Sachin Dev Burman (1 October 1906 – 31 October 1975) was an Indian music director and singer. A member of the Tripura royal family, he started his career with

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

films in 1937. He later began composing for

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

movies and became one of the most successful and influential Indian film music composers. Burman composed the soundtracks for over 100 movies, including Bengali films and Hindi. Apart from being a versatile composer, he also sang songs in the light semi-classical and folk style of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. His son,

R. D. Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work w ...

, was also a celebrated music composer for Bollywood films. Burman's compositions were sung by the leading singers of the era, including

Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her con ...

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...

Geeta Dutt Geeta Dutt (born Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri; 23 November 1930 – 20 July 1972) was an Indian playback singer and a famous Hindi and Bengali classical artist, born in Faridpur before the Partition of India. She found particular prominence as a ...

Manna Dey Prabodh Chandra Dey (May 1, 1919 − October 24, 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an internationally acclaimed and celebrated Indian playback singer, music director, and a musician. As a classical vocalist, he belonged to the Bhe ...

Hemant Kumar Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989), known professionally as Hemant Kumar and Hemanta Mukherjee, was a legendary Indian music composer and playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, as well as other Indian ...

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...

Shamshad Begum Shamshad Begum (Hindi: शमशाद बेगम, IAST: ''Śamśād Bēgam''; 14 April 1919 – 23 April 2013) was an Indian singer who was one of the first playback singers in the Hindi film industry. Notable for her distinctive voice and r ...

Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It also means god of 3 worlds, heaven, hell & earth, which in turn represents Hindu god Shiva. It is commonly used as a male given name in India. Peopl ...

and Talat Mahmood. As a playback singer, Burman sang 14 Hindi and 13 Bengali film songs.

Background

Burman was born on 1 October 1906, in

Comilla Comilla (; bn, কুমিল্লা, Kumillā, ), officially spelled Cumilla, is the fifth largest city of Bangladesh and second largest in Chittagong division. It is the administrative centre of the Comilla District. The name Comilla was ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia an ...

(in present-day Bangladesh) to Rajkumari Nirmala Devi, the royal princess of

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

and Mahamanyabar Rajkumar Nabadwipchandra Dev Burman of

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...

, son of Maharaja Ishan Chandra Manikya Dev Burman, the Maharaja of Tripura. Sachin was the youngest of the five sons of his parents, who had nine children in all. His mother died when he was just two years of age.

Education

S. D. Burman's first school was at Kumar Boarding in

Agartala Agartala () is the capital city of the Indian state of Tripura, and is one of the largest cities in northeast India. The city is governed by the Agartala Municipal Corporation. The city is the seat of the Government of Tripura. It is located ...

. It was a boarding school for sons of the royalty and the very rich. Burman's father, Raja Nabadweepchandra Deb Burman noticed the teachers were more busy with pampering the sons of the nobility than educating them. Burman's father took him from Kumar Boarding and admitted him at Yusuf School in

, before he was admitted in Class V in Comilla Zilla School. He completed his Matriculation in 1920 at the age of 14. He then got admitted at Victoria College, Comilla, which is presently Comilla Victoria Government College from where he passed his IA in 1922 and then BA in 1924. Burman left for Kolkata to start an MA in

Calcutta University The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

, which he did not finish as music got the better of him for good.Tripura Genealogy at Queensland Univ
He started his formal music education by training under the musician K. C. Dey from 1925 to 1930; thereafter in 1932 he came under the tutelage of Bhishmadev Chattopadhyay, who was only three years his senior. This was followed by training from Khalifa Badal Khan, the

sarangi The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, and Boro folk music (there known as the ''serja'') – in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It is ...

maestro, and Ustad Allauddin Khan, the sarodist. He brought K.C. Dey, Khalifa Badal Khan and Allauddin Khan to Agartala. The noted Bengal poet laureate,

Kazi Nazrul Islam , pseudonym = bn, ধূমকেতু, Dhūmketu , image = Nazrul.jpg , image_size = , caption = Nazrul in Chittagong, 1926 , birth_date = 11 ''Joiṣṭhyô'', 1306 '' Bônggabdô ...

also spent time in their family home in Comilla in the early '20s.

