When Burman composed 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha' in front of Bhansali

Mumbai: Among his several memorable tracks, RD Burman’s “Ek Ladki Ko Dekha” still rings fresh and filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali was present as the ‘song director’ when the love-ballad was composed. 

In a foreword written for a new book titled “RD BurMania” the “Ram-Leela” director says he was present at the music sitting when Burman composed the song for “1942 A Love Story”.

“It must have taken Pancham-da hardly 15 minutes to compose that entire masterpiece song along with the musical interludes. With his glorious flow of talent, he did not have to make any effort, it just came to him,” Bhansali mentions in the foreword. 

“Seeing Pancham-da sitting right in front of me, at the ‘sitting’ was one of the most precious moments of my career in showbiz. As a young boy, I would refuse to have my dinner at my rich cousin’s house, unless I heard that RDB track ‘Jab Andhera Hotaa Hai’,” he added. 

Authored by journalist Chaitanya Padukone, the book aims to throw light on the life and work of the legendary composer. 

Bhansali, 53, says he was so consumed by Burman that he kept in mind the late-composer while doing the music for “Bajirao Mastani”. 

“While scoring music for my home production ‘Bajirao Mastani’, I would subconsciously keep thinking, what if RDB had done it, how would he execute it, how would I achieve the ‘Pancham-wala’ levels of perfection.” 

“RD BurMania” also features writings by several Bollywood celebrities about the composer, including megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who called the book “well deserved” in a tweet. 

The book will be launched on tomorrow, January 4, at a special event by ‘Panchammagic’ in Pune to commemorate the 23rd death anniversary of the composer. 

Aamir Khan’s cousin, yesteryear Taariq Khan, on whom iconic Burman songs are picturised, music director Anand (of composer duo Anand-Milind), director Raj Sippy and ace guitarist Manish Kulkarni are expected to be present.