R.D. Burman was never fond of his peppy songs, claims a new book

Mumbai: Seldom does an Indian discotheque call it a day without playing a peppy R.D. Burman number. But what if we told you the man himself wasn’t too fond of the genre and believed it was nothing but a momentary fad?

Revelations made in 'R D Burmania : Panchamemoirs', published by notionpress(dot)com and authored by Chaitanya Padukone, a veteran showbiz journalist who has compiled his works and shared anecdotes from his meetings with the composer, claim that even when the acclaimed composer won a much delayed and much deserved Filmfare award, he was underwhelmed because it wasn’t for one of his ‘Raga’ based songs.

"When the 'Thumri'-based raga song 'Humein tumse pyar kitna' composed by RDB and sung by Begum Parveen Sultana bagged a Filmfare Award, it was a loud testimony to all those who doubted his ability to conjure up classical numbers. This explains why RDB was not all that exhilarated when he won his first-ever Filmfare Award trophy for Best Music Score in 1983, which had eluded him for over two decades," Padukone has written.

Amusingly enough, several of Burman's foot-tapping compositions, have been recreated and reproduced in films, private albums and television serials, posthumously, while the entire soundtrack of 'Dil Vil Pyar Vyar' was produced as a tribute to his musical genius.

"It's a fact that the masses get turned on, as the songs also have seductive glamour-repeat visual value. But, honestly, at times, I hate composing cabaret songs because there is no soulful melody or inspiring lyrics in it. Whenever I compose raga-based melodies, I derive total creative satisfaction. Classical music is my forte," he has added.

R.D. Burman has been celebrated across generations for being amongst the most versatile Indian music composers of all time, by professional patronisers and laymen with equal measure.

“Off the record, he (Burman) mentioned to me that since the movie 'Sanam Teri Kasam' had only a ‘jazzmatazz’ westernised score and no classical songs, he was disheartened”, Padukone has quoted ‘Panchamda’.

The book which has a foreword by filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and an epilogue by Mahesh Bhatt also features tributes and anecdotes shared by the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, the late Rajesh Khanna, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, A R Rahman, among others.