Jatugriha by Subodh Ghosh....
. Ijaazat included songs like "Choti si kahani se", "Khaali haath shaam aayi hi", "Katra katra" and "Mera Kuchh Saamaan
Mera Kuchh Saamaan
Mera Kuch Samaan is a popular song from the acclaimed 1987 movie Ijaazat, directed by Gulzar, who also wrote the song. The song was composed by R D Burman and sung by Asha Bhosle...
" which won Asha Bhosle the National Film Award for Best Singer
National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer
The National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer winners are given below. Lata Mangeshkar is the oldest winner in this category, whereas Anjali Marathe is the youngest winner; while K. S. Chithra been awarded for the maximum number of times .-Superlatives:...
.
Noted lyricist, Gulzar, R.D. Burman and Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle is an Indian singer. She is one of the best-known and most highly-regarded Hindi playback singers in India, although she has a wider repertoire. Bhosle's career started in 1943 and has spanned over six decades. She has done playback singing for over a thousand Bollywood movies...
, came together in 1987, to create a double album, titled, Dil Padosi Hai
Dil Padosi Hai
Dil Padosi Hai is a 1987, private Indian music album by Music director R. D. Burman. The songs of the album were penned by Gulzar. All the songs in the album are sung by Asha Bhosle, on whose birthday, September 8, 1987, the album was released in Mumbai....
, which was released on 8 September 1987, Asha Bhosle's birthday. R D Burman also produced private albums, including one based on the samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
, and also collaborated with Boy George
Boy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
. He has also composed music for an album called Pantera produced by Pete Gavankar in 1987 whose lyrics were written by Jose Flores.
1988 saw four more R D Burman soundtracks of which Libaas had songs, but the producer refused to release the film. R D Burman gave music for 6 more movies in 1989, including Parinda and Joshilaay.
1990s
R D Burman's last years were not very pleasant. The few films he composed music for flopped at the box office. Subhash GhaiSubhash Ghai
Subhash Ghai is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. His most notable films include Kalicharan ,Karz , Hero , Meri Jung , Karma ,Ram Lakhan ,Saudagar , Khalnayak , Pardes and Taal...
promised him Ram Lakhan but gave it instead to Laxmikant-Pyarelal. This greatly upset Pancham.
He suffered from a heart attack in 1988 and underwent heart surgery. During this period, he composed many tunes, which were never released.
R D Burman gave music for few mediocre movies in 1990 (two), 1991 (three) and 1992 (six). In 1994, there were four more releases, of which 1942: A Love Story
1942: A Love Story
1942: A Love Story is a 1994 Bollywood film starring Anil Kapoor, Manisha Koirala, Jackie Shroff, Anupam Kher, Danny Denzongpa, and Pran. The film was the first ever to be given a U/A rating while featuring a scene, previously considered inappropriate for young children, showing the actors kissing...
(released after his death) has an unforgettable score. The film won him the third and last of his Filmfare Awards
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...
. The music of Janam Se Pehle (1994) was also composed by R D Burman. Thenmavin Kombath
Thenmavin Kombath
Berny-Ignatius composed the film's songs and Girish Puthenchery wrote the lyrics. The soundtrack won that year's Kerala State Film Award.-National Film Awards:* Best Art Director- Sabu Cyril* Best Cinematographer- K. V. Anand-Kerala State Film Awards:...
, a Malayalam film by Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter. In a career spanning over two decades, Priyadarshan has directed over 80 films in several Indian languages including Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu...
was the last film he signed, but he died before he could score for the film.
Legacy
After his death, in the mid 1990s, the remix versions of R D Burman's hits ruled the Indian music scene. Even today, most of the Indian remix songs are his tunes remixed.Gang (2000) was released long after R D Burman's death. He was also credited for music of few more films after his death. For example, Monsoon Wedding (credit for "Chura liya hai") and Dil Vil Pyar Vyar
Dil Vil Pyar Vyar
Dil Vil Pyar Vyar is a 2002 Bollywood romantic drama film. It was dubbed into Tamil as . Composer R.D.Burman was one of the main inspirations for this movie. All the songs in this movie were composed by him.-Plot:...
(2002), which had R D Burman songs "recreated" by one of his assistants Babloo Chakravorty.
