R.D. Burman

As one of the most successful music directors in the history of Indian cinema, R. D. Burman scored over 300 films between his debut in 1961 and his passing in 1994. He was born as "Rahul Dev Burman" on June 27, 1939, in Calcutta, British India. Raised by composer S. D. Burman and Bengali vocalist Meera Dev Burman, he worked as a music assistant in the Bollywood industry during the late 1950s, then made his debut as music director with 1961's Chhote Nawab. Although the film wasn't a success, Burman reached a new level of renown with 1966's Teesri Manzil, which also marked the beginning of his collaboration with lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri. During the 1970s, many of Burman's songs were performed by vocalist Kishore Kumar, resulting in hits like "Yeh Shaam Mastani" and "Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai." Burman received his first nomination for the Filmfare Awards' "Best Music Director" in 1972, followed by yearly nominations for the same award throughout the rest of the decade. He ultimately won in 1983 for Sanam Teri Kasam, then won once again in 1984 for Masoom. Although he suffered a heart attack in 1988, Burman recovered and continued writing songs for several more years before passing away at 54 years old on January 4, 1994. He left behind a rich legacy as a playback singer, composer, and Hindi film industry icon, and he took home one final Filmfare Award for "Best Music Director" — this time for 1942: A Love Story — in 1995, one year after his death. Decades later, Burman's music continued to enjoy popularity in India, with the song "Yeh Vaada Raha" even reaching number 56 on India's Top 200 Shazam chart in 2023.

Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.