Remembering Rahul Dev Burman on his birth anniversary: A gifted composer who ruled Bollywood

There’s no denying the fact that Rahul Dev Burman was one of the most talented and popular music composers in Bollywood during the 1970s. His songs often added a new dimension to popular films, upping their recall value. The son of ace music director Sachin Dev Burman, ‘Pancham’ composed his first song Ae Meri Topi at the age of nine and proved his musical abilities. His father used the composition in Funtoosh (1956).

After honing his skills, he composed music for films such as Chotte Nawab, Bhoot Bangla and Teesra Kaun. It was, however, Teesi Manzil (1966) that proved to be a turning point for RDB. The thriller featured the evergreen O Mere Sona Re track sung by Mohammed Rafi.

He subsequently impressed fans with his work in cult films such as Deewar, Amar Prem, Ghar, Shalimar, Saagar and Abdullah, cementing his legacy. He also composed the soundtrack of the evergreen classic Sholay and sang the iconic Mehbooba number.

RDB hit a rough patch in the late 1980s as several films, which featured his compositions, underperformed at the box office. The rise of new music composers too added to his worries. He made a decent impact with Rekha’s Ijaazat but the film did not receive much mainstream attention as it was a part of the parallel cinema movement. Around the same time, RDB signed his first Malayalam movie Thenmavin Kombath in the hope of reviving his career. The maestro, unfortunately passed away in 1994 before he could begin work on the same.

He had composed the soundtrack for Anil Kapoor’s 1942: A Love Story, which released posthumously and became extremely popular with the the Ek Ladki Ko Dekha song emerging as a cult hit.

RDB remains an inspiration for young music directors even years after his death. Himesh Reshammiya’s Balma number from Khiladi 786 is considered to be a tribute the maestro. HR also recreated the iconic Mehbooba number for Aap Ka Suroor, which marked his acting debut. The Indian government released a postal stamp bearing his likeliness in 2013, celebrating his career.