Jhankaar Beats (2003 movie) starring Sanjay Suri
Sanjay Suri
Sanjay Suri is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films.He made his debut in 1999 with Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi. He went on to star in many supporting roles but finally got his big break with Jhankaar Beats in 2003, where audiences started to recognize him as a seasoned actor...
, Rahul Bose
Rahul Bose
Rahul Bose is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, social activist, and rugby union player.Bose has appeared in Hindi films such as Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Jhankaar Beats. Time magazine named him "the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema" for his work in parallel cinema films like English,...
, Juhi Chawla
Juhi Chawla
Juhi Chawla is an Indian actress, film producer and television presenter.After being crowned as the winner of the Miss India beauty contest in 1984, Chawla pursued an acting career...
& Rinke Khanna
Rinke Khanna
Rinke Khanna is an Indian actress. She is the daughter of actor Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia and is the sister of Twinkle Khanna and sister-in-law of actor Akshay Kumar. She made her film debut with Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi , changing her screen name from Rinkle to Rinke...
was sort of a tribute to RDB, wherein Suri & Bose play musicians who revere RDB & his music & whose music is influenced by Burman. There was a remixed version of Burmans popular Kishore Kumar number "Humein tumse pyaar kitna" which was integral to the film. Both the films, Dil Vil Pyaar Vyaar and Jhankaar Beats paid tribute to R.D. Burman, and his music. . "Jhankaar Beats" features one of his famous tunes from the movie, Kudrat while paying tribute to him.
In, 1995, Filmfare Awards
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...
, constituted a new award in the memory of R D Burman, Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent
Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent
The Filmfare R.D. Burman Award for New Music Talent is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.The award is named after late R.D. Burman...
, given each year, to new music directors and singers in Hindi cinema
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
. Before that an Indian Television progarmme Superhit Muqabala's SUMU Award for R D Burman also started. Though that Award was not continued in later years as producers of the programme had some problems. The Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent is awarded to upcoming music talents every year.
In 2008 on 26 April 113 Minute documentary film, titled 'Pancham Unmixed - Mujhe Chalte Jana Hai', was premiered at IIFLA (ArcLight Hollywood), in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The film takes an incisive look into the Pancham’s reflective artistry and buoyant-but-also-lonely inner being. Featuring a host of close friends, colleagues and admirers, the film evoke awe, admiration and nostalgia the way most of his music does, till date and will be doing forever.
Personal life
Pancham married Rita Patel in 1966, but they were divorced in 1971. He then married Asha BhosleAsha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle is an Indian singer. She is one of the best-known and most highly-regarded Hindi playback singers in India, although she has a wider repertoire. Bhosle's career started in 1943 and has spanned over six decades. She has done playback singing for over a thousand Bollywood movies...
in 1980. Together, they recorded many memorable tunes and also staged many live performances. After his father died in 1975, he took care of his mother. After Pancham's death, his mother eventually ended up in an old-age home but returned to her late son's house to die on 15 October 2007.
Burman had financial difficulties, particularly later in his life. There have been wide discussions about the disconnect between the success of his music and his financial success.
Music style
Pancham was comfortable with all types of music, be it the romantic Raat kali from Buddha Mil GayaBuddha Mil Gaya
Buddha Mil Gaya is a 1971 Hindi film. Produced by L.B. Thakur, the film is directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee.The film stars Om Prakash, Navin Nischol, Archana, Sonia Sahni, Deven Verma, Aruna Irani, Asit Sen, Lalita Pawar and Shetty. The music is by R.D...
(1971), the sexy cabaret Piya tu ab toh aaja from Caravan
Caravan (1971 film)
Caravan is a 1971 movie under Nasir Hussain films banner. Nasir Hussain and Sachin Bhowmick wrote the screenplay. Hussain's brother Tahir Hussain is credited as producer. It starred Jeetendra and the Nasir Husain fixture- Asha Parekh. It also had Aruna Irani , Helen and Madan Puri...
