Like father, like son

The great RD Burman has given us unforgettable melodies. But was it all a work of genius or hogwash?

Rahul Dev Burman, or Pancham Da as he is fondly called, was undoubtedly the biggest star of the Indian music industry till AR Rahman came along. RD Burman has given us melodies that we still like to hum, sing and even play at concerts.

There is no dearth of musicians, who owe their fifteen seconds of fame to the remixes of Pancham Da’s tunes. Even our beloved Asha tai cannot go through an interview without being asked about her late husband in some context or other.

The creative genius of this man is so legendary that there are many stories that still do the rounds in the music circuit, like the one where Pancham Da thought of a tune and then played it on the back of his assistant.

But was all of it genius or was some of it hogwash? Was he really so talented that he could think of a tune at the drop of a hat or did he just have access to his dad’s collection of records? Last week we talked about how SD Burman was such an easily inspired soul that many of the cult classics he composed were actually straight lifts from overseas music. Well, why should the son be deprived of the opportunity? After all, in India we still very much believe and harness dynasty-ism in every walk of life.

One of the songs from the film ‘Bhoot Bangla’ released in 1965, “Aao Twist Karein,” can still be called a huge hit. The moment the song plays anywhere in the background, legs automatically start grinding the ground and hips start making semi-circles in the air.

Just three years before the film released, a true music legend, who changed pop culture forever, called Chubby Checker, released a song called “Let’s Twist Again.” The music, the lyrics and even the choreography of Checker’s song had a striking resemblance to Junior Burman’s version. I am not sure whether this was a case of plagiarism or just an eerie coincidence—well, the movie was called ‘Bhoot Bangla,’ so I guess eeriness is a given.