Guest article by Ashok M Vaishnav
(SOY regulars are aware that this blog is celebrating 2025 as the year of RD Burman with some contribution from me and some guest articles. Among guest authors, our veteran Ashok M Vaishnav has taken up the cudgels with his first article in the series with RD Buman’s improvisations with rhythm instruments. Ashokji has done a long series on Arrangers and Musicians. That makes him eminently suitable to write on RD Burman’s orchestration improvisations. This is his second article focussing on RD Burman’s improvisations with string instruments.
Ashokji has been an engineer and after retirement, he is a freelance management consultant based out of Ahmedabad. I can’t help mentioning he was recently undergoing some medical procedures. As soon as he was in a position to write he is out with this post. Thank you Ashokji for your love for this blog and this excellent article. – AK)
R D Burman’s initial films – Chhote Nawab (1961), Bhoot Bangla (1965), Teesara Kaun (1965) and Pati Patni (1966) – seemed to mould his music into prevalent pattern of 50s – a mix of Indian classical music with shades of regional folk music. However, destiny seemed to have charted a different trajectory for him. The music that made R D Burman’s own space secure and respected was that of Teesri Manzil (1966). The success of Teesri Manzil and its music permanently branded R D Burman as the music director with western music domination even when he continued to give some excellent classical and folk based music.
His triumvirate of music assistants – Basu Chakraborty (a celloist), Manohari Singh (a saxophonist) and Maruti Rao Keer (a percussionist) – ably executed R D Burman’s musical experiments into compositions that were lapped up by the successive generations.
Presently, we will take up some of the R D Burman’s orchestration improvisations with a wide range of string instruments.
We will first take up Basu Chakraborty’s own cello experiments. For the ease of presentation, we will follow it up with the orchestration experiments with Indian string instruments and western string instruments separately.
Basu Chakraborty’s innovative experiments with extended chords and obligatos with violin ensembles have lent the string instrument experiments a distinct edge. However, just three illustrations of Basu Chakraborty’s own cello play too would suffice to etch an indelible mark on Basu Chakraborty’s contribution to R D Burman’s orchestration arrangements.
1. Gabbar Singh’s entry in Sholay (1975)
The wailing sound of wolves to mark the presence of Gabbar Singh had become as popular as Gabbar’s famous dialogue ‘Kitne aadmi they?’. It would just be impossible to imagine that it is cello which has created that sound, unless explicitly played by Basu Chakraborty’s son, Sanjeev, at a live performance.
https://youtu.be/k5aCCKitC2A?si=fR5b6kfZRAyI2qYK
2. Ruk jaana o jaana hum se do baatein kar ke chali jaana – Warrant (1975) – Kishore Kumar – Lyrics: Anand Bakshi – Music: R D Burman
‘Ruk Ruk… Ruk’ kind of sound being heard before Kishore Kumar commences singing is the result of Basu Chakraborty’s innovative use of cello.
https://youtu.be/gfHP-GyneAk?si=xG6CyQvhhb667YtB
3. Hum ko yaara teri yaari – Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin (1978) – Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle – Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri – Music: RD Burman
Basu Chakraborty is credited with composing the interludes and obligatos. The music lovers consider these compositions as ‘life-long’ gifts by Basu Chakraborty.
https://youtu.be/9ZEQLSl5_eQ?si=KIgwN_xj3B0wWlnS
R D Burman has extensively used Santoor, Sarod, Sitar, Sarangi, Tar Shehnai etc. in addition to, and mostly in concert with, violin ensemble. We have curated some notable examples of some of these instruments in these songs –
4. Kitna pyara wada hai in matwali aankhon ka – Caravan (1971) – Mohammad Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar – Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri – Music: R D Burman
Normally associated with mujra songs in films, in the present case Taar Shehnai @ 0.58 to 1.09 maintains the joyous mood of the song.
