IMMORTAL SD BURMAN

Known as "Sachin Karta" to the music connoisseurs of Kolkata, "Burman Dada" as fondly called by the musicians of Bombay, "Shochin Deb Bormon" by the radio listeners of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, "S.D. Burman" by the film cine goers or simply "SD" by his "jeans" filmi fans -- he created songs that bore the stamp of his inimitable genius, abounding in variety yet retaining the distinction of his style. Drawing from the vast store of folk music-forms and from the classical teachings, as the mood called for, he produced what is known as the Sachin Dev Burman music which is at once rotund, vibrant and unorthodox both in form and substance.

Sachin Dev Burman was born October 10, 1901 as one of the nine children of Prince Komilla of Tripura. Sachin Dev underwent classical training from his father, Sitar player and Dhrupad singer Nabadweep Chandra Dev Burman. He later trained under Ustad Badal Khan and Bhishmadev Chattopadhyay and this classical training gave him a firm rooting for the music that he was to compose later in life.After his father's death Sachin left home, travelled for years in the forests of Assam and Tripura from where he gained his formidable knowledge and rich repertoire of the rich folk of that region and Bengal. Later he became a disciple of Ustad Aftabuddin Khan, becoming an ace flautist, and starting his own music school, 'Sur Mandir' in Calcutta in the 1930's. He rose to be a popular singer there, learnt more under the illustrious K. C. Dey. He also scored music for Rajkumar Nirshoney, a Bengali film, in 1940. He married Meera, an accomplished singer in 1938. Rahul Dev Burman was born a year later.

Dada left for Bombay against his will in 1944 at the request of Sasadhar Mukherjee of Filmistan, to do two films, Shikari and Aath Din. But Bombay was no cake walk. Despite the musical success of Shikari and Aath Din and later on Do Bhai, Vidya, Shabnam, Dada was still not considered a force. Frustrated, Burman decided to pack up for Kolkata. It was at this point Ashok Kumar put his foot down. "Compose the music for Mashaal and then you are free". Dada took up the baton again. Mashaal was a super hit. The song " Upar Gagan Vishal", became a rage. It also launched Manna Dey in a new fold. After that it was just a matter of time before Dev Anand, who had struck a rapport with this kindred progressive soul, launched his own banner Navketan, and signed S. D. Burman for Baazi. This 1951 hit, along with Jaal (1952) and his AVM hits Bahar and Ladki clinched Dada's success story, and his career never flagged till 1974 when he quit signing films from ill – health.

Dada Burman has the highest average of hit songs among any composer in Hindi films. Obviously, such success stemmed from his unshakeable belief in himself, and he was known to refuse films where the filmmaker wanted 'hit' songs. "I compose only good songs", he would tell this brigade. S. D. Burman won only a few awards – because he never cultivated them but his greatest triumph lay in the fact that his choosiness made every score count. There was a time in Bombay when the lyrics were set to tune by the music directors. Dada changed the theory. The tune first, the lyrics later. Today nine out of ten songs are composed in this manner. Also for every song sequence Dada had many alternative tunes thus giving the producers a wide choice. Dada would often compose a tune instantly, and his music had a strong foundation of folk and classical and was known to innovate by mixing them with Western arrangements. He was averse to commercialization, but he would also aver that a tune should be so simple that 'even my servant should be able to sing it'. When necessary, he would compose exquisite classical numbers, but he would always say that film music was not the medium to show off one's classical prowess.

He would scoff at the so–called indispensability of a singer. When Lata Mangeshkar refused to record with him, he delivered hit after hit with Asha Bhosle and Geeta Dutt and only made with her because his son Pancham wanted her to sing his career first song. He groomed singers like Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar and even Hemant Kumar and made Rafi sing in a soft, crooning fashion when others wanted high pitched or maudlin vocals from him. Dada Burman would practice consciously forgetting a song that he had recorded so that it would not subconsciously permeate in a later composition. His firm base and his selective nature kept his music fresh and no song of his ever gave a dj vu feeling of an older song.

