R. D. Burman