1930s

Burman started working as a radio singer on Calcutta Radio Station in the late 20s, when his work as a singer-composer was based on Bengali folk and light Hindustani classical music. Consequently, his compositions were mainly influenced by his huge repertoire of folk-tunes from present Bangladesh and later other parts of India and around the world. His first record was also released in 1932 (Hindustan Musical Product), with "Khamaj" (semi classical), "E Pathey Aaj Eso Priyo" on one side and the folk "Dakle Kokil Roj Bihane" on the reverse side, on 78 rpm for Hindustan Records. In the following decade, he reached his peak as a singer, cutting as many as 131 songs in

, and also sang for composers like Himangsu Dutta (8), RC Boral (1), Nazrul Islam (4), Sailesh Das Gupta (2) and Subal Das Gupta (1). He also sang for Madhavlal Master (1) and his son R.D. Burman (1). In 1934, he attended the All India Music Conference, at the invitation of

Allahabad University , mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees" , established = , type = Public , chancellor = Ashish Chauhan , vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava , head_label ...

, where he presented his Bengali

Thumri Thumri () is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumuknaa'', which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is, thus, connected with dance, dr ...

, all to an illustrious audience, with the likes of

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (''née'' Swarup Nehru; 18 August 1900 – 1 December 1990) was an Indian diplomat and politician who was the 6th Governor of Maharashtra from 1962 to 1964 and 8th President of the United Nations General Assembly from 19 ...

and the inimitable

Abdul Karim Khan Ustad Abdul Karim Khan ( Devanagari: उस्ताद अब्दुल करीम ख़ान, Persian: ) (11 November 1872 – 27 October 1937)Kirana Gharana. Later in the year, he was invited to Bengal Music Conference, Kolkata, which was inaugurated by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

, here again he sang his Thumri, and was awarded a Gold Medal.HQ Chowdhury
Sachin Karta
sdburman.net He built a house in Southend Park,

Ballygunge Ballygunge is a locality of South Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India. History The East India Company obtained from the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar, in 1717, the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their settlement. Of the ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. He married his student, Meera Das Gupta (1920–2007), the granddaughter of Magistrate Raibahadur Kamalnath Dasgupta from

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest ...

on 10 February 1938 in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

(now Kolkata), though according to some, having married a non-royal, created a furore within the royal family, and subsequently he severed ties with his family, and forfeited his inheritance. According to some others, S.D. Burman severed ties with his royal family because he was frustrated with the unjust and unfair treatment meted out to his father and his brothers by the royal family of Tripura. The couple's only child,

Rahul Dev Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work ...

was born in 1939, and later, both Meera Devi and Rahul assisted S.D. Burman with some of the musical compositions. S. D. Burman also did a singing role in the

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' SD Burman
"filmreference.com". As a music composer, he started with the Bengali plays ''Sati Tirtha'' and ''Janani'', and eventually gave his first score in the film ''Rajgee''. In 1937, his second film ''Rajkumarer Nirbashan'' (1940) became a hit. He gave music in

films such as ''Protishodh'' (1941), ''Abhoyer Biye'' (1942) and ''Chaddobeshi'' (1944) and only one Bengali film in 1969/70 after he permanently moved to Mumbai in 1946. He composed for over 20 Bengali films and 89 Hindi films in all. He made his film debut singing in ''Yahudi ki Ladki'' (1933) but the songs were scrapped and re-sung by

Pahari Sanyal Pahari Sanyal (22 February 1906 – 10 February 1974) was an Indian actor and singer who is known for his work in Bengali cinema. Sanyal acted in many Bengali films, such as '' Harano Sur'', ''Bhanu Goenda Jahar Assistant'', and ''Shilpi''. ...

. His first film as a singer was finally ''Sanjher Pidim'' (1935).

1940s

In 1944, Burman moved to Mumbai, at the request of Sasadhar Mukherjee of

Filmistan Filmistan is an Indian film studio based in Goregaon, Mumbai. Spread over five acres, near Patkar College on S.V. Road, the studio has seven shooting floors, and a temple and garden for outdoor locations. Patkar College's reputation has increa ...

, who asked him to give score for two

Ashok Kumar Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family. He ...

starrers, ''Shikari'' (1946) and ''Aath Din'', but his first major breakthrough came the following year with the company's '' Do Bhai'' (1947). The song ''Mera Sundar Sapna Beet Gaya'' sung by

was his breakthrough song into the film industry. In 1949 came ''

Shabnam Jharna Basak (born 17 August 1946), known by her stage name Shabnam, is a Bangladeshi–Pakistani stage and film actress. Actor Waheed Murad introduced her to the Pakistani film industry by offering her a lead role in his film ''Samundar'' in ...