https://youtu.be/K-6rS_EjRMU?si=jKBgq8Dlv9TnDviN
5. Is mod pe jaate hain – Aandhi (1975) – Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar – Lyrics: Gulzar – Music: R D Burman
Hariprasad Chaurasia’s flute and Zarin Daruwala’s sarod impart a dominating tone, as Jairam Acharya’s sitar and a violin ensemble gave the melody of interlude music a touch of frailty.
https://youtu.be/STOM6NZfcrs?si=7YvGljki_Ha6HI1s
6. Mere naina saawan bhado – Mehbooba (1976) – Lata Mangeshkar – Lyrics: Anand Bakshi – Music: R D Burman
Sarod plays support through the songs in various obligato notes, however @ 3.17 to 3.51, the sarod chords (played by Zarin Sharma Daruwala) synchronises with those of sarangi to enhance that atmosphere of mystery around the character of the female protagonist.
https://youtu.be/hVTjWPG5v4M?si=MZMmvARRq2Qfq76s
7. Hothon pe beeti baat aayi hai – Angoor (1981) – Asha Bhosle – Lyrics: Gulzar – Music: R D Burman
Soft notes of Santoor in the prelude and entry to the interlude (credited to have been played by Ulhas Bapat) @ 1.01 to 1.11 add to the seductive mood of the song.
https://youtu.be/eTy4JF1PFmU?si=w83WWVlKv_QSS9Ou
8. Jaane kya baat hai – Sunny (1984) – Lata Mangeshkar – Lyrics: Anand Bakshi – Music: R D Burman
Notes of Sarangi (credited to have been played by Ustad Sultan Khan) @ 2.03 to 2.10 adds pathos to the eerie darkness of the night.
https://youtu.be/IE406E_JAC0?si=4X1k6ZgU7WO10Lpq
We now move on to the R D Burman’s experiments with western string instruments.
It was that RDB used western instruments for his folk-based compositions too. Here is one such example:
9. Aao twist karin – Bhoot Bangla Manna Dey – Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri – Music: R D Burman
Bass guitar is used for subtle but noticeable obligato support.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lokpohoCyF8
10. Ni sultana re pyar ka mausam aaya – Pyar Ka Mausam (1969) – Mohammad Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar – Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri – Music: R D Burman
The base guitar gives obligato support to the alaap prelude (from 0.31 to 0.36), but just a few notes @0.41 to o.46 shows the musical artistry in RD Burman’s compositions.
https://youtu.be/NIgQL2dYryU?si=gN6oxMRoKXCn7QI8
However, destiny had reserved Teesri Manzil to send R D Burman’s career into a totally different trajectory.
11. The high tone, aggressively attention-catching entry of Aaja aaja main hun pyar tera (Teesri Manzil, 1967 – Mohammad Rafi, Asha Bhosle – Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri – Music: RD Burman), played by Dilip Naik on acoustic guitar in rock style, succeeded in setting up guitar as THE prominent instrument in the scheme of RDB’s orchestration.
https://youtu.be/EOgirs8vE_A?si=h4H_g-gwe3kC7Qfu
12. Dekhiye sahibo…. woh koi aur thi ye koi aur hai – Teesari Manzil (1966) – Mohammad Rafi, Asha Bhosle – Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri – Music: R D Burman
How wonderfully the subdued soft melody is created in prelude by the guitar, and then in total contrast, high-octave guitar play resonates in the first and third interludes!
Bhanu Gupta narrates an untold story about this piece @1.11 to 1.55, in his own words (in Bengali).
https://youtu.be/1Pl5Dcb2crw?si=w72YFM-Dsq7MkNRx
13. Jaane do na – Saagar ((1985) – has one more classic improvisation used by way of just four notes entry and the bass guitar taking up the role of rhythm guitar in accompaniment of the usual percussion instruments like drums or bongo or congo, but with tabla!!
https://youtu.be/msdpoboXVn0?si=2AmEvJWqnkkEu_cV
14. An incorrect note that made the history – Even if it is often narrated incident, it would be very much in order to record it once more here, so as to demonstrate how RDB, and his team of instrumentalists, used to work up the experiments that are now part of the folklore.
