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.
Source:https://www.songsofyore.com/r-d-burman-and-his-orchestration-improvisations-string-instruments/