'', his biggest hit yet with Filmistan, especially noticeable for its multi-lingual hit song ''Yeh Duniya Roop ki Chor'', by Shamshad Begum, which became a rage in those days.

1950s

Disillusioned with the materialism of Mumbai, Burman left the

starred ''Mashaal'' (1950) incomplete and decided to board the first train back to Calcutta. Fortunately, he was dissuaded from doing so. In the 1950s, Burman teamed up with

Dev Anand Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand (26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011), better known as Dev Anand, was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema, through a career that spanned over six decades. He was ...

's Navketan Films to create musical hits like ''

Taxi Driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying ...

'', '' Nau Do Gyarah'' (1957) and ''Kala Pani'' (1958). In addition, he gave music for '' Munimji'' (1955) and ''

Paying Guest ''Paying Guest'' is a 1957 Bollywood Romance drama film directed by Subodh Mukherjee. The film stars Dev Anand and Nutan along with Shubha Khote. The soundtrack, composed by Sachin Dev Burman, received a degree of popularity and made a lasti ...

'' (1957). His songs sung by

and

became popular. Burman composed the music for ''Afsar'' (1950). With the success of their second film '' Baazi'' (1951), he made it to the top and a long association with Navketan and Dev Anand was on its way. ''Baazis jazzy musical score revealed a new facet of singer

, who was mainly known for melancholy songs and

bhajan Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam ( Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

s. One song from the film stood out – "Tadbeer Se Bigdi Hui Taqdeer", a

ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

that was occidentalised into a seductive song. The '' Jaal'' song "Yeh Raat Yeh Chandni" sung by Hemant Kumar is an all-time great classic. The song "Thandi Hawain" from the film '' Naujawan'' (1951) sung by Lata Mangeshkar was one of his first major hits. It made Lata very famous as also poet Sahir. He also wrote music for

Guru Dutt Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone (9 July 1925 – 10 October 1964), better known as Guru Dutt, was an Indian film director, producer, actor, choreographer, and writer.Rajadhyaksha, Ashish, and Paul Willemen. 9941998''Encyclopedia of India ...

's films ''

Pyaasa ''Pyaasa'' (; ) is a 1957 Indian Hindi drama film directed and produced by Guru Dutt, who stars alongside Mala Sinha, Waheeda Rehman, Rehman, and Johnny Walker. Set in Calcutta, it focuses on the disillusioned Urdu poet Vijay (Dutt), whose ...

'' (1957) and ''

Kaagaz Ke Phool ''Kaagaz Ke Phool'' () is a 1959 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film produced and directed by Guru Dutt, who also played the lead role in the film along with Waheeda Rehman. It is the first Indian film in CinemaScope and the last film offi ...

'' (1959). The soundtracks of ''

Devdas ''Devdas'' ( bn, দেবদাস, transliterated as ''Debdās'') is a Bengali romance novel written by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. The story pivots a tragic triangle linking Devdas, an archetypal lover in viraha (separation); Paro, his forbidd ...

'' (1955), ''

House No. 44 ''House No. 44'' is a 1955 Hindi film directed by M. K. Burman and produced by Dev Anand for his banner Navketan Films. The movie stars Dev Anand and Kalpana Kartik in a lead role. The film is also noted for its popular songs with music by S. D. ...

'' (1955), ''

Funtoosh ''Funtoosh'' is a 1956 Hindi film directed by Chetan Anand. The film stars Dev Anand, Sheila Ramani and K. N. Singh. It was the ninth highest-grossing film of 1956, and was declared a "Hit". The music of the movie was an instant hit and songs s ...

'' (1956), and '' Solva Saal'' (1958) were other S. D. Burman hits. In 1959 came '' Sujata'', and S. D. created magic again with "Jalte hai Jiske Liye" by Talat Mahmood. When Guru Dutt made comparatively light-weight films like ''Baazi'' and ''Jaal'' (1952), Burman reflected their mood with compositions like "Suno Gajar Kya Gaye" or "De Bhi Chuke Hum" and when Guru Dutt made his sombre masterpieces – ''

'' (1957) and ''

'' (1959), he was right on target with "Jinhe Naaz Hai Hind" and "Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Haseen Sitam." In 2004, the soundtrack ''of Pyaasa'' was chosen as one of "The Best Music in Film" by ''

Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...