Dada received the prestigious Sangeet Natak Academy Award and the Padmashree for his contribution to music. He got a national award for singing in 1969 for 'Kahe Ko Roye Hoye Jo Hoye..' (Aradhana). Earlier in 1934 in Kolkata, Dada was awarded a gold medal in All Bengal Classical Music Conference in which Ustad Fayyaz Khan, Ustad Allauddin Khan, Bishwadev Chatterjee participated. In Agartala, a bridge has been dedicated in his memory. S. D. Burman awards are given from Agartala every year to upcoming artists.And in Bombay Sur Singar Samsad Academy presents S. D. Burman awards to musicians involved in films.

Dada left for heavenly abode on October 31, 1975 after a paralytic stroke felled him a year earlier. There was a time when the royal family of Tripura criticized him for making a living out of music as it brought down the image of royalty. Dada was hurt and slowly he snapped his ties with Tripura. Today, the Tripura royal family is known for Sachin Dev Burman !!

Thanks Punjini..his songs will live forever 👏

a salute to genius like him 👏

	Dev Anand on S.D. Burman -Rajiv Vijayakar (November 2002, Screen India) http://www.screenindia.com/fullstory.php?content_id=7 Twenty-seven years ago, on the October 31, 1975, music maestro Sachin Dev ('Dada') Burman achieved immortality after a career that began in Mumbai with Eight Days and Shikari in 1946. Aristocratic and literally blue-blooded, Dada Burman will always be ranked high among the greatest composers in the history of film music (see box). A genius who worked for creative satisfaction and the pursuit of excellence rather than economic gratification, the composer-singer was one of the pillars of Navketan, with which he was associated from the 1950-made Afsar to Prem Pujari (1970), Tere Mere Sapne (1971) and Chhupa Rustom (1973). And who else but Dev Anand, the founder of Navketan and the hero of dozens of Dada Burman-composed films, can best recall the giant who shared his thirst for variety, creativity and novelty? After all, unlike the Dilip Kumar-Naushad music, that was stepped in classicism, and the Raj Kapoor-Shanker-Jaikishan team that marketed popular melody, Dev Anand-S.D. Burman music was a synergy of youth and substance, of pop-appeal and depth. Perhaps, instead of terming this as one legend remembering another, we should say, one young man remembers another. Over to Dev Anand, whose association with the versatile composer spanned almost three decades: How would you capsule your bond with Dada Burman? I revere, I admire, I loved Dada Burman! He was a part of the Navketan family, and was our boss in many ways! For he would tick us off anytime he wanted, and be forthright about any film or situation that he was called upon to compose for. Did you change song situations for him then? No, he would not ask us to change anything. He was too sensible to do such things. He realised that he was doing a film where he had to put his personal opinions aside. How much do you miss him? I miss him terribly, after all he was around for almost every Navketan film, right from my first production Afsar. And I miss him for three reasons - because of the tremendous moral support that he would give us all, for his sheer genius as a musician, and for his tremendous involvement in every film he did, whether for Navketan or outside.
THE S D BURMAN
TOP 25 1. Abhimaan 2. Aradhana 3. Baazi 4. Bandini 5. Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi 6. Devdas (1954) 7. Guide 8. Jewel Thief 9. Kaagaz Ke Phool 10. Kala Bazaar 11. Kala Pani 12. Meri Surat Teri Ankhen 13. Munimji 14. Nau Do Gyarah 15. Paying Guest 16. Prem Pujari 17. Pyaasa 18. Sharmilee 19. Solva Saal 20. Sujata 21. Talash 22. Teen Deviyan 23. Tere Ghar Ke Saamne 24. Tere Mere Sapne 25. Ziddi

I remember how he would get these sudden inspirations. He would call me all of a sudden, come over to my place or summon me, and over a drink and a harmonium, compose a tune that will endure as long as film music will. He would then put down the notations, and often the great lyricists with whom we worked — mainly Sahir, Majrooh and Shailendra, and also Pt. Narendra Sharma, Hasrat Jaipuri and Neeraj — would have the song written literally in minutes.

Who chose the poets, Dada or you? Did not Dada usually make the tune first?
Dada and I would jointly decide on the lyricists. Yes, he would usually prefer to compose a melody first and then get the words written, but he could compose excellently too. He composed a superb tune for 'Shokhiyon mein ghola jaaye...' when I told him that I wanted to use the song in my film Prem Pujari. Unlike the music directors of today, he was ingrained in music from childhood.

