Chaitanya Padukone's book lends a sneak peek into Pancham Da's life
Renowned entertainment journalist Chaitanya Padukone has penned a book on his memories with RD Burman--RD Burmania: PanchaMemoirs.
To mark the 77th birth anniversary of the iconic music maestro Rahul Dev Burman (on June 27), award-winning senior showbiz journalist and author Chaitanya Padukone has launched his latest book, RD Burmania: PanchaMemoirs.
Chaitanya began his career as an entertainment journalist with an interview of Burman, after the latter won his first Filmfare award, and since then, shared a good rapport with the maestro.
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Pancham Da, as he was lovingly called, has blessed us with numerous songs that we will cherish forever. Not only did Pancham Da have a successful music career, but there are numerous stories related to each song he composed throughout his lifetime--stories that still remain untold.
Chaitanya, in his new book, has not only included fascinating memoirs, but also a collection of rare and startling vintage photographs of RD Burman, along with other important anecdotes.
The book also has exclusive personal tributes by numerous luminaries including Amitabh Bachchan, AR Rahman, Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar, Pyarelal (of Laxmikant-Pyerelal), Shekhar Kapur, Sonu Nigam, Sunil Gavaskar and Zeenat Aman.
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One such epic tale, as recalled by playback singer Shailendra Singh: "Way back in 81, we were travelling in my car during the monsoons and enjoying rounds of booze to keep ourselves warm. Suddenly the soda-water got over. Not one to give up so easily, Pancham Da insisted that we thrust our glasses outside the windows and said 'cheers' as the downpour filled up his glass," he chuckles.
To add to this, Bajirao Mastani filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali has also penned a foreword to the book, revealing his personal experiences with RDB during the song-sitting of 1942: A Love Story.