(1971), the ultimate hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
anthem Dum Maro Dum from Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1972) or the classical Raina beeti jaaye. 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. At times, RD doubled up as a singer too. His most famous song as a singer was Mehbooba
Mehbooba
Mehbooba is a 1976 Hindi film produced by Mushir-Riaz and directed by Shakti Samanta. The film stars Rajesh Khanna, Hema Malini and Prem Chopra. The music is composed by R. D. Burman. The plot it is based on Gulshan Nanda's novel Sisakate Saaz, and Nanda also wrote the screenplay...
from Sholay
Sholay
Sholay is a 1975 Indian action-adventure film produced by G.P. Sippy and directed by his son Ramesh Sippy. It is considered among the greatest films in the history of Indian cinema. Released on 15 August 1975, it stars Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri and...
. This song is inspired from the traditional Cypriot song "Ta Rialia".
Pancham was a very creative person. His percussion included a spoon against a glass (Chura liya hai from Yaadon Ki Baaraat").
Pancham has also directed music for some regional films, including Bangla
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
, Oriya
Oriya language
Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
, Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, and Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
. He also acted in one of the Bengali film named Gayak (starring Amit Kumar and Debasri Roy), where RD plays himself and 'discovers' Amit singing on a beach. Pancham's non-filmi music comprises few albums, including Pantera - the international album for which he shares credit with Latin American composer Jose Flores.
In the only experiment of its kind he recorded the light version of Hume tumse pyar kitna in the voice of playback singer Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar , born Abhas Kumar Ganguly, was an Indian film playback singer and an actor who also worked as lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter.Kishore Kumar was one of India's greatest performers of the late 20th century...
while the classical version in the voice of Parveen Sultana
Parveen Sultana
Begum Parveen Sultana is an Assamese Hindustani classical singer of the Patiala Gharana. She is among the foremost classical vocalists in India and is known as Queen of Classical Vocal.She was conferred the Padmashri in 1976....
.
He recorded a variety of songs rendered by Kishore Kumar notably the classical song Mere naina sawan bhado, the sad song Chingari koi bhadake, the philosophical song Aanewala pal, the piano song Pyar diwana hota hai, the romantic song O mere dil ke chain, the hummable wonder Raat kali, the separation song Zindagi ke safar me, the rainy song Rimjhim gire saawan.
He recorded Tum bin jaun kahan in the voices of Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar , born Abhas Kumar Ganguly, was an Indian film playback singer and an actor who also worked as lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter.Kishore Kumar was one of India's greatest performers of the late 20th century...
and Mohd. Rafi
Mohammed Rafi
Mohammad Rafi , was an Indian playback singer whose career spanned four decades. He was awarded National Award and 6 Filmfare Awards. In 1967, he was honoured with the Padma Shri awarded by the Government of India....
separately.
Notable musical assistants to Burman include Manohari Singh
Manohari Singh
Manohari Singh was an Indian saxophonist and a key member of Bollywood film composer Rahul Dev Burman's team. He died after a cardiac arrest on July 13, 2010 in Mumbai....
and Sapan Chakraborty
Sapan Chakraborty
Sapan Chakraborty also variously cited as Swapan Chakraborty, Sapan Chakravorty, Sapan Chakravarty or simply Sapan is a Bengali Indian music composer who composed music for Bollywood Hindi and Bengali films. He was also a music assistant of Rahul Dev Burman and an occasional playback singer...
.
Inspirations
He also used some of the popular western songs to compose his own tunes. One of his hit songs Mehbooba Mehbooba is inspired from the song "Say You Love Me", traditional Cyprus song, arranged and sung by Demis RoussosDemis Roussos
Artemios Ventouris Roussos is a Greek singer and performer, best known for being the main musical partner of movie soundtrack composer Vangelis and a string of international hit records as a solo performer in the 1960s and 1970s...
. His songs were also inspired from musical styles of ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
,the popular Swedish Band
Filmfare Awards
- 1983 - Best Music Director - Sanam Teri KasamSanam Teri KasamSanam Teri Kasam is a 1982 Hindi-language Indian feature film directed by Narendra Bedi, starring Kamal Haasan and Reena Roy. Reena's sister Barkha Roy produced the film. It became a "semi-hit" at the box office and was more successful in the big cities....
- 1984 - Best Music Director - Masoom
- 1995 - Best Music Director - 1942: A Love Story1942: A Love Story1942: A Love Story is a 1994 Bollywood film starring Anil Kapoor, Manisha Koirala, Jackie Shroff, Anupam Kher, Danny Denzongpa, and Pran. The film was the first ever to be given a U/A rating while featuring a scene, previously considered inappropriate for young children, showing the actors kissing...
