Good morning/Good afternoon/Good evening my friends out
there! This is 11:30pm. 28th June, 2013, Wednesday in India. How are you
Friends? June is the celebration month for me! 23rd June is my
birthday and 26th is marriage anniversary. I have enjoyed a lot; now,
it’s the time to talk with you. So here I am!
Friends, yesterday, 27th June was the 74th Birthday of Rahul Dev Burman,
the legendary music director and singer of India. Let me allow to say something
about this great man.
Rahul Dev Burman, better known as R.D. Burman, was a famous
Bollywood music director during the 60's through the early 90's. He was
known for introducing an upbeat, Western copied music that defined much of the
music of the 1970's. This style has influenced generations of music
directors even to today.
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 named
Meera. As a child he was nicknamed "Pancham".His music
education began very early on. Naturally 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).
His professional career began in 1958. He began assisting his father
on films such as "Solva Saal" (1958),
"Chalti Ka Naaam Gaadi" (1958),
and "Kaagaz ka Phool" (1957).
His first film as music director was Guru Dutt's film "Raaz" (1959);
unfortunately, this film was shelved in the middle of the project. His
first released film as a music director was Mehmood's "Chote Nawaab"
(1961).
From there his career was firmly launched. The 1960's
saw RD. Burman working in various capacities. Sometimes he worked as an
assistant music director to his father; he assisted his father on such films as
"Bandini" (1963),
"Teen Deviyaan" (1965),
"Guide" (1965),
"Jewel Thief" (1967)
and "Talash" (1969).
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| Film "Bhoot Bangla" |
He also tried his hand at acting; he acted in such films as "Bhoot
Bangla" (1965)
and "Pyaar Ka Mausam" (1967).
But more significantly he started working as a music director in his own
right. For instance, there was "Bhoot Bangla" (1965),
and his first hit film "Teesri Manzil" (1966).
"Tesri Manzil" marked a major milestone in his career. From
this point on, he was well establish, 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 "Amar
Prem" (1971),
"Hare Rama Hare Krishna" (1971),
"Seetha Aur Geeta" (1972),
and "Sholay" (1975).
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| The poster of the film "Tesri Manzil" |
This period of his life was marked by both personal success and
hardships. He married Rita Patel in 1966,
but the marriage did not last; they were divorced in 1971.
In 1975
his father passed away.The death of his father may be seen as a punctuation in his career. It
did not stop him, but marked the start of another decade of successful films in
Bollywood. It is pointless to try and name them all, but a few which
particularly stand out are "Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin" (1977),
"Golmal" (1979),
"Kudrat" (1980),
and "Burning Train" (1980)
 |
| With Asha Bhosle |
His personal life was also good in this period. In 1980 he married Asha Bhosle in 1980.
They remained happily married until his death. 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 1990's with very
lacklustre commercial success. There were a few exceptions to the publics
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 die on January 4, 1994.
His death may have brought an end to his musical output, but he is fondly
remembered today. Where the public, and business rejected him the last
years of his life, today the public tends to focus on the high spots in his
career. He has been remembered and honoured by numerous, remixes,
documentaries, and the naming of the "Filmfare RD Burman Award for New
Music Talent" after him.
Well friends, that’s all for today. Take care of your family and children and of course
yourself! Have a good day/ afternoon/evening/night! Namaskar.
