Guest article by Ashok M Vaishnav
(We are celebrating 2025 as the year of RD Burman. He was acknowledged for his improvisations in sounds. Our guest author Ashok M Vaishnav has already covered his instrumental improvisations in percussion, string and blow (or wind) instruments. An important part of RD Burman’s orchestral improvisations was his novel vocal experiments. Ashok ji explains that these usages were different from the widely used chorus accompaniments by the Golden or Vintage Era music directors like Anil Biswas, Naushad, Salil Chowdhury and Shankar-Jaikishan. These do not refer to RD Burman’s gruff, baritone voice either, putting in words like “Monica, My Darling!”.
This would be the fourth and the last article by Ashok ji in the present series. He has been a regular contributor to SOY. Earlier he had anchored a series on Arrangers and Musicians. Thus, he was eminently suitable for writing this series on RD Burman. Ashok ji is a retired engineer based out of Ahmedabad and is now a freelance management trainer. Thank you, Ashok ji, for this excellent article as your concluding piece in this series on RD Burman’s orchestral improvisations. – AK)
While working for the present series, I observed that R D Burman has extensively used sonic effects of vocals in the orchestration of the music. These vocal usages were different than the very widely used chorus accompaniments that Anil Biswas, Salil Chowdhury, Shankar Jaikishan and other music directors of late 40s and 50 have so extensively and innovatively used in their work.
This is also not about what we now recognised as his ‘signature’ – gruff, baritone – singing style or heavy breath sounds of Mera naam hai Shabnam (Kati Patang, 1970) or Monica or Monica My Darling in Piya tu ab to aa ja (Caravan, 1971) or singing Mere Jivan Saathi, with varying modulations or other lyrical dialogues or odd sounds in the titles of Mere Jivan Sathi (1972).
Nor these are his theatrics in Bengali songs like Jaye re jaye bela or Aage ami jodi jantam. When he so tried he could create quite melodious composition as can be heard in this audio clip. However these are also not about his original Bengali versions – Jete jete patho helo deri (Lyrics: Gouriprasnna Majumdar)- of Hindi film songs – Tere bina zindagi se koi shiqwa nahi (Aandhi, 1975).
This is also not about his experimental cameo performance in Bhoot Bangla (1965) in Main bhookha hun, along with Mehmood and Suresh.
https://youtu.be/rm265jzPgmg?si=KH3a67pRKOlM2Xf9
This is about several of the sonic experiments that he boldly conceived and converted them into his signature style.
2. Pyar karta ja – Bhoot Bangla (1965) – Manna Dey, chorus – Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri – Music: R D Burman
The echo effect was created by posting 4 or 5 support singers at different distances from the microphone.
https://youtu.be/UNoAnkbCmnc?si=LAWvAU88bOCCDjKA
R D Burman by now seemed to have attained the knack to create new vocal experiments and using them differently in different situations
3. Kya jaanu sajan hoti hai kya gham ki sham – Baharon Ke Sapne (1967) – Lata Mangeshkar – Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri – Music: R D Burman
R D Burman has used recording on two tracks and then mixed these tracks as the counter melody to create the haunting, supernatural effect.
https://youtu.be/SGc2SbJlD4Y?si=Y0O5jft3wbxxuaDb
4. Koi aaya aane bhi de – Kala Sona (1975) – Asha Bhosle – Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
The first track presents Asha Bhosle as playback voice for Helen, and the second track presents Asha Bhosle as playback voice for Paravin Babi.
https://youtu.be/m2aGZ_F3dYs?si=F1RqLNfkgmTOMwFa
5. Katra katra milti hai – Ijazat (1987) – Asha Bhosle – Lyrics: Gulzar – Music: R D Burman
Here the two tracks have been used to create the effects of mixing of the flashback and present moments.
https://youtu.be/PZzK3CVzLKo?si=Lshz5puCusUYet_-
Now, instead of running the song in two different tracks, R VD Burman has the singers simultaneously sing in different scales.
6. Jaane jaan dhundhata phir rah hun tujhe – Jawani Diwani (1972) – Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle – Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri – Music: R D Burman
R D Burman has Asha Bhosle and Kishore Kumar sing at different scales, in the counter melody style, (0.51 to 1.10, 2.39 – 2.46 etc.) to create the effect of the two people singing at different distances.
https://youtu.be/V3tB5Wu2ifg?si=AYhFS4aCT41bY5iV
7. R D Burman, as can be expected, had penchant to play with eponymous Pancham beat into vocal Pappa or Tarara, as can be seen @ 2.34 to 2.47 in the title music of Raja Jani (1973).
https://youtu.be/asIlW6pvkB4?si=2gh57TMcCJXoAhkN
8. R D Burman has gone on to innovatively extend that usage in the main, duet, song, Jab andhera hota hai, @ 2.50 to 3.24, to create the harmony. It would be interesting to note how Pancham beat is improvised by deep bass trumpet stroke @ 0.03/0.04 and 0.09/0.10.