The rehearsal for “Chingari koi bhadke” (Amar Prem) was in full swing. Bhanu Gupta was to play a very specific chord (a combination of several notes played together) on the guitar at the very beginning of the prelude. During one practice iteration, Bhanu Gupta made an error. Being a perfectionist, he felt completely abashed. RD Burman also noticed the mistake, and the recording room fell silent. After a while, RD broke that silence and declared that Bhanu would now play that incorrect chord in the song. In fact, on several occasions later, he would say that Bhanu had made the song unique with that “creative” error.
Here is the clip that showcases that famous ‘million-dollar’ mistake.
https://youtu.be/0rMT-d1lAKY?si=0kgsmekXh4idZw0P
15. We have heard Bhanu Gupta’s guitar play in the title music of Sholay. It would indeed be very interesting to listen to Bhanu Gupta recreating that guitar play to create that mellifluous melody.
https://youtu.be/WQ66t244OjA?si=zcITPdlueTPIvABD
Bhupinder Singh earned fame for the songs he has rendered for R D Burman. But it is less known that he was also a jack of many musical arrangements of R D Burman’s guitar team as is evident in guitar notes in Vaadiyan tera daaman (Abhilasha, 1968 – Mohammad Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar), from 1.06 to1.08.
16. Ek hi khwab kai baar dekha hai maine (Kinara, 1977).
It is said that the R D Burman got wild at Gulzar who seemed to make RD compose a melody out of idiosyncratic lyrics, which looked like ‘cuttings from a newspaper’, which were neither prose nor poetry. However, as it always happened in such situations, R D also composed a similar tune and then gave it to Bhupinder and told him to fit in any guitar pieces that he may feel were required to provide the rhythm support. Bhupinder dutifully rehearsed the song for some time. R D Burman then ‘ordered’ him to go the sound room and begin recording of the song as he was rehearsing. What ultimately came up was a wonderful outcome of that experiment wherein Bhupinder’s voice and guitar have lent the song an ethereal dimension.
Now we will take up a few wonderful experiments of use of mandolin.
17. Raat kali ek khwab mein aayi – Buddha Mil Gaya (1971) – Kishore Kumar – Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri – Music: R D Burman
Just a few strokes of mandolin (up to 0.07), followed by bass guitar and humming seem to be enough to take the listeners on to the dream!
18. Aap ki aankhon mein kuchh mahke hue se khwab hain – Ghar (1978) – Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar – Lyrics: Gulzar- Music: R D Burman
The soft notes of mandolin in the intro (upto 0.13) stands out in comparison to the way other string instruments are used in the first interlude.
https://youtu.be/NbqCWwlNKrA?si=-Uh4Pi6fHpBK0QjD
We will end our present episode of R D Burman’s experiments with string instruments with a twin song, not because of its fame with Kishore vs Rafi debate, but the way R D and his team would steadfastly choose to remain perfect even while appearing to be too flexible while experimenting.
19A. Tum bin jaaun kahan ke duniya mein aakar kuchh na phir chaha sanam – Pyar Ka Mausam (1969) – Kishore Kumar – Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri – Music: R D Burman
For those who love to listen to the music of the song as well, use of mandolin in the song was a special treat.
For more knowledgeable persons, initially it was also a hotly debated issue as to who has played the mandolin in this version. However, after many subsequent interviews by the two concerned instrumentalists, it is now settled that Manohari Singh and Kishore Desai have played the mandolin for Kishore Kumar and Rafi respectively.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQNb89xnKvQ
19 B. Tum bin jaaun kahan ke duniya mein aakar kuchh na phir chaha sanam – Pyar Ka Mausam (1969) – Mohammad Rafi – Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri – Music: R D Burman
The twin version is filmed on the next generation, the son. As such, even when the lyrics were to remain similar, the way the song is presented was set to be totally different than the earlier version.
