Tell me, when did you first meet R.D.Burman?
I remember the day very clearly. It was years ago, I was recording the song
Lehron mein jhooloon for Armaan. Pancham must have been in his final year in
school then, he dropped in at the recording studio one day. Sachinda brought him
to me and told him, "Meet her, yeh bahut badi singer hai."
Pancham didn't complete school; he began to assist his father. i remember
yelling at him then - I was already married. I had children and looked
matronly.. he was thin and gawky. I knew more about life than he did; I told him
that he should have finished his studies. Years later, Pancham told me that he
was upset by what I'd said. "If I'd run after books, I wouldn't have become a
music director."
Which was the first song you did for him?
He'd started working with his father in films like Nau Do Gyarah. In our free
time, we'd go into an adjoining room and play table tennis. His first
independent composition which I sang was Maar dalega darde jigar (Pati Patni).
That was the beginning; we worked together on many films. I came to know him
better. I even attended his wedding!
Didn't R.D.Burman live in his father's shadow?
No. Temperamentally, the two were very different. Sachinda was more like a raja,
Pancham was more of a commoner, he mixed with others freely... some people said
that Pancham copied his father's music, I don't think so. Ever since he became a
music director in his own right, he lived separately. Sachinda preferred folk
tunes while Pancham would incorporate several kinds of music into his
compositions.
Pancham had a great deal of respect for his father - and dada was fond of h ..... |