9. R D has very innovatively intertwined Pappa notes in the background song Dekh samay ka shaukh kabootar udata hai (Bada Kabootar, 1973 – Bhupinder) @ 0.26 to 0.31. Here, too, he has not rested with simple rendition, but has added a slightly higher scale chorus, as counter melody.
https://youtu.be/46hf66lbI2o?si=hxtINTNfnvrorE–
Onomatopoeia is a literary technique that uses a word to portray a sound. Examples of onomatopoeic terms include “pop,” “crack,” and “splat.” Utilizing onomatopoeia to musically describe the noises that people or animals create is also possible. R D Burman has extensively created gurgle, clap, zap, and pitter-patter, either by using some instrument or by using the actual human sound. Here are some of those several experiments:
10. Jeena kya aji pyaar bina – Dhan Daulat (1980)
Bass scale chorus comes in as rhythm support (0.39 to 0.46) while playing as countermelody hai hui sounds @ 1.19 to 1.23.
11. Babu entry – Gargling by Annete Pinto – Satte Pe Satta (1981)
12. Bheeni bheeni bhor – Dil Padoshi Hai (1987)
Animal sounds of insects or that of a cock (till 0.34) with notes of swar mandal creating the mood of the early glow of the morning.
13. Reshmi zulfein nashili aankhen – Indrajeet (1991)
Different types of oral sounds, till 1.09, have been used to create special effects of abandon gay of the drunken youngsters.
14. Preetam aan milo – Angoor (1981) – Sapan Chakraborty – Lyrics: Gulzar – Music: R D Burman
Cricket Sounds, dog barking, the bellowing curtains, a frog sound, the rolling wheels of a carriage and wind sound add to haunting, mood of the lonely late night,
This song also is an illustration of R D Burman’s use of ‘out-of-the-box’ singers to create a very different mood.
For the records, R D Burman has used the voice of Sapan Chakraborty for many other songs too, with songs like Mere saath chale na saya (Kitaab, 1977) and Golamal hai bhai (Golmal, 1979) becoming well-known.
Aside:
Use of so called non-regular singers is not all that a new practice, though used quite sparingly in Hindi films. In fact, it should an interesting subject for an independent article.
S D Burman also similarly had used voice of Jagmohan Baxi (better known as “Jagmohan’ of Sapan (Sengupta) Jagmohan (Baxi) music directors duo) in Dekho mane nahi roothi haseena (Taxi Driver, 1954 – along with Asha Bhosle – Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi).
15. Aao jhoome gaayein – Paraya Dhan (1971)
This song has Kishore Kumar singing in background to Balraj Sahni and Asha Bhosle as playback to on-screen singing by Hema Malini. Thus, entire Kishore Kumar part of the song is used as Onomatopoeia in the song.
https://youtu.be/N31cPiovmxE?si=bUUogsSaVzBqi4x5
The song also has used another of RD Burman’s oft-used vocal experiment (@ 0.09 to 0.14 in the prelude, 1.14 to 1.26 in mukhada, 2.27 to 2.49 in the interlude and 3.36 to 4.02 in the fade-out (postlude) – that of using La La Laa.
The presence of as many as seven clips @ YT channel, Adbhut Pancham Foundation, La La La Laa in different forms is present in some 80-90 songs that are quite pleasing to watch and hear.
I have picked up a few representative ones here:
16. Main chali, main chali deko pyar ki gali – Padosan (1968)
La la laa is used predominantly as prelude.
https://youtu.be/szFxM9KBNMA?si=asjEYGSlLgP266wr
17. Dulhan maike chali – Manoranjan (1974)
The ‘Working Girls’ are using La la Laa as an instrument to make the mockery of their arrest by the ‘cop’.
https://youtu.be/AOfFh0e6DvQ?si=9xD4GsrAX6i_DxKe
18. Hum tum aur ye nasha – Shaukeen (1982)
La La is used as vocal prelude along with the piano notes.
Incidentally, R D Burman has boldly used Sapan Chakraborty along with Chirashree Bhattacharya as playback voices in the song.
https://youtu.be/L2CPitqVZkY?si=ugUFDMVsBMwZNAS_
Adbhut Pancham Foundation also has one more clip, Hmmm R.D. Burman, which enlists as many 28 songs where R D Burman has used humming as a distinct vocal instrumentals score.
Here are two from these too:
19. Tum meri zindagi mein – Bombay To Goa (1972)
Soft humming @ 0.23 to 0.25 blends with the prelude to create the beginning of the song.
