j om prakash about R D Burman

Rajiv Vijayakar (Screen)
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"When I told Sachin Bhaumick that I would produce Raja Rani for him - he had wanted to produce, direct and write and I felt that he could not have coped with the production hassles, R.D.Burman came in as a package, for he was committed to him. This angered L-P and in a huff they turned down Aap Ki Kasam though it was my debut film as director and Aaye Din Bahaar Ke was the first big film they had ever signed. So I signed Pancham for it. Around the same time, I had been fascinated by a story written by Kamleshwar and developed in collaboration with Gulzar. I asked Gulzar whether I could direct the film. When he said that he wanted to do it himself, I offered to produce it. And so was born Aandhi. The lyrics for this film were selected from among those I had marked out in their original book. Once again, R.D.Burman was my music director because he had formed a team with Gulzar.

"But for all the great music that he gave me, I always found Pancham belonging to a school that was a shade too modern for my tastes. I have always believed in the staying power of Indian music, and I would even guide my music director and thus retain control of my music while inspiring him to greater heights by stating precise requirements regarding dadra, keherwa, the raags and the instruments to be used. So I patched up with Laxmikant-Pyarelal with Aakraman and a new chapter began, which resulted in several more hits till various factors resulted in their losing form in my last films with them, Aap Ke Sath and Agnee.
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