Sachin Dev Burman

 

Sachin Dev Burman ( S D Burman)

Sacin Dev Burman was one of the pioneers of Bollywood Music and a pillar in the development of Hindi Film songs. His style in composing Hindi film music had a novelty and had his own stamp. Songs composed by him is still and will forever remain in the hearts of those who love music.

Sachin Dev Burman, popularly known by his initials, S D Burman is the name of one of the finest music directors that the Indian film industry has had. He was born on October 1, 1906 in Comilla (now Bangladesh).  His mother's name was Nirmala Devi and his father's name was Nabadwipchandra Dev Burman.  His father was the second son of Ishanachandra Dev Burman, the Raja of Tripura; so SD Burman is descended from a royal family.  SD Burman was one of nine children and the youngest of five boys.

SD Burman earned his Bachelor’s degree from Comilla Victoria College and then went on to acquire a Masters degree from Calcutta University. SD Burman's musical training was extensive.  Initially he learned under his father, who was an accomplished dhrupad singer and sitar player.  From 1925 to 1930 he underwents formal training under K.C. Dey; later he studied under Bishmadev Chattopadhaya, the sarangi maestro Kahifa Badal Khan, the great violin / sarod maestro Allaudin Khan, and even Kazi Nazrul Islam

It was during this period his personal life was developing as well.  He constructed a residence in Calcutta.  Probably the most significant event of his personal life was when he started teaching a young music student by the name of Meera Dasgupta.  In the course of events they became romantically involved.  However there was the problem; although she was well educated and from a very respectable family, she did not represent nobility.  This created quite a stir in the family, and when S.D. Burman refused to leave her, he was forced to sever his ties with his family and forfeit his inheritance.  They married and from their union R D Burman was born in 1939.

SD Burman's career as a music composer began in the mid 1930's.He also worked as a part time singer with Calcutta Radio Station. Initially he composed music for Bengali theatre.  His first compositions made their way into the films with "Rajgee" (1937), and his first hit movie as a film director came in "Rajkumarer Nirbhashan”. The audience loved the musicand it was also critically appreciated.

In 1944, he moved to Bombay; this started a new chapter in his life.  He was brought by Sasadhar Mukherjee to Bombay to by work on two Ashok Kumar films, "Shikari" (1946) and "Aath Din" (1946).  From this, he began to give the music for more Hindi films.  Through much of this period he went go back and fourth between Bombay and Calcutta as he worked for both the Hindi as well as the Bengali cinema.

Let us see what David Courtney from CHANDRAKANTHA.COM says. 1949-1950 was a pivotal period for SD Burman.  He became disillusioned with the whole Hindi film business and left "Mashaal" (1950) midway through the project.  He resolved that he would leave the whole Bombay Hindi film scene, and return to Calcutta where he felt that there was more artistic integrity.  Had he done so, he probably would have spent the remainder of his days regarded as merely a regional music director, largely unknown to most of India.  However he was persuaded not to leave and stay in Bombay.  Thereafter he was the music director for a string of very successful and artistically highly regarded films such as "Kagaz Ka Phool" (1959), and "Devdas" (1955).

Bollywood is known for its professional differences and clashes of egos; S.D. Burman was no exception.  The most noted clash came in 1957 with his falling out with Lata Mangeshkar.  Although the details of which are not quite clear, the generally held view is that Lata used to be quite a "diva" and throw her weight around.  This irritated most music directors, but commercial pressures forced most people to put up with her antics.  Apparently SD Burman just could not put up with it; so he refused to book her and instead used her sister, Asha Bhosle.  Years later, Asha would become his daughter-in-law.

SD Burman's had health problems in the 1960's, and this effected his work.  These problems were partly alleviated by the assistance of his son, RD Burman, who had already established his bona fides as a music director in his own right.  During this period he came out with some of his most memorable work.  His contributions to "Guide" (1965), seem particularly noteworthy.

SD Burman continued to work through the end of the 1960s and well into the 1970s.  "Abhiman" (1973), "Chupke Chupke" (1975), and "Mili" (1975), are a few works from this period which stand out.  However midway through his work on "Mili", he goes into a coma.  He died on October 31, 1975.

Anirudha Bhattacharya and Balaji Mittal write about S D Burman: The Prince-Musician traces the life of the imperious composer, who gave Hindi film music its grammar. In the Biography written by these autors the first few chapters detail how his growing up years would influence his music and shape his career. He would go fishing, a pastime he continued to indulge in even in Bombay, play football - SD would remain an East Bengal fan all his life - and be enamoured of the itinerant singers who presented their repertoire of folk forms: Baul, Kirtan and the Bhatiyali boatmen songs that would have a lasting impression, along with the compositions of Rabindranath Tagore, on the lanky youth who would one day tower over film music.

Through their meticulous research, the authors take us through SD's journey, first to Calcutta, where he made his mark as a singer, then to Bombay, with his initial struggles to establish himself in an unknown land, his association with the Anands (Chetan and Dev) and the Pali Hill group and, finally, his big breakthrough film, Navketan's Baazi (1951), starring Dev Anand and Geeta Bali and directed by Guru Dutt.

That was the time Hindi film music was also undergoing a change. Khemchand Prakash died, sadly before he could enjoy all the accolades he received for Kamal Amrohi's Mahal (remember Lata Mangeshkar's evergreen "Aayega aanewala"?); another giant, Anil Biswas, was on the wane. C. Ramchandra and Naushad were ruling the roost. And then came along the duo of Shankar and Jaikishan with Raj Kapoor's Barsaat, forever changing the sound of Hindi film music.

The book tracks this shifting balance of power of the 1950s when SD was largely confined to scoring for Dev Anand's Navketan (Taxi Driver, House No. 44, Funtoosh, Nau Do Gyarah and others), with Bimal Roy's Devdas being a notable exception, leading up to Pyaasa, the music for which became a benchmark for other composers to emulate. The authors devote an entire chapter to Guru Dutt's masterpiece, replete with nuggets on how each song was composed, why "Rut phire par din hamare" was removed from the film, and also touch upon the tiff between SD and the genius poet-lyricist, Sahir Ludhianvi, that would end one of the most creative collaborations in Hindi film music.

Come the 1960s and we find a different SD, more tolerant of Western music which, the authors say, may have been the result of a lengthy vacation across Europe that the composer - rooted in Hindustani classical, Bengali folk music and Tagore - took with his family. The book chronicles the films he composed for during the early 1960s - some memorable like Kala Bazar, others less so. The book also covers in great detail Navketan's Guide, arguably one of the finest film scores in music history. This was also the time when SD's prodigiously talented son, Rahul Dev Burman or Pancham, had begun assisting his father as well as turning into an independent composer himself, and the book showcases this synergy of talents.

Awards and Honours:

1934: Gold Medal, Bengal All India Music Conference

1959: Asia Film Society Award

1964: Sant Haridas Award

National Film Awards: 1970: Best male Singer “Aradhana”

1974: Best Music Direction “Zindagi”

1969: Padma Shri

Film fare Awards: 1954; Best Music Director: Taxi Driver

1973: Best Music Director: Abhiman

Bengal Film Journalists Award (BFJA): 1965: Best Music Teen Devian

1966: Best Music: Best Music – Guide

1966: Best Male Playback Singer: Guide1969: Best Music: Aradhana

1973: Best Music: Abhiman