20. Raat banun main – Mangalsutra (1981)
Humming is used to indicate the presence of the husband to the waiting wife.
https://youtu.be/zxY_LktISew?si=QMNIwDk-czpYasc9
As we end this series, it would not be out-of-place to record that R D Burman is many a times credited as a bridge between the old-art and new-science school of music composition. Many of his experiments seem to have led to the use of electronics – as instruments, as recording aid and as music arrangement tool. R D Burman’s music, in the final analysis, does remain a blend of influence of Indian folk and classical styles with bold experiments of western music. He has left the legacy of a unique music composition style ……….
Credits and Disclaimers:
1. The song links have been given and embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of music lovers. This blog 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.
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Ashokji,
Very few would volunteer to do this type of post/posts. In my humble opinion, one should have the inclination in the first place; and your four-part series on ’R D Burman and his Orchestration Improvisation’, amply display your inclination, and also reflect the time and effort you have expended to do these posts. The same goes for the series on ‘Arrangers & Musicians’. I am sure, this post, like the previous ones, besides offering a brief look into the world of Pancham’s innovative experiments in orchestration, would provide an impetus to those who want to explore further into the realms of innovation in orchestration and sound in Indian films. Thank you for your sincere efforts and contribution.
Though, I am not qualified to add anything useful, I would like to share some information, particularly from a book authored by Anirudha Bhattacharjee. It is regarding the song “Kya janu saajan, hoti hai kya gum ki shaan”. For a long time, it was known that it was sung by Lata & Usha. Pancham had introduced a new technique. Recordings use to be done in spools and multi-track technology was not prevalent then. Not exactly, I think the 6-track stereophonic sound system was first time adopted in the1967 film ‘Around The World’ (And I believe, It was also India’s first film to be released in 70 mm format). The prevalent mono aural recording technique was used in ‘Baharon Ke Sapne’ which too was released in the same year. The recording equipment had a recording head and an erasing head. And any recording would be preceded by wiping off whatever was on the spool. For this song, Pancham got Lata to sing the melody first and then after removing the erasing head, he asked Lata to sing the harmonies and at a few earmarked places and recorded them on the same spool. Thus the melody and harmony, both sung by Lata could heard concurrently. Though Pancham had mentioned this innovative idea to the media the recording company did not take notice of this and printed Lata and Usha’s name in the records and its covers. Only after Lata Mentioned it again sometime in the beginning of the first decade of 2000, the correction was made. Even today, we can find both Lata and Usha’s name in many links.
Venkataramanji,
I am wowed by the information you have given. This can be a nice KBC question of high value: Name the Lata Mangeshkar – Usha Mangeshkar duet, which was actually a Lata-Lata duet.
Dear Sir,
RDB was always known for his orchestra with multiple instruments like his father SDB and OP Nayyar. In my opinion , his orchestra was more innovative and novel in his earlier movies of the late sixties and earlier seventies ( e.g. Chunari samhal gori from BAHARON KE SAPNE and Goyake chunante and Aaya hoon main tujhko le jaoonaga both from MANORANJAN and all songs from MERE JEEVAN SAATHI ) and was a trendsetter and were copied by many other later composers.
Forgot to mention songs from CARAVAN also.
N Venkataraman #1
I feel honored by the superlative appreciation you have poured. Thanks to internet and YT uploaders, the information was available. However, If I may so confess, I only deserve the mention of ‘time and effort’ that was required to for detailed search and then proper presentation.
The background story you have provided fr the recording technique of Kya Jaanu Sajan further corroborates RDB’s sense of innovation and determination to fructify his experiments.
KB # 3
RDB, and all those who adopted the mass production technique to swim along the waves of competition, tended to be repetitive even when they seemed to work harder to maintain their innovative streak. It was a toss up between art for the sake art vs. art for the sake of commercial suceess.
# 3..KB Ji
I think when it comes to orchestration, an unknown , obscure(!) composer duo called Shankar Jaikishan also existed in HFM!!!
Of course they will never be considered by the connoisseurs!!!!
To continue…even Salil da, C Ramachandra did lot of innovations in orchestration apart from SDB & OPN.
However RDB was always lucky! Even here we see just one blog on Salil da , whereas RDB by now must have surpassed all the legends with more than a dozen blogs. Anyhow, to each , his own! This is not a criticism but a true reflection of how only few artists get the limelight….
Sivanandam # 6 and 7
Posting a series on RDB’s orchestration improvisations can never belittle the work done by the music directors who entered HFM during 40s and 50s. In fact, it is because of this that we have had what is now well-known as Golden Era of HFM.
Ashok Ji..i just brought attention to the comment #3 . For me whenever orchestration is talked about SJ come first alongwith many others…when I saw only SDB & OPN mentioned , I posted my views. It is absolutely your & AK Ji ‘ s prerogative to write about RDB and for that any other artists.