'', the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

magazine. In 1957, S. D. Burman fell out with

and adopted her younger sister

as his lead female singer. The team of S. D. Burman,

and lyricist

Majrooh Sultanpuri Asrar ul Hassan Khan (1 October 1919 − 24 May 2000), better known as Majrooh Sultanpuri, was an Indian Urdu poet and lyricist in India's Hindi language film industry. He wrote Hindustani lyrics for numerous Hindi film soundtracks. He was ...

became popular for their duet songs. Bhosle later became his daughter-in-law after her marriage to

. In 1958, S. D. Burman gave music for

's house production ''

Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi ''Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi'' () is a 1 January 1958 Indian musical comedy film directed by Satyen Bose. Starring Madhubala with the Ganguly brothers —Ashok Kumar, Anoop Kumar, and Kishore Kumar— the film revolves around a middle-aged man wh ...

''. The same year, he was awarded the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

for his compositions in ''Sujata'' and remains the only music director to have won this prestigious award. S. D. Burman often took inspiration from folk music, Hindustani classical music as well as the more mundane day to day sounds of life. For example, in a later interview, he discussed how he had composed the '' Kala Pani'' tune for the Majrooh Sultanpuri / Md. Rafi / Dev Anand song "Hum bekhudi mein tum" based upon the

Hindustani Raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradition, and as a ...

"Raag Chayyanat" and the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

Muezzin The muezzin ( ar, مُؤَذِّن) is the person who proclaims the call to the daily prayer ( ṣalāt) five times a day ( Fajr prayer, Zuhr prayer, Asr prayer, Maghrib prayer and Isha prayer) at a mosque. The muezzin plays an important r ...

's call for prayers that one hears daily near a mosque.

1960s

Early on in his career, Burman refused to allow his voice to be lip-synced on film by actors; as a result, even later on, in

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

, his thin yet powerful voice was often used as

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise ...

ic commentary to haunting results, as in "O Re Majhi Mere Sajan Hai Us Paar" from '' Bandini'' (1963), "Wahan Kaun Hai Tera" from ''

Guide A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom. Travel and recreation Ex ...

'' (1965), and "Saphal Hogi Teri Aradhana" from '' Aradhana'' (1969), for which he received the

National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer The following is a list of winners of the National Film Award (Silver Lotus Award) for Best Male Playback singer. The award was first granted to Mahendra Kapoor in the year 1967. The singers whose performances have won awards have worked in nine ...

in 1970. Ill health caused a slump in his career in the early 1960s, but he gave many hit films in the late 1960s. In 1961, Burman and

came together during the recording of R.D. Burman's first song for the movie ''Chhote Nawab'' (1961). They reconciled their differences and started working again in 1962. The Dev Anand-S. D. Burman partnership, under the Navketan banner, continued to churn out musical hits like '' Bombai Ka Babu'' (1960), '' Tere Ghar Ke Samne'' (1963), ''

'' (1965) and ''

Jewel Thief ''Jewel Thief'' is a 1967 Indian Hindi-language spy thriller heist film directed by Vijay Anand. The film stars Ashok Kumar, Dev Anand, Vyjayantimala and features four bond girl-like actresses portrayed by Tanuja, Helen, Faryal and Anju M ...

'' (1967). In 1963, he composed the soundtrack of '' Meri Surat Teri Aankhen'' (1963), in which

sang the song "Poocho Na Kaise Maine" in

raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradition, and as ...

Ahir Bhairav. This song was inspired by the song "Arun kanti ke go yogi", a masterpiece that was created by Bidhrohi Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam and a Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan's Khayal which was based on raga Ahir bhairav (morning ragaa). That movie also had a song "Nache Mon Mora Magan", sung by Mohammad Rafi; these became landmarks in Hindi film songs. Other S. D. Burman hits from this period were ''Bandini'' (1963), '' Ziddi'' (1964), and ''

Teen Devian ''Teen Devian'' () is a 1965 Bollywood film directed by Amarjeet, starring Dev Anand. Filmed mostly in black and white, with some colour scenes, the movie tells the story of a poet who falls in love with three women. It is inspired by writer ...

'' (1965). In ''Bandini'', Sampooran Singh (well known as

Gulzar Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...