Mohammad Rafi was brought in for the required subtle changes for vocals. It was felt that mandolin too should sound as different.
Since Kishore Desai’s basic style of playing was totally different, Manohari Singh personally invited him to play the mandolin for this version.
YT has still many more clips that will keep the instrument arrangement fans quite engaged and enthralled by RD Burman’s improvisations with string instruments.
However, we will pause here to regroup the flow of the series for the next episode on R D Burman and His Orchestration Improvisations – Blow Instruments
Credits and Disclaimers:
1. The song links have been embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of music lovers. This blog or the author claims no copyright over these songs, which vests with the respective copyright holders.
2. The photograph is taken from the internet, duly recognizing the full copyrights for the same to the either original creator or the site where they were originally displayed.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Ashok Vaishnavji,
The role of orchestration in Hindi film music is undeniably significant. String instruments are foundational to the sound of Hindi film music orchestration. The current post, R D Burman and his orchestration and its improvisations, is definitely a praiseworthy effort since this requires knowledge, sharp ears and keen observation.
Audience like myself appreciate and recognize the importance of orchestral arrangements in creating a rich and immersive cinematic experience, often we do not consciously try to recognize the various instruments employed, and the instrumentalists who played them.
R D Burman brought about paradigm change especially in the orchestration and background music. If Teesri Manzil can be mentioned as the trend setter, Hare Ram Hare Krishna can be cited as the film through which Pancham introduced the rock genre in his music. He also introduced several miscellaneous instruments & their peculiar effects, he also added superior sound mixing equipments, multi-track recording etc.
And I feel you have given us a peep into the use of various string instruments, the improvisations he brought about in this section and the talented musicians through whom he accomplished this. Thank you Ashokji for this great effort.
Though I missed your earlier post on the same subject covering the rhythm section, I would very much like to go through it. I would revisit, if I have anything worthwhile to add here.
N Venkataraman #1
Thank you so much for so generous appreciation of the post.
Look forward to value-adding observations on the subject.
Ashok Ji
Nice article on Pancham da and his unique orchestration , especially the use of innovative instruments. Of course many prior to him had also done lot of such experimentations. I find one song that is not much talked about even by hard core Pancham fans , but which , I , not that much of a fan, like very much. It is composed and also sung by him:
Kitab/1977/ Gulzar/ RDB/RDB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwuk-C39H6k
Listen to this audio clip in which he mentions some gadget ( couldnt get the exact name-sounded like franging!!) he used alongwith guitar to create that unique sound that resembles a swarm of bees humming!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPFDYBTvwUM
Also note the innovative his percussion arrangement that resembles the train’s rhythm.
Though I just said I am not that much of a RDB fan , I do like his classical raag based songs very much-he was exceptional in them. Sadly his fans talk only about his more mundane tunes.
One small observation on the interlude of the song ” Humko Yaara Teri Yari-#3 in your list: You had mentioned ” Basu Chakraborty is credited with composing the interludes and obligatos. The music lovers consider these compositions as ‘life-long’ gifts by Basu Chakraborty”
I could observe the For A Few Dollars More theme song being lifted in the first interlude-(2.02 to 2.25 mins in the clip posted)
Sivanandam # 3
I too has not been a keen RD follower. However, while working for this series, I have enjoyed the nuances of his musical experiments even in the songs that normally appeared to be the run-of-the-mill compositions when I would have listened these otherwise.
I tried to search a bit deeper to get the exact name of the instrument used to create the bee- humming effect . I could find out that it is known as Flanger effect. (Ref.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanging).
RD Burman has accepted in several video clips on him that he had penchant for improvising the tunes. One famous example is the number of songs he has created from Thanddi Hawaein (https://youtu.be/MYdhFxda054?si=LQGyqu-F4biGHu5n).
RD Burman’s earlier movies , especially the movies released in the sixties and early seventies were known for good and innovative orchestra . Some of the best examples include The Train, Caravan, Anamika , Raton Ka Raja, Abhilasha and particularly Mere Jeevan Saathi. During those days the orchestra used by him was very new and innovative and created lot of impact among music lovers.