According to Neeraj, Dada tested him by giving the convoluted metre of 'Rangeela re...' to write on, before accepting him as the lyricist of Prem Pujari?
Well, it's not that Dada tested him. Dada rightly had to be convinced that Neeraj could deliver. Neeraj was a poet and the crafts of writing poetry and film lyrics are completely different.

There were three great music teams then — Dada and you, Naushad and Dilip Kumar, and Shanker-Jaikishan and Raj Kapoor. It was in your collaboration that one saw variety and freshness. Why and how was this according to you?
Well, we saw to it that this was so. All our subjects were contemporary and different, most of them ahead of their times. Dada also liked to vary his playback voices for me according to the needs of the composition. We had Kishore, Rafi and Hemant Kumar, and occasionally Talat Mehmood. And Bhupinder sang a word in 'Honthon pe aisi baat...' for Jewel Thief. Dada did use Mukesh in an early film and Manna Dey in one song too, but not in my productions.

He was also prone to repeated illnesses. Why was that?
It is my personal opinion that this was because Dada was not content because his wife was a dominating woman. Yes, he fell sick very often and I remember that I was adamant about waiting for him to recover during the making of Guide.

Even amidst his best scores, Guide remains a milestone.
Yes. S.D. Burman would get deeply into the core of every subject. I remember how we had recorded a song sung by Rafi. After this, both Goldie and I were completely dissatisfied. We called up Dada and told him about it. 'I find the song very good' he countered. We said that perhaps it could be better. Dada insisted that it was absolutely okay and hung up. Half-an-hour later, Dada called up and said that maybe we had a point. He said that he was coming over the next morning and that I was to arrange for a harmonium. And he played out the melody of 'Din dhal jaaye...' We instantly told him that was it. He smiled, flattered by the praise and said, 'That's why I am here'. This showed that he had been restless by the thought that we were unhappy. Incidentally, we immediately summoned Shailendra, who wrote the mukhda in five minutes flat.

I also remember how he implored us to trust him when we had to leave for Jaipur for the shoot of the film, and a song was not ready. 'Please depend on me. I will send a tune that the world will remember', he said. A few days later, with Goldie and I far away from Mumbai, he sent us 'Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai...'. He did this again in Jewel Thief, and the song was 'Honthon pe aisi baat...'

DID YOU KNOW

• Sachin Dev Burman hailed from a royal family from Tripura?
• That S.D. Burman sang under K.C. Dey in Seeta (1934), a full 12 years before he began as composer? * That he has the greatest hit average among any composer? * That he almost returned disillusioned to Bengal after his first four years of struggle till Mashal and Afsar happened? * That Dada Burman mainly drew inspiration from Assamese and Bangla folk, but even re-worked Western numbers for Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi?
• That he sang a song with Lata Mangeshkar and son Rahul Dev Burman for Atma Ram's Yeh Gulistan Hamara?
• That he introduced Danny Denzongpa as playback singer, that too for Johnny Walker, in the same film?
• That he composed and rendered one song in son Pancham's Amar Prem? * That he patched up with Lata Mangeshkar after a six-year ego-clash only because son Rahul wanted to record his career-first song with her?
• And that the first song he recorded after this famous truce was 'Mora gora ang lai le...' (Bandini)?
• That according to Dev Anand, because of his poor health at that time, it was son RD who composed most of the mukhdas of Jewel Thief, while Dada worked completely on the antaras, orchestration, rehearsing and recording?
• That his last film was the Sharmila Tagore home-production Tyaag released in 1977?
• That he composed the ebullient 'Maine kahaa phoolon se...' (Mili) from his hospital bed?
• That he opted out of Deewangee (1976) on grounds of ill-health after recording one song, which was retained in the film ('Chal sapnon ke shaher mein tujhe le jaata hoon...')
• That he had been the original choice for Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon, Gumrah (1963), Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam and Hare Rama Hare Krishna?
• That his unique 'Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai...' (Guide) was a song that began with the antara, 'Kaaton se khinch ke yeh aanchal...' with the mukhda coming as the fifth line?
• That according to playback singer Bhupinder, who was also a musician in those days, 'Roop tera mastana...' from Aradhana was not composed by Pancham as is commonly believed, but by Dada Burman himself. But Dada would very frequently 'steal' his son's tunes, and tell him that he was testing them on the public?
• That the selective composer who never took on more than two to four films, had seven releases in 1973, including Abhimaan, for which he won an award, and Zindagi Zindagi, for which he won the National award?

