Golden Era of Bollywood: S D Burman was the Soul of Navketan Films

Friday 1 February 2019

S D Burman was the Soul of Navketan Films

Dev Anand in an interview said "Burman Da was not only a composer to me but also a fatherly figure to Navketan. I depended on him for all aspects of the film, not just the music. I would consult him on the script and ask him whether it is okay to make a film on this theme.
When Dev was starting Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Dada was not convinced with the theme on Hippies. It was S D Burman who proposed R D Burman's name for the music of the film.
Dev Anand' liking for Dada started with the film Shikari, he liked its music. This was Dada's first Hindi film, he was the joint composer along with Anil Chand Sengupta. It was his film Vidya in which he gave the music for the first time, after that he decided it will be Dada who would give music for his Banner.

The first film of the banner was Afsar and Dada gave the music for that film. The music of that film was not very popular but Dev Anand retained him for his next film Baazi. The songs of the film became popular, The song"Tadbeer Se Bigdi Hui Taqdeer Bana Le" sung by Geeta Dutt is an immortal song.
Dev Anand had the liking for Bengali Music. In Dada's music, he found a blend of the Rabindra Sangeet and very modern rhythm. His music was very innovative and modern. It was full of hope.
With the success of their second film Baazi (1951), he made it to the top and a long association with Navketan and Dev Anand was on its way. The next film he gave music was Jaal in 1951, a ghazal that was occidentalise into a seductive song. The "Jaal" song "Yeh raat yeh chandni" by Hemant Kumar is an all-time great classic.
After Taxi driver in 1954 he gave music in all the Navketan films except Hum Dono, it was given by Jaidev who was his assistant and was recommended by himself. This banner is known for great music and modern films. Taxi Driver released in 1954, it gave Dada the first Filmfare Award. Talat Mehmood version of the song- "Jayen To Jayen Kahan" became the most popular song of the year.
The Dev Anand-S D Burman partnership, under Navketan banner, continued to churn out musical hits like Funtoosh(1956), Kala Pani(1958),Kala Bazar(1960),Bombai Ka Baboo (1960), Tere Ghar Ke Samne (1963), Teen Devian (1965), Guide (1965) and Jewel Thief (1967). Tere Mere Sapne and Prem Pujari (1970)