), made his debut as a lyricist with the song "Mora Gora Ang Lai Le", though the other songs were written by Shailendra. ''

'' (1965) starring Dev Anand, was probably the best of his work during the time with all the songs super-hits as well as the film; however, it did not receive the

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

in the best music director category for that year, which remained always a discussion among the Bollywood film pandits. ''Aradhana'' (1969) is considered another landmark score in Bollywood history. The music of the movie shaped the careers of singer

, lyricist

Anand Bakshi Anand Bakshi (21 July 1930 – 30 March 2002) was an Indian poet and lyricist. He was nominated for the Filmfare award for Best lyricist a total of 40 times, resulting in 4 wins. Early life Anand Bakshi (Bakshi Anand Prakash Vaid) was bor ...

and filmmaker

Shakti Samanta Shakti Samanta (13 January 1926 – 9 April 2009) was an Indian film director and producer, who founded Shakti Films in 1957, which is most known for films such as ''Anand Ashram'' (1977), Anusandhan /'' Barsaat Ki Ek Raat'' (1981), ''anay abhi ...

. According to the director Shakti Samanta, originally, Mohammed Rafi was supposed to have sung all the songs in the film (he sang only two song), but he was on 2 month long tour and they didn't want to wait for 2 months. So, he suggested Burman to use Kishore Kumar instead as Rajesh Khanna was a newcomer and he agreed. All the songs became chartbuster which made Kishore Kumar an overnight sensation. References For the song "Mere Sapno ki raani", Sachin Dev made R. D. play the mouth organ. Dev Anand and S. D. Burman continued their musical partnership in '' Prem Pujari'' (1969).

1970s

'' Tere Mere Sapne'' (1971), ''

Ishq Par Zor Nahin Ishq Par Zor Nahin is a 1970 Hindi romantic movie (based on love triangle story) produced by Suresh Saigal and directed by Ramesh Saigal. The film stars Dharmendra, Sadhana, Biswajeet, Kamini Kaushal, Leela Mishra, Abhi Bhattacharya, Jagdeep, N ...

'' (1970), '' Sharmeelee'' (1971), '' Abhimaan'' (1973), '' Prem Nagar'' (1974), ''

Sagina ''Sagina'' (like '' Colobanthus'' called "pearlworts") is a genus of 20–30 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. These are flowering herbs native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere extending south to tropical ...

'' (1974), '' Chupke Chupke'' (1975), and '' Mili'' (1975) are some of Burman's classics from this decade.

Personal life

S. D. Burman married Bengali Film Lyricist and Musician, Meera Dasgupta on 10 February 1938. They had only one son, famous music composer,

who was born on 27 June 1939.

Relationship with Kishore Kumar

Burman was the only composer who had used both Kishore and Rafi in an almost equal number of songs. He regarded Kishore as his second son. Kishore confessed that it was Sachin Da, who had given him the first chance. Even after the rehearsal of "Badi Sooni Sooni" from ''Milli'', when Sachin had a stroke, Kishore went up to the hospital and said to him "Dada, please don't worry, your recording is after three days, you just see how well it goes." The song is considered one of the best of Kishore Kumar. Sachin also used to telephone Kishore in the dead of night, and on the telephone, he would start to sing the new tunes which he composed and ask Kishore to sing with him.

Death

S. D. Burman went into a coma soon after rehearsing the song "Badi Sooni Sooni Hai" (sung by

) for the film Mili. After lingering in a coma for some days, he died on 31 October 1975 in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

Legacy

British singer of South Asian heritage

Najma Akhtar Najma Akhtar also known as Najma (born 18 September 1962) is a British singer of Indian ancestry. She was born in Chelmsford, England. She is noted for jazz modification of the traditional Urdu Indian ghazal (love songs and spiritual songs). ...

, recorded a

Shanachie Records Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey-based record label, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word '' seanchaí'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller. It was previously distrib ...

CD of Burman's work, ''Forbidden Kiss: The Music of S.D. Burman,'' an album of covers of Burman compositions. The Indian cricketer

Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-sco ...

was named after the composer by Sachin's father, who was an ardent fan of Burman. The singer and mimicry artist

Sudesh Bhonsle Sudesh Bhosale is an Indian playback singer who primarily sings for Bollywood films. Bhosale is known for his ability to mimic actor Amitabh Bachchan, having sung for him in various films. Career Bhosale was born on 1 July 1960 to Sumantai ...