It is my little emotional feeling when I saw many other music directors being covered in just 1 or 2 blogs …and once again my own personal opinion..with all these improvisations & technical wizardy in Panchami, is melody there in all these songs? …anyhow by now I got the overall hang that my personal music choices are mostly different from the majority and so I have to just go with the flow.
This , in no way , takes away the great work done by you and many others in this forum.
Sivanandam # 9
In so far as the liking of music is concerned, my views run quite parallel to you.
SJ’s music certainly has many facets that can provide material for good analytical articles.
Shankar’s birth centenary has passed long back and Jaikishan’s is quite far away. So, along with AKji if we can find any suitable reason to design a well-laid out series, I would be game for chipping in my share.
Sivanandam ji, and Ashok ji,
I just couldn’t help myself chipping in. I can sense some pique in the voice of Sivanandam ji at such a grand celebration of RD Burman. Two points.
This in no way reflects the relative importance of RD Burman vis-a-vis Golden Era doyens like Naushad, C Ramchandra, SJ, OP Nayyar, or my special favourites, Roshan and Chitragupta.
This happened, I would say, not because of SOY, but in spite of SOY. Something had to happen now, and RDB was at the right time and place.
I have no plans for compensating by writing more articles on my special favourites. If I wrote 5 articles on someone, that is how I thought about it that time. That has nothing to do with 10+ on RDB.
AK Ji, Ashok Ji
Rtaher than being piqued , it was more about monotony..with almost all blogs in last few months on a single artist. Last year Rafi’s centenary had many other blogs interspersed and so there was variety. So it was just a lament …in any other media the hype on Pancham is fully understood , expected and accepted..but here I found it a bit odd..that’s all.
Anyhow , I should not have commented as it is ablsoutely your decision. I will be careful in future in my comments.
Sivanandam ji,
My comment was not a criticism meant to stop you. Please feel free to comment. Your comment is well-taken. Free comment strengthens the debate and discourse.
Vaishnav ji
Venkatraman ji has already said what I felt after reading the blog.
RDB as a composer may not be very high in the list of favourite composers of many a SOYer (including you) and yet you have extensively and exquisitely covered different facets of his music.
Most of the vocal experiments of RDB have been included by you and readers above, here is one more
Chala jata hoon- Mere jeevan saathi -KK
https://youtu.be/CcrXejLuQ9M?si=efcNjtVq2O2c6_NW
The brief yodelling at the end of each line of antara was something different.
Veerendra Sehwag had a habit of humming a song while he was batting. In a radio mirchi program he narrated how he was humming this song while scoring a triple century against Pakistan at Chennai.
Actually he had forgotten the lyrics and called the 12th man on the ground under some pretext to fetch him the lyrics of this song.
Rahul Bhagwanrao Muli #14
The Sehwag story about Chala Jata Hu is quite interesting.
That song certainly has that hummable attraction, particularly if you are fan of RDB and KK(2.0).
BTW, your observation about I not being a RDB fan and still ‘extensively and exquisitely covered different facets of his music’, so to say, can be said to be my (and perhaps of AKji, too) w.r.t. the discussion thread @ 11,12 and 13 here above. As AKji has said, RDB just happened the way it has happened. Availability of good deal of reference material on YT and Net too indeed did help. For some one to so well acquainted with technicalities of orchestration or instruments play or not able to fall backon reliable offline material, doing such a series of article on SJ or MM or OPN seems a task much beyond reach.
Ashokji
This is an another excellent article in the series of RDB and his orchestration improvisations. The insightful information shared by you is commendable highlighting your motivation and research.
I would like to add more song from Ijaazat — Chhoti si kahani se, which has sound overlapping.
This credits song often gets overshadowed by the other three.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wmmqnoW_us&list=RD3wmmqnoW_us
Two songs from Kaalia (1981) using la la la la…
Tum saath ho jab apne duniya ko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkVpqTrFmEA&list=RDbkVpqTrFmEA
Jabse tumko dekha dekha hi karte hain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21uF29rnhBY&list=RD21uF29rnhBY
This one from Love Sotry (1981) has Parra parra pa pap
Ye ladki zara si diwani lagti hai
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoa4oTDRhsY&list=RDqoa4oTDRhsY
Dr. Rajesh Deshpande # 16, 17, 18
Thank you so much for your very encouraging appreciation for the article.
I am not so well versed with RDB’s work, therefore, I was quite apprehensive when I offered for, and AKji readily accepted, the idea for this series. Once I started doing detailed work, I observed the abundance of material on net. That made the task easy.
Thank yo too for sharing these songs .
Ashok Ji,
A unique post for sure. Very informative and thought provoking.