Nominations
- 1972 - Best Music Director - CaravanCaravan (1971 film)Caravan is a 1971 movie under Nasir Hussain films banner. Nasir Hussain and Sachin Bhowmick wrote the screenplay. Hussain's brother Tahir Hussain is credited as producer. It starred Jeetendra and the Nasir Husain fixture- Asha Parekh. It also had Aruna Irani , Helen and Madan Puri...
- 1974 - Best Music Director - Yaadon Ki Baaraat
- 1975 - Best Music Director - Aap Ki KasamAap Ki KasamAap Ki Kasam is a 1974 Hindi film produced by J. Om Prakash, which also marks his directorial debut. The film stars Rajesh Khanna, Mumtaz, Sanjeev Kumar, Rehman, Asrani and A. K. Hangal. The music is by R.D. Burman, who received the only Filmfare nomination for the film...
- 1976 - Best Music Director - Khel Khel MeinKhel Khel MeinKhel Khel Mein is a 1975 Indian Hindi film directed by Ravi Tandon. The film's music was composed by R.D. Burman and the lyrics written by Gulshan Bawra....
- 1976 - Best Music Director - SholaySholaySholay is a 1975 Indian action-adventure film produced by G.P. Sippy and directed by his son Ramesh Sippy. It is considered among the greatest films in the history of Indian cinema. Released on 15 August 1975, it stars Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri and...
- 1976 - Best Male Playback Singer - "Mehbooba Mehbooba" from SholaySholaySholay is a 1975 Indian action-adventure film produced by G.P. Sippy and directed by his son Ramesh Sippy. It is considered among the greatest films in the history of Indian cinema. Released on 15 August 1975, it stars Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri and...
- 1977 - Best Music Director - MehboobaMehboobaMehbooba is a 1976 Hindi film produced by Mushir-Riaz and directed by Shakti Samanta. The film stars Rajesh Khanna, Hema Malini and Prem Chopra. The music is composed by R. D. Burman. The plot it is based on Gulshan Nanda's novel Sisakate Saaz, and Nanda also wrote the screenplay...
- 1978 - Best Music Director - Hum Kisi Se Kum NahinHum Kisi Se Kum NahinHum Kisi Se Kum Naheen is a 1977 Hindi action film, produced and directed by Nasir Hussain. The film became a "super hit" at the box office, and took the third top spot at the box office in 1977....
- 1978 - Best Music Director - KinaraKinaraThe kinara is the candle holder used in Kwanzaa celebrations in the United States. During the week-long celebration of Kwanzaa, seven candles are placed in the kinara - three red on the left, three green on the right, and a single black candle in the center...
- 1979 - Best Music Director - ShalimarShalimar (film)Shalimar is a 1978 Hindi film. Its English version known as Raiders of the Sacred Stone was released in USA. The movie starred Dharmendra, Sir Rex Harrison, Zeenat Aman, Shammi Kapoor, Prem Nath, Aruna Irani and American actors John Saxon and Sylvia Miles in supporting roles. Jayamalini does a...
- 1981 - Best Music Director - ShaanShaan (film)Shaan is a 1980 Indian Hindi film. It is director Ramesh Sippy's 2nd film with Amitabh Bachchan after Sholay. The story was written by Salim-Javed....
- 1982 - Best Music Director - Love StoryLove Story (1981 film)Love Story is a 1981 film produced and directed by Rajendra Kumar. The film stars Rajendra Kumar alongside his son Kumar Gaurav and Vijeta Pandit, both making their film debut. Vidya Sinha, Amjad Khan, Danny Denzongpa and Aruna Irani also appear in supporting roles. The music was composed by R. D...
- 1984 - Best Music Director - BetaabBetaab (1983 film)Betaab is an Indian Hindi movie released on 5 August 1983, directed by Rahul Rawail and produced by Bikram Sing Dahal. The film stars Sunny Deol and Amrita Singh in their debut roles. The film went on to be one of the biggest hits of the year.-Synopsis:...
- 1985 - Best Music Director - Jawani
- 1986 - Best Music Director - SaagarSaagarSaagar is a 1985 Bollywood film directed by Ramesh Sippy. The film stars Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia along with Kamal Hassan.Saagar was a comeback film for Kapadia, and contained a fleeting topless shot of her...