Would you recommend him for your outside films?
Never. Most producers went to him because of our association and mutual understanding. He was too magnificent a talent to need or deserve any kind of push.

Since Dada did most of your outside films, was your involvement in the music the same?
Well, I would be consulted, as Dada knew my style and preferences. But essentially, the music would be selected by the filmmakers concerned.

Did Burmanda ever talk to you about his royal ancestry or his past, and how he picked up music while roaming through the forests of Assam and when working in Kolkata?
He once told me that he used to be a tennis player, that's all. But from his habits you could make out that he was obviously royalty. He would always be anointed with rich perfume, and was very fond of a particular kind of paan. If he offered a paan to anybody, it was considered a great gesture and proof that Dada liked that person a lot!

He would be immaculately dressed in a starched, white dhoti, a kurta with three gleaming gold buttons, and a shawl.

How else would you describe him as a person?
Humble, confident, accessible, generous, temperamental and whimsical, sometimes stubborn for a while. He never took on many commitments, for he was paranoid about repeating himself, but would make sure at the same time he got all his money from his producers — no one could fleece him! He was also very health-conscious and diet-conscious because of his fragile health.

A peculiarity about him was that he was responsible for the career-breaks of Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey and Kishore Kumar, but never introduced any significant singer.
Yes, maybe he just wanted to utilise the great singers. But I will tell you one thing about Dada himself. He was so unique as a singer that no one, not even all the great singers could ever reproduce what he would sing. And there was only one exception to this - Lata Mangeshkar! Oh, if only he had the technique of today.

But Burmanda was not happy with the subject of Hare Rama Hare Krishna and its Western ambience. Would he have adjusted to today's demands?
I am absolutely confident that he would have. Dada looked ahead, and his stubbornness never lasted for long. He was open to ideas, change and criticism, which is why he lasted so long. I would call him the greatest composer Hindi cinema has known.

Do you recollect how your association began?
Well, I had heard the music of his first film Shikari and found it very fresh and new from the norm then. Today I would call it typically S.D. Burman music. In those days, he would live in a small tenement up a hill at Sion. A friend called Anadi Banerjee, whom both my friend Guru Dutt and I knew from our Prabhat Film Company days, stayed there and we went to meet him. It was he who took us to Dada. Something made me feel that Dada had arranged this meeting with me. We will never know, but I took him to Chetan and we signed him for Afsar. And the rest, as they say, is history.

S D Burman was the Greatest Music Director.... A Genius, whose magic will continue to linger in all our hearts....

The Road to Success

-By Sachin Dev Burman (Circa 1955, Filmfare)

"You enter a garden house with beautiful garden and congratulate the gardener. What about the master of the house?" Thus said Shri Ramakrishna. In our film world the same question is often asked, though in different words.

However, let me assure you that as a director of film music, I do not envy the film stars or the playback singers, except when I am called a bundle (a word of unknown origin heard in Bombay which means a good-for-nothing fellow)

One day I had some business at Kardar studio. A fairly big crowd was waiting at the gates for a glimpse of the stars and I drove in, in my car. "Who is it?" they anxiously asked and peeped in. "Oh!" came the loud voice of a disappointed fan, and then, "Aarey he is a bundle."

But I have my admirers, too. Once I was waiting at Bandra Station to catch a train for Malad. Suddenly, I discovered that the train had come, halted and left. I did not know. What was I doing? Well, I was lost in the enjoyment of my own tune of a song from Shabnam which a gang of labourers were singing to the rhythm of the movements of their hammers and shovels.

