It is not more than a mere book per se. That is if you have to judge it by its cover. Its insides are equally inviting to the eyes, especially for those who have an unyielding yen for the lore of Indian film music. A biography of one of India’s pioneering music giants by the name R.D. Burman can turn a few heads and crane a few necks of curiosity.
Unfurling a casket of fond memories revolving around the phenomenon reverently called Pancham, two die-hard solemnly sworn-in fans of the priceless treasure-trove — Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal — have delicately opened the sealed envelope of an ever-romantic man’s unwritten letter to address his innumerable admirers. Initially, this “labour of love” in print was ideally titled as Never-ending Journey of Panchamda, as his musical enigma still continues to cast a long-lasting spell over his prudent listeners. However, the final paperback copy is aptly titled R.D. Burman —The Man, The Music.
The book scrutinises the R.D. Burman phenomenon, and how this cult-figure revamped the common Indian notion surrounding the cauldron of Hindi film music. The 380 page-turner encapsulates the multiple innovations that this widely famous, yet humble man had introduced, like the mixed rhythm patterns, piquant chords and sound mixing. Besides, through several interactions with the musicians, who were part of RD’s dexterous team of accompanists, the two authors drew up a captivating portrait of a versatile genius.
Biography on the Boss: Well, one may call this synergy a case of Jhankaar Beats (a popular Bollywood film by Sujoy Ghosh) revisited, wherein close college pals and Pancham fanatics pay a befitting tribute to their god of music in more ways than one. Here, both Anirudha and Balaji are unflinching fans of the music maestro, and it is beyond doubt that they both joined hands to pen a beautiful book dedicated to their self-professed guru. “I remember returning to my hometown Hyderabad, a day after Panchamda’s death. My friends called me up to share the shocking news that my boss has left this world the night before. I couldn’t believe my ears. These men are immortal. They never cease to exist,” laments Balaji, a banker with the Royal Bank of Scotland, who is also a freelancer with the reputed Hindu Metroplus.
Book to get hooked to: A lot of pre-planning and thoughts went into shaping this book. “The idea was there on my mind since the late 80s or early 90s. You may say the process of the project had begun at that time. In 2004-05, I alongwith two other co-authors Archisman Mazumder and critically acclaimed Bengali filmmaker Srijit Mukherjee (of Autograph fame), came together to originally lay down the spadework for scripting an already hatched story idea. However, due to unavoidable circumstances, the work stopped midway. In July 2008, Balaji expressed his willingness to reopen the filed manuscripts gathering dust in vain. With a like-minded approach to chronicle the same subject, we hit the road soon without wasting a jiffy. We had to collate a lot of matter through interviews, interesting trivia and insightful anecdotes. The shared transcripts and a deluge of information were partly written and edited by us,” reveals Anirudha Bhattacharjee, an ERP consultant with IBM.
Honesty is the Best Policy: “We really had to balance the book’s contents all the way. We made sure not to go overboard with an overt eulogy and make it sound like a hagiography. We would praise him for his awesome brilliance as well as pinpoint the flaws and loopholes with a faultfinding eye, where he seems to falter,” says Balaji.
Balaji interviewed 30 people broadly categorised into A-list actors, singers, lyricists, technicians etc. “We incorporated a string of uncommon facts like Panchamda had a weak heart and was operated on for a bypass surgery, not many people have a wind of his first marriage either, which unfortunately did not last for long. Apart from that, Panchamda’s relationship with his father S.D. Burman has also been dealt with in a separate passage. Burmandada, who outwardly seemed stern, was deep down as much overjoyed with his son’s success, despite the latter’s first two films registering flops at the box-office,” briefs Balaji.
Decisive Destinations:
The writers are now in discussion with the publishers to determine Tripura and Bangladesh as the next destinations to launch the book. “He is a universal music icon and cannot be confined within specific geographical bounds. Tripura is rightly suggested on the cards for the simple reason that both the father-son composer duo hailed from that province as descendants of the Tripura royal lineage,” concludes Anirudha.