MAX salutes the musical legend R D Burman with "Pancham: Mujhe Chalte Jaana Hai"

Reminiscing the most enigmatic maestro of Hindi Cinema, Sony MAX, will be telecasting the World Television Premier of a very special film ’Pancham - Mujhe Chalte Jaana Hai’ which will bring alive the charmed journey of the musical wizard R D Burman. On the occasion of his 75th birth anniversary and as a tribute to this great legend Sony MAX brings to its audiences a beautiful medley of testimonies from stalwarts of the industry. Leading music composers and singers recollect the magic called Pancham Da in their own unique way. Here’s what some of them have to say: Shankar Mahadevan: Pancham Da’s musical contribution gave birth to many iconic characters in Bollywood. For example he composed the character background score for Gabbar’s entry by combining different unconventional musical instruments such as the ghungroo. Pancham Da’s personality of purity, innocence and vibrant energy reflected very evidently in his music. Amol Gupte: The background score of Sholay is epic and iconic: the way he used to place the sounds was extremely unique and beautiful. He was a master at arrangement of background score in a song. Vishal Dadlani: There is sense of madness in Pancham Da’s music which was fearless, he was never afraid to experiment and try out different things. For Pancham Da music was not limited to musical instruments. The way he used to use the instruments was uniquely different in its own way, he didn’t leave objects like cup, glass and for that matter probably would have even played music on the pot belly of a musician. This is a mark of a genuine legend and innovator. He gave a new direction to Bollywood music by using sints in Bollywood music, and if today electronic music is vastly used and accepted in Bollywood, it backs to the originator who is Pancham Da. Farah Khan: Pancham Da was pure talent and pure genius. If we write about the history of Hindi cinema’s music his name would definitely be on the top. Even today when his songs are played on radio, television and films it feels like they are songs from a recent movie. The songs are still very fresh and relevant even today. Whenever I have to write a scene or a script I play Pancham Da’s songs and get inspired, this motivates me to write. He used to compose tunes effortlessly within a matter of 5 minutes, it’s truly a God given talent. The time when we were doing ‘ek ladki ko dekha toh….’, Javed Akhtar had written down the lyrics and Pancham Da was creating tunes instantly as he was listening to the words. He literally composed the song in a matter of 1 minute. The level of genuineness in him is incredible. Anu Malik: I made item songs, fun songs, pure romantic songs all of which we learnt from R D Burman. The songs and versatility of Pancham Da is magic. There will only be one one Pancham. I grew up in the time where I could see Pancham Da, I met and asked him so many questions. I have gone to the studios when he used to record for songs. I was fortunate to hug him and got a chance to touch his feet, I am blessed… I met a man called Pancham. Loy Mendonsa: Pancham Da always tried to find something different and new. He was very global in his thinking and approach; if he liked something he would absorb that in his music beautifully. Ehsaan Noorani: Pancham Da was a composer who was really ahead of his time, in terms of his achievements and in terms of his experimentations. If he’d alive today, I feel he would still be ahead of times in his music even today. The risks which Pancham Da took changed the sound of Bollywood completely. I’m sure there might have been many arguments he must have had with directors and producers, persuading them to go ahead with a particular kind of sound and telling them that he would go ahead with a different kind of music he had selected. Shantanu Moitra: Pancham Da had an affinity and tendency towards news instruments because he wanted to create his own identity. The way he put the tabla and tarang to use, it has never been done before. Using different sounds in the songs; is the genius of Pancham Da. Hindi cinema songs would be empty without Pancham Da and Pancham Da is not complete without the music of Hindi cinema. Swanand Kirkire: I have grown up listening to Pancham Da’s music and songs. Pancham Da’s music is a parameter for me for good music. For me good music is always compared to the music of Pancham Da. The way Gulzar’s writings have been innovatively and uniquely composed by R D Burman is so great that it speaks for its own. For many years it was very difficult to venture out and neglect the songs of Kishore Kumar & Mohammed Rafi, similarly it was very difficult to think differently from the compositions of Pancham Da. Sony MAX pays tribute to the immortal legend R D Burman on his 75th birth anniversary with a heart wrenching film ’Pancham - Mujhe Chalte Jaana Hai’. Watch the World Television Premier on Friday, 27 June at 9PM on SONY MAX followed by Saturday, 28 June at 9pm on SONY MIX and Sunday, 29 June at 7pm on MAX 2. ?