R.D. Burman’s passion for music knew no bounds—he lived it, breathed it, and even dreamed it. Music wasn’t just his profession; it was his obsession. Legend has it that the iconic song Kanchi Re Kanchi Re from Hare Rama Hare Krishna came to him in a dream. Such was the depth of his musical genius. His wife, Asha Bhosle, once revealed in an interview, “Pancham was madly in love with music. It consumed him completely. He would work tirelessly for hours, and there were nights when he’d wake up at midnight just to compose a tune until he felt it was perfect.”
That was Pancham Da — a true musical visionary driven by pure passion.
The Musical Maverick Who Turned Everyday Objects into Timeless Bollywood Beats
As one of the few music directors who brought a revolution in Bollywood music, he introduced Latin sounds, retro disco, and funk sounds. This innovative approach was reflected in his eccentric ways of generating rhythm, which led to out-of-the-box compositions. A unique feature of his compositions was generating music using non-musical instruments; sometimes things as weird as a spoon and a glass!! If you don’t believe, then listen to the hit song Chura Liya Hai Tumne (Yadoon Ki Baraat), In which he created music by hitting a spoon on a glass.
When Pancham Turned Combs, Beer Bottles & Breaths into Bollywood Gold
Readers would be shocked to know Pancham created the evergreen classic song Mere Saamnewali Khidki Mein… (Padosan) by simply using a comb to produce a rustling sound effect in the song. Similarly, for the super hit song Mehbooba Mehbooba (Sholay), Pancham used empty beer bottles! He asked one of his musicians to blow into beer bottles to create a unique rhythm. And what’s more, he created rhythm through huffing and panting. Remember the song Duniya Mein Logon Ko from Apna Desh (1972). Isn’t it weird and unbelievable? Well, yes! But in those days, music directors did not have modern musical instruments to create music; hence, maverick music directors like Pancham used creativity to the maximum.
In addition, the other quality of Pancham was that he made several innovations to create exceptionally different music from R.D. Burman. Like for the immortal song Raina Beeti Jaaye from Amar Prem (1971), he combined santoor and guitar—a rare combination never performed before!! Hence, music critics called him a music director far ahead of time. True indeed, because the music that was ridiculed by music critics during his era has today become a classic. Today’s generation is going crazy over his classic numbers. A full-fledged Bollywood film, Dil Vil Pyar Vyar (2002), was dedicated to R.D. Burman, and several superhit songs of Pancham were remixed. After that, the number of remixes of R.D. Burman in Bollywood has become a trend. Youngsters today keep R.D. Burman songs as their mobile ringtones.
What’s more, in 2013, a beverage company from the Netherlands used RD’s revolutionary signature tune of Dum Maro Dum (Hare Rama Hare Krishna, 1971) for their advertisement. And last but not least, it’s been several years since Pancham departed from the world, but still, he is alive with his songs on the radio and TV. It is impossible to jump radio channels without R. D. Burman hit songs!!
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