KB # 5
I have not followed RD Burman’s career very closely, having heard a song here or a song there.
But, yes, there was a general impression that once he went ‘mass-scale’, a good deal of melody and innovation suffered.
Of course, this can also be said for even SJ or LP too.
Nonetheless, they all remained commercially relevant almost all the time.
Ashok ji
Thanks for such an informative article. As Venkataraman ji has written your writing exhibits expert knowledge and keen observation.
You have said that you are not a keen follower of RD’s music and yet that has not affected your analysis in any way.
I think RD used flanger in this song also
Golmaal hai bhai – Golmaal- Guljar – RDB and Sapan Chakravarti
https://youtu.be/QiEqpFIOWw4?si=f3vJxfBA4lqnld-L
Rahul Bhagwanrao Muli #7
I greatly appreciate your very kind words for the article. However, the fact remains that I am no where near being called even a knowledgeable person in so far as the music is concerned. Had it not been so much information available on net/YT, I would not have been able to write more than the opening paragraph of the article!
I have simply tried my best to put the available information in interesting and enjoyable format!
The case of this song, Golmal Hai, itself is a telling evidence. Had you not pointed out, I would not have noticed it at all…..
Ashokji,
This is excellent article, giving us insight into the use of string instruments by RDB. Your observation and knowledge has helped in understanding how RDB has used and improvised these instruments.
I was not aware of #14 – about the incorrect note.
Thanks specially for the wonderful songs. There are many favourites here from the 70s and 80s and of course, Teesri Manzil
Growing up in the 70s, RDB has been one of my favourite composers (maybe, I am the odd person here) and I have grown up listening and enjoying his compositions.
Talking of Raat kali ek khwab mein aayi, a couple of minutes before the actual full song in the film, Navin Nishchol sits at the piano and sings the mukhda. We hear the piano notes before he sings the lines and then the guitar.
And how about one post on RD Burman’s use of the sounds of non-musical objects?
Vaishnavji,
Thanks for this post as well as the previous post which I had read but not commented. I do not have much knowledge about the various musical instruments, so such articles always teach me something. I have listened to most of the songs in films. About ‘tum bin jaun kahan’ it appears there is more and beautiful mandolin in the Rafi version than the Kishore version. Also the orchestra is more balanced in that song. Combined with the Rafi singing this version is miles ahead of the Kishore version.
Regarding the Kinara song @ 16 and RD’s claim that he composed paper cutting type lyrics. Actually RDB said the same thing about ‘mera kuchh saman’ from Izaajat. Such boasting was part of his life. Actually he lost a lot of money in such propaganda, which benefited him, KK, Asha and also Gulzar. No MD has made so many videos for popularising use of his instruments. Other MDs have also composed such songs but I would mention songs of RDB which had similar lyrics and composed by him earlier. In fact what type of song is to be used is decided by Producer/Director/MD in conjunction. The first such song I want to mention, you have yourself posted @ 12. Then it is ‘meri pyari bindu’ from Padosan which has similar lyrics. The lyrics of ‘mera naam hai shabnam’ from Kati Patang are just like prose.
The video about the ‘incorrect note of guitar’ in the song ‘chingari koi bhadke’ clearly shows the extent to which RDB was obsessed with propaganda. Lot of experimentations have been done with various instruments in HFM by various MDs. But nobody has gone to such lengths in propaganda. SJ made such a great use of western instruments. Even LP used such instruments better than RDB.
The same team of instrumentalists Basu, Manohari etc worked for SDB and he made a great use of their talent. SDB’s orchestration was far far better than RDB. In fact, when RDB was going forward with success after Teesri Manzil, there was talk in the HFM circles that SDB and RDB were two shops with the same set of salesmen to sweepers. At this SDB started using new assistants/arrangers Anil/Arun, but Basu and Manohari continued to perform uncredited in his orchestra.