Talking of rhythm, I am tempted to repeat an old story. I had just joined Filmistan and at an informal gathering at Malad I was giving a recital of my songs before S. Mukherji, the Filmistan Chief, Ashok Kumar (Dadamani to all of us), Pradeep, the lyric poet, and others. In the midst of it I heard a jarring sound which was supposed to be a message of appreciation from an admiring listner. Who could it be? I looked in the direction of the sound and turned pale. The culprit was none other than my boss, Mr Mukherji, whom I knew to be a true lover of music and whose style of singing was like my own. – How could I satisfy his ears?

As days went by, I made further discoveries regarding his sense of rhythm and harmony. Everyday after lunch I had to carry my harmonium to his room. Lying comfortably on a sofa, he listened to my compositions, then closed his eyes, and presently snored! The snore was a signal that my composition was disapproved.

This ordeal continued for nearly two months and I came to the end of my patience. I also came to the conclusion that if I could not please my boss, there was no point in my staying on at Filmistan, just to sing lullabys to him. The next day I went prepared for a showdown.

As usual I started playing the harmonium and went on humming my new tune till my boss's eyes closed. There was nothing more to do. I had only to wait for the inevitable snore. But suddenly the boss woke up and said, "Mr Burman, why don't you get it recorded?"

"Record what?" I asked

" I mean this tune. You may call the musicians and start rehearsing right now," he said.

I was puzzled and wondered why of all the tunes I composed for him all this time he liked this one. I found out the same evening. As I was coming out of the rehearsal room the "room-boy" (door-keeper) was humming the tune and quite correctly too! This gave me an idea. From that day I made it a point to get my tunes "approved" by the "room boy". It worked. In almost all cases the room-boy's approval carried.

The secret of Mr Mukherji's judgment was, as he told me one day, the formula of universal appeal. He said. "You see, Mr Burman, you have your own style of music, which I like. By all means keep it up but present it in such a way that film lovers may like it and feel at home with it ---- not only in Bombay or Bengal but all over the country."

With this and many other pieces of sound advice the man who had apparently no rhythm or harmony guided me over the difficult road to success for which I shall always remain grateful to him.

My present work is nothing but trying to weave patterns of universal appeal in my own style, and in this, I think, I am doing my duty to the film industry and no disservice to the country. For me no reward is bigger than the pleasure of hearing my tune from the lips of a stranger.

Fishing is one of my hobbies. Once, I was fishing at a village about twenty miles from Calcutta. It was an unlucky pond, and at the end of a fruitless day I had only my patience to flatter. Thoroughly disappointed, I was about to call it a day, when a boy of about ten jumped into the pond and started singing my Bazi song (Tadbeer sey bigrhee whui taqdeer banaley) not knowing that the man who composed it's music was on the opposite bank with his fishing rod. It was the biggest catch of my life.

It is not the composition of music alone that makes a "hit" song. One is on tenterhooks for fear that a thousand and one calamities may spoil the song. For instance, imagine everything set ready for the final "take" but the singer nonchalantly enjoys ice chips before singing an important song. And who could it be but Dadamani? The idol of the Indian screen was to sing a song in Shikari and he had been ordered that he should have ice before singing my song to improve his voice! But, believe it or not, to my great amazement and unbounded relief, Dadamani's voice did improve and become more and more steady as lumps of ice went down his throat.

I cannot explain the medical theory, but I would like to tell my friends the playback singers who sing my songs: "For heaven's sake, don't ever try Dadamani's trick on me. I am already a "bundle" ----- of nerves!"

