Even before a word is written, the danger of embarking on such a piece appears before you as commonsense. Can there ever be a complete piece on a musician such as R.D. Burman? What I say is not to be read in relation to his humungous output as a music composer, but as that which is directly connected to his creative genius. How does one grapple with it? Critics have made meek attempts in tried and tested ways, but to understand a mind like RDB’s is not easy.
Music circles, film music groups, fan clubs, internet forums have kept the discussions on his music alive, it’s not over yet. The song from the film Aandhi , “Tere Bina Zindagi Se Koyi” has been heard by nearly four million people online, a record that no other Hindi film song has been able to match. It is clearly a phenomenon, however, what are its attributes? The magic of meaning in creative art is more than laying its constituents threadbare. Speaking about his discovery of the theory of Relativity, Einstein said: “It occurred to me by intuition, and music was the driving force for that intuition. My discovery was the result of musical perception.” This piece therefore -- written on the occasion of RDB’s 77th birthday which was on June 27 -- by its very virtue will remain incomplete: for, intuition cannot be seen in its full form, and a listener’s memory walks its own path.
A co-admirer announced: “Today is RDB’s birthday. I’m listening to the songs of Aandhi .” My mind spontaneously flew to Amar Prem . Story goes that the legendary composer Madan Mohan refused to accept that RDB composed the songs of Amar Prem . For the longest of time, I kept thinking the composer of those heavenly songs was S.D. Burman. I was indulging in a self-conscious mistake which came from the ‘sound’ of the songs. “Raina Beeti Jaaye” has the grandeur and seriousness of a khayal. It is based in the Hindustani classical tradition. The tabla engages with the song in the conventional manner. All these clues could well lead us to understand that it is an S.D. Burman composition. Let’s take a closer look. The poignant notes of Raga Todi on the sarangi, the haunting-wistful alaap, the bass guitar which quietly sets pace, the santoor whips up a mild drama leading you to a plaintive bit on the flute, and gently the song is handed over to you. The edifice of this 45-second prelude is built on silence, a quality that does not change even when the entire orchestra enters the scene. The melody effortlessly shifts to raga Khamaj seeming like it is inherent to the structure of the song. The use of an instrument like the guitar, the swing in its melodic sequence, its unconventional formation… defies the way S.D. Burman would conceive a song. RDB who was greatly influenced by jazz, rock, Latino styles of music creates a masterpiece in the Hindustani classical idiom. His talent and skills were nurtured in his father’s warehouse, but RDB remained his own distinct self. While he came very close to his father’s style in several such compositions, he elucidated his points of departure as well. In fact, two other songs in the film -- “Kuch To Log” and “Bada Natkhat Hain Re” -- are based on the raga Khamaj, but they hardly bear any resemblance to the Khamaj passages in “Raina Beeti Jaaye”.
Writing about this song, Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal recall a conversation musician Arati Mukherjee had with Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur. While the two were conversing in Dharwad, Mansur began to hum “Raina Beeti Jaaye”; seeing the surprise on her face, he told her that S.D. Burman’s son had glided the notes of two different ragas in the most beautiful manner. They place on record Carnatic vocalist Prince Rama Varma saying that “Chingari Koi Bhadke” is among the greatest Hindi songs ever composed. Rama Varma draws attention to the hauntingly beautiful guitar chord, which he says gives the song a hypnotic quality through sheer repetition.
From the sombre, melancholic songs, RDB paints a lively portrait of a drunken hero in “Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hain” of Kati Patang . The warm violin passages, the lush and happy guitar accompanied by waltzing rhythm arrangement gives the song a texture hitherto unknown in Hindi cinema.
R.D. Burman was relentless and obsessive. He was constantly thinking about his music. Amit Kumar, son of singer Kishore Kumar had narrated in an interview the birth of the song, “Musafir Hoon Yaaron” from Parichay . Much that RDB tried, the right tune wasn’t happening. One morning, he was having bath while his guitarist Bhanu Gupta sat in the living room strumming on the guitar. “Keep it going,” RD screamed from the bathroom, and by the time he came out, the phrase “Mujhe Chalte Jaana Hain” was ready. That night, he pulled Gulzar into his car, roamed the streets of Mumbai, and by morning the tune of the song ready. When he was preparing to make music for Amar Prem , it is said that for several days RDB would lock himself up in his room from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.!
The list of most remarkable songs are unending. But let me recall “Aajaa Aajaa Mein Hoon Pyar Tera” and “Mehbooba Mehbooba”. Set to rock and roll rhythm, “Aajaa Aajaa” has the most thrilling brass section and rugged drums. It is catchy, playful and the imperativeness in the refrain “Aaja aaaajaa aaajaa….” is love personified. Rafi and Asha carry the difficult song on their solid shoulders and the musicians who accompany them are no lesser masters. It is a deceptively foot tapping number, but what RDB spins off is an extremely complex rhythm structure. Sholay’s “Mehbooba” song is wild and physical. The raunchy number sung by RDB himself, uses banjo, congas to create the Arabian Nights effect. With his unusual timbre, RDB infuses non-musical vocal effects and gives it a unique feel. The song was a runaway hit.
Yaadon Ki Baarat, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Hum Kisise Kum Nahin, Ijaazat … so many songs I want to remember. RDB was capable of an immense range -- an entire spectrum of songs. I want to remember RDB not just for his great songs, but for the humungous amount of music he listened to. I want to remember him for his love for his fellow musicians. He made it known to the world that without the discussions he had with his musicians Maruti Rao and Manohari Singh, his background score would never have been the same. RDB had a team of 80-odd musicians, but he knew each of them personally, knew their favourite drink and took great joy in cooking for them. Can there be a great artiste who is not a great human being as well?
RDB was a Renaissance man. He created a cosmopolitan aesthetic of music which at once had the old and new listeners paying attention to him. The manner in which he fused musical styles was iconic and original. He took ideas from the old world and gave it a liberal twist. For RDB new was never an irreverence to the old, it was in fact built on it. But for R.D. Burman and Ilaiyaraja, I cannot think of music composers who bestowed so much dignity on modernity.
