Rahul Dev Burman aka R D Burman was an Indian music composer who is considered as one of the greatest music directors of the film industry. He was fondly called as Pancham Da by his colleagues and many regard him as the pioneer of Hindi pop songs.
Burman began his journey in 1961 composing songs for Hindi films. In his later years, he further ventured into other languages and composed songs for Bengali, Telugu, Tamil and Marathi.
From 1961 to 1963 Burman composed for 331 films and won numerous awards and recognition in career spanning more than three decades.
He was known for his collaboration with Asha Bhosle (his wife) and Kishore Kumar, and composed some of the most memorable songs in the film industry ever.
Burman rose to prominence in the early 1970s in Rajesh Khanna starrer films. His popularity even grew more with his collaborations with Asha Bhosle, Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar.
Burman has been credited with revolutionising Bollywood music. He incorporated a wide range of influence from several genres and made electronic rock popular in love stories. He also used Western dance music as a source of inspiration for his compositions. Burman’s legacy served as an influence to the next generation of Indian music directors. Many of these music directors have remixed Pancham Da’s popular songs over the years.
The legendary music director was known for his songs like Dum Maaro Dum, Piya Tu Ab To To Aaja, Kya Hua Tera Wada, Raat kali ek khwab mein, Mehbooba Mehbooba, Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin, Chura Liya Hai Tum Ne and Aao Na.
Burman also holds the record for the most nominations for Best Music Director at one of India’s most prestigious award shows, FilmFare.
On the occasion of his 24th death anniversary we pay a tribute to the legendary singer by listing some of the most iconic songs that revolutionised Bollywood music.