Thanks Jaya..I was kind of busy today but could not stop to read this.. 👏

I had no clue on some of these


just one word..WOW 👏 👏


Sachin Dev Burman hailed from a royal family from Tripura?
• That S.D. Burman sang under K.C. Dey in Seeta (1934), a full 12 years before he began as composer? * That he has the greatest hit average among any composer? * That he almost returned disillusioned to Bengal after his first four years of struggle till Mashal and Afsar happened? * That Dada Burman mainly drew inspiration from Assamese and Bangla folk, but even re-worked Western numbers for Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi?
• That he sang a song with Lata Mangeshkar and son Rahul Dev Burman for Atma Ram's Yeh Gulistan Hamara?
• That he introduced Danny Denzongpa as playback singer, that too for Johnny Walker, in the same film?
• That he composed and rendered one song in son Pancham's Amar Prem? * That he patched up with Lata Mangeshkar after a six-year ego-clash only because son Rahul wanted to record his career-first song with her?
• And that the first song he recorded after this famous truce was 'Mora gora ang lai le...' (Bandini)?
• That according to Dev Anand, because of his poor health at that time, it was son RD who composed most of the mukhdas of Jewel Thief, while Dada worked completely on the antaras, orchestration, rehearsing and recording?
• That his last film was the Sharmila Tagore home-production Tyaag released in 1977?
• That he composed the ebullient 'Maine kahaa phoolon se...' (Mili) from his hospital bed?
• That he opted out of Deewangee (1976) on grounds of ill-health after recording one song, which was retained in the film ('Chal sapnon ke shaher mein tujhe le jaata hoon...')
• That he had been the original choice for Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon, Gumrah (1963), Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam and Hare Rama Hare Krishna?
• That his unique 'Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai...' (Guide) was a song that began with the antara, 'Kaaton se khinch ke yeh aanchal...' with the mukhda coming as the fifth line?
• That according to playback singer Bhupinder, who was also a musician in those days, 'Roop tera mastana...' from Aradhana was not composed by Pancham as is commonly believed, but by Dada Burman himself. But Dada would very frequently 'steal' his son's tunes, and tell him that he was testing them on the public?
• That the selective composer who never took on more than two to four films, had seven releases in 1973, including Abhimaan, for which he won an award, and Zindagi Zindagi, for which he won the National award

Thanks thanks Jaya. Can anyone post articles or interviews that will throw light on SD Burman's music as well as his persona?

There are several notable points about him.

1)He had an extraordinary versaility that was absolutely unmatched by his competitors. His music could be folksy as well as classical. It could be traditional as well as modern (possibly the modern part was from RD Burman's imputs).
2)He used traditional classical instruments like sitar, sarangi, tabla etc as well as folk instruments.
3)He had a highly unusual voice which could hardly be imitated. His song always appeared at a crucial moment in a movie and either made a profound statement or carried the story forward. e.g "Wahaan kaun hai tera" in Guide, "Tere saajan hai us paar" in Bandini, "Kaahe ko roye" in Aradhana.
4)He spawned several music directors who carried his style forward. Foremost among them was RD Burman. Jaidev, who was his assistant later made a niche for himself with a brand of music which was highly imspired by Burmanda. Hemant Kumar's music also can be compared to Burman's e.g. Saheb, Bibi Ghulam which is highly Burmanesque.

From http://www.sdburman.net

Biographes and Filmographies

http://music.indya.com/biographies/ind/sd_burman.html

http://www.indianmelody.com/sdbarticle1.htm

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005984/ (Incomplete Filmography)

http://nilangshu.tripod.com/s_d.htm

http://www28.brinkster.com/giitaayan/ow.asp?a=view&p=Sac hinDevBurman&redirect=S%5FD%5FBurman

http://www.indiaheritage.com/perform/cinema/person/musicdir. htm http://www.musicindiaonline.com/MIO-Artists/MusicDirectors/P ages/SDBurman.html http://www.absoluteshop.com/Music/ArtistBios.asp?Artist_ID=6 92

Hear Dada's song online

http://rcvap.tripod.com/S_D_Burman.html

http://www.raaga.com/channels/hindi/music/SD._Burman.html

Get the Lyrics of Dada's songs at Srinivas Ganti's Site

http://www.angelfire.com/film/hindisongs/smbr.html

Check to see how much you know about Dada.... A quiz

http://www.outlookindia.com/quiz.asp?quiz=8

Buy SD Burman's Music on the net at the following sites

http://www.saigan.com/hmp/ip6031.htm

Buy Dada's Bangla Music

http://www.hamaracd.com/hcdus/asp/Collectionsongs.asp?Giftid =G326&cbogiftideas=2

http://www.saigan.com/hmp/ip6007.htm http://www.saigan.com/hmp/ip6049.htm http://www.saigan.com/hmp/ip6005.htm

Originally posted by: charades

Opinion

"An out-of-place song is the most horrible thing imaginable in a movie instead of placing a song in an unwanted position it should be removed entirely..." - S.D Burman

this is so true.

Thanks for your article VJ Bhai