His range varied from the catchy 'Aaja Aaja' from Teesri Manzil to the soulful thumri 'Hame Tumse Pyar Kitna' by Parveen Sultana in Kudrat. He also composed the mischievous number Ek Chatur Naar, Badi Hoshiyar from Padosan, and the melodious Tere Bina Zindagi Se koi Shikwa to Nahin from Aandhi
A magical maestro, he could conjure up a serenading classical raga theme or a peppy Western romantic tune out of thin air. He Revolutionised Hindi Film Music by introducing new elements (jazz and rock styles) into Hindi film songs For several decades, he produced iconic music in Hindi and Bengali for as many as 330 films. Most of the current generation of music directors have been influenced by him.
He was the master of experiments and changed the way one would look at music. His voice modulation brought in a new dimension to popular music. Burman brought in various innovations to the background music of Hindi and Bengali films. His unconventional way of generating rhythm would totally blow one’s mind in those times. Objects used in daily life found a place in his compositions. For Meri Samne Wali Khidki Main, the whooshing sound came from rubbing a comb on a coarse shell. For ‘Chura Liya' from Yaadon Ki Baraat? he created that sound using glasses and spoons.
R.D. Burman was born in Calcutta on June 27th, 1939, in Calcutta. His father was the legendary music director S.D. Burman and his mother was Meera a classical singer. As a child, he was nicknamed "Pancham". Music was natural to him, there was the influence of growing up in his father's home, with constant music surrounding him. Furthermore, after the family moved from Calcutta to Bombay, he started to learn sarod from the famous Ali Akbar Khan. He also learned to play the harmonica. With such a musical environment, it is not surprising that he started to compose music very quickly. He was only nine years old when he composed his first song; this was Aye Meri Topi Palat Ke Aa and his father used it in the film "Funtoosh" 1956.
In his teenage, he started assisting his father. His name first appeared on the big screen as assistant music director in "Solva Saal" (1958). After that, he assisted his father in almost all the films till Jewel Thief(1967).
His first released film as a music director was Mehmood's "Chote Nawaab" (1961). From there his career was firmly launched."Teesri Manzil" (1967) marked a major milestone in his career. From this point on, he well established and was able to be the music director for a number of major films. This brought him a number of successful films such as "Padosan" (1968) and "Waris" (1969). The dawn of the 70s saw RD Burman become Bollywood's most sought-after music director. This was represented by such immortal hits as Kati Patang (1970), "Amar Prem" (1971), "Hare Rama Hare Krishna" (1971), Carvaan (1970), "Seeta Aur Geeta" (1972), Jawani Diwani(1972), Yadon Ki Barat, "Sholay" (1975), and Aandhi (1975).
The mid-1980s were a very hard time for R.D. Burman, both personally as well as professionally. The general perception was that he had lost his touch. The songs that he did, generally failed to make a major impact on the public.
In 1988 at the age of 49, he suffered a heart attack. He underwent surgery and continued to make music. But his career limped into the 1990s with very lackluster commercial success. There were a few exceptions to the public rejection of his music, most notably "1942: A Love Story". But by and large, he was considered finished in the Bollywood film industry. At the age of 54, he suffered another heart attack. With his wife Asha at his side, he died on January 4, 1994.
His first composition at the age of 9
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