frequently parodies the nasal high-pitched voice and quixotic singing style of S. D. Burman. Burman paired with tabla maestro late Brajen Biswas for his Bengali songs. The beats or "thekas" created by Brajen Babu for these songs are unique and no one in the world can sing these songs in the original "thekas". All the "thekas" are according to the mood of the songs. But recently, painter, sculptor and singer Ramita Bhaduri sang the tough songs of Burman such as "Ami chhinu aka", "Rangeela", "Aankhi Duti Jhare" etc. in the original "theka" on the taleem of Brajen Biswas. The CD from "Raga Music" (Symphony) was released at Kolkata Press Club. The CDs are available in M. Biswas & Symphony. Burman had a unique style of composing film songs. While most of the composers used a harmonium or piano to compose the tune, he composed tunes using rhythm such as clapping hands. He was very fond of "Paan" which was specially made by his wife with a piece of dried orange peel and "kevda" flower (Odoratissimus flower) for flavour and taste. In addition, there were his chosen paanwalas (paan vendors) near Khar Station, his bungalow "The Jet" and Bharati Vidya Bhavan from where he could get paans to his liking. That was the reason that he would not share his paan with anyone as he will run short of his paans. He would carry only few extra paana which he would give as a reward to the one whom he appreciated for his work. SD Burman's first biography in English is "Incomparable Sachin Dev Burman". Written by HQ Chowdhury. It was published by Toitoomber from Dhaka, Bangladesh. On 1 October 2007, marking his 101st birth anniversary, the

Indian Postal Service India Post is a government-operated postal system in India, part of the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world. Warren Hastings ...

released a commemorative postage stamp, in

, where an exhibition on his life and work was also inaugurated; the state government of

also confers the yearly "Sachin Dev Burman Memorial Award" in music. Sachin Dev Barman Memorial Government Music college was built in Agartala, Tripura in memory of him which is also affiliated by

Tripura University Tripura University is a central university, the main public government university of Tripura, India. History Higher education in Tripura has its beginning with Maharaja Bir Bikram College (MBBC), the first-degree college in the state, establ ...

and recognised by

University Grant Commission A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

Filmography

Awards and recognitions

* 1934: Gold Medal, Bengal All India Music Conference, Calcutta 1934 * 1958:

* 1959: Asia Film Society Award * 1964: Sant Haridas Award *

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

** 1970:

: Aradhana: ''Safal Hogi Teri Aradhana'' ** 1974:

National Film Award for Best Music Direction The National Film Award for Best Music Direction (the Silver Lotus Award) is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards by the Directorate of Film Festivals to a musician who has composed the best score for films produced within th ...

: '' Zindagi Zindagi'' * 1969:

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

* International Jury on Folk Music ** 2007 A Postage Stamp (Face value Rs 15) released in his memory *

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

** 1954:

Filmfare Best Music Director Award The Filmfare Best Music Album Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to the best composer/arranger of a soundtrack. This category was first presented in 1954. Naushad Ali was the fir ...

: ''

'' ** 1973:

: '' Abhimaan'' ** 1959:

: '' Sujata'': Nomination ** 1965:

: ''

'': Nomination ** 1969:

: '' Aradhana'': Nomination ** 1970:

: ''Talaash'': Nomination ** 1974:

: '' Prem Nagar'' : Nomination *

BFJA Awards Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards commonly referred as BFJA Awards, is given by The Bengal Film Journalists' Association. The BFJA is the oldest association of film critics in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ) ...

** 1965: Best Music (Hindi Section): ''

'' ** 1966: Best Music (Hindi Section): ''

'' ** 1966: Best Male Playback Singer (Hindi Section): ''

'' ** 1969: Best Music (Hindi Section): '' Aradhana'' ** 1973: Best Music (Hindi Section): '' Abhimaan''

References

Dinesh Raheja Dinesh Raheja (born 31 March 1957) is an Indian author, columnist, TV scriptwriter, film historian. Raheja has been writing on cinema for over 40 years. In his long and prolific career as a writer, he has worked as the Editor of ''Movie magazine' ...

, Jitendra Kothari. India Book House Publishers, 1996. , page 1919. {{DEFAULTSORT:Burman, S. D. 1906 births 1975 deaths Bengali-language singers Best Music Direction National Film Award winners Bollywood playback singers Filmfare Awards winners Hindi film score composers Hindustani singers Indian male folk singers Musicians from Kolkata People from Comilla District Performers of Hindu music Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Tripuri people University of Calcutta alumni Indian male playback singers 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian composers People from Comilla Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Comilla Victoria Government College alumni Best Male Playback Singer National Film Award winners Music of Bengal Indian male film score composers 20th-century Indian male singers Kokborok playback singers