"Pancham Da is yet to leave the building"

Says this new biography that traces the musical journey, life and times of RD Burman and gives you an insiders' view of his maverick music making process

While we all know that RD Burman even wailed as a baby in tune in the fifth note and was so named Pancham by the late actor Ashok Kumar, did you know that Pancham started out by playing various musical instruments in some of his father SD Burman's famous songs? He played the harmonica in the song Hai apna dil to awara sung by Hemant Kumar in the film Solva Saal.



Or the fact that he almost didn't make it as the music director of the film Teesri Manzil because the film's hero Shammi Kapoor wanted Shankar Jaikishen instead. Kapoor put Pancham through a tough test where the musician finally passed after his rendition of Aa ja aa ja and O mere sona re. Songs which since then have made musical history.

The new book RD Burman, The Man, The Music written by Aniruda Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal is like an encyclopaedia of any RD Burman fan.

Not only is the biography peppered with trivia that is not known in the mainstream but painstakingly traces the origin, conception and development, key notes and process of many of the famous Pancham numbers.

With the advent of the internet, there are ardent RD Burman fans who fanatically debate and break down each and every RD rhythm, the use of unconventional instruments which he liked to use in his music from around the world and how he sometimes reworked his own tunes from other films into completely different ones for new films.

The book is well researched and is written in a simple, fluid style and scattered with trivia. But the fact that book also highlights Pancham's highs and lows in his personal life along with his musical career are what will keep you glued to this book.

And while you read the book you will not be able to help but hum to yourself all of Pancham's timeless tracks every time it is discussed in the pages. And you will even discover some of his tracks which you might have never heard of and find yourself searching and listening to it on You Tube.

Book Extracts
Musical Legacy and Beyond, Page 27-28
The nickname 'Pancham' came some years later. Apparently as a child he wailed at the fifth note of the Saptaswara. There is another story. Rahul would invariably sing the note Pa whenever his father sang the note Sa.

Thespian Ashok Kumar thus gave him the name 'Pancham' (as per multiple interviews given by Pancham).Incidentally, the number five proved lucky for him in his early career- Teesri Manzil (1966), his first major hit was his fifth film a composer.

Incredibly for someone who came to be associated with making Western beats and rhythms as a fad in Hindi film music, Rahul never formally learnt to play any Western music though his musicians did guide him occasionally. His mastery of the mouth organ was self taught.
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One of his achievements early on was to play the harmonica in a floating position inu00a0 a water ballet at Anderson Club, near Calcutta's Dhakuria Lake. Pancham was cast in the role of Gautam Buddha in the water ballet titled Discovery of India.
Mango And Cadbury Uncle, Page 47-48

Surfing on the success of films like Kashmir Ki Kali and Rajkumar (1964), while working on Jaanwar (1965), Shammi Kapoor was referred to as the king with the animal charm.

He was acknowledged to be at the top of the pecking order, the man with the power to mesmerize his leading ladies with his charisma and attractive looks.

Shammi's favourite composers were industry favourites Shankar Jaishikan and OP Nayyar who had helped build his image by churning out colossal musical hits for the star. It was no surprise that he would have none other than S-J or Nayyar for Teesri Manzil.

Pancham therefore had to clear the hurdle that was Shammi Kapoor. Well wishers Jaikishen and screenplay writer Sachin Bhowmik came to Pancham's aid requesting Shammi to give an opportunity to Pancham to showcase his skills.

Initially shattered nerves gave way, a flabbergasted Pancham left the room. After a couple of perfunctory puffs on a cigarette, Pancham re-entered the music room and played the tunes he had reserved for the occasion: O mere sona, Aa ja aa ja and O haseena zulfon wali. Shammi Kapoor stopped him abruptly and said, "You have passed. You are my music director."

Goldfinger Page 71
Padosan boasts of a song loved across generations, the Manna Dey-Kishore Kumar duet Ek chatur naa karke shringaar.
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Kishore Kumar- yes even he- balked at the sheer difficulty of the number in which some of the vocal trapeze acts had to be left out in the final take. The song was one of the most challenging in the careers of Manna Dey and Kishore.

Before the nine-hour long rehearsal, Manna was confidence personified since the song demanded a fight between two classically trained singers. He was perturbed too, since has supposed to lose battle to Kishore who was not trained in classical music.
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Eventually, though he accepted that Kishore had got under the skin of the character and had so mastered the song that losing to him was no longer improbable.

Kishore also played pranks, improvising during recordings. His sudden outburst of 'O tedhe, seedhe ho ja re' took Manna by surprise but Pancham signalled that they carry on.

RD Burman, The Man, The Music, Anirudha Bhattacharjee & Balaji Vittal, HarperCollins India, R 399.u00a0 Available at all leading bookstores.u00a0