I have no problem with RDB and he has given good music and I like a lot of his songs, but too much propaganda does not improve the quality of music. This is evident in the fact that AK, you, me and some others dont have such respect for him as is for other golden era MDs.
Dr. Rajesh Deshpande # 9
Thank you so much for your generous appreciation of the article.
Taste for music, especially film music, is indeed cultivated (or otherwise) as an effect of the environment in which one gets to keep on listening to it.
People from our earlier generation liked, appreciated and even enjoyed the nuances of HFM of 30s and 40s. As against that, barring a few songs which we could get to listen on Radio Ceylon alongwith programs of HFM of ‘our’ time, I found it very difficult to really follow SoY’s Best Songs of the Year series once it entered pre-’47 period. And it was not that I did not like many of the songs that I heard for the first time because of that series!
Your mention of piano notes before the song Raat Kali Khwab Mein Aayi is a very rich finding.
It can be heard in this clip:
https://youtu.be/awKrSGfRHms?si=gNOCMq9GuGJp75Ai
Hans #10
I did notice profuse presence of video clips regarding R D Burman’s music. Many of these are form the organizations dedicated to his music. I could not make out whether these came into being during RD’s own time or after him. However, I thought this was perhaps out of genuine liking for his music.
In our time, i.e. during 60s and 70s, our access to HFM beyond radio and records was through live programs. Many singers or music clubs would conduct such programs. Most of the programs would be based on the popular work of a particular playback singer. The selection of songs would be on the basis of popularity of songs. In the process some music directors would get more space.
In so far as experimentation in orchestration, such experiments, by SJ in particular, could be covered with even more intersting examples. But, since not much of the reliable material is available on net, blog writers like me who do not possess much knowledge on the subject, most of the posts are on the songs, but not on their intrinsic details.
My present articles on RD are only the educated inferences from what is available net.
Vaishnavji,
Thanks for understanding my point of view. Actually these videos with musicians are only from those times, because the use of synthesizers made the musicians redundant long time ago and who will invest his money for making such videos now. RDB invested a lot of amount on such propaganda to show that he is something different from his father. In his interviews he has admitted that people did believe that SDB is helping him a lot which is true also. In RDB’s biography reviewed by AK here they tell us of an incident where Madan Mohan phoned SDB and congratulated him on the tune of ‘raina beeti jaye’ and when SD said this was tuned by RD he did not believe him. MM was in the industry and he must have some inputs either from Lata or somebody else about the real composer. In later interviews RD admitted he used SD’s bangla song tune and he also said SD helped him with the tune of ‘bada natkhat hai re’. Besides that the SDB song sung by him in Amar Prem was also tuned by him. This makes half of the score of Amar Prem. We are fed with stories about ‘ae meri topi’ or ‘sar jo tera’ being tunes of RD but how many know how many of RD tunes were composed or modified by SD.
There is another point I forgot in my last comment. RD makes it a point that he prepared the tune first and then got the lyrics, but when he has to take credit for difficult tunes he says Gulzar gave him lyrics like newspaper headlines. Gulzar also promotes such stories because that helps in establishing him to be some kind of special lyricist. I give here a small video clip on making of ‘1942 a Love Story. music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROYNffYphro&t=103s
This clip shows Vidhu Vinod Chopra is advising RD about the mukhda tune short and he says something to his assistant to the effect that he had wanted a short mukhda. This video shows many things.
Hans # 13
Making a living for a small plant under shade of a banyan tree is always a difficult task.
RDB may certainly would have strived to create his own identity. And in that these ‘promotional’ videos may have been his tools.
There are stories abound for which tune was created by whom for the father-son duo, like the ones for Shankar and Jaikishan. Perhaps, such gossip mills can also be part of the promotional drama, who knows?And, at this, I do not think that really matters too!
Most of the articles that we read on film music blogs, in fact, note the credits for music director etc. merely to identify the song with some exactness. All the discussion about the song in these blogs is about the song and (generally) not about the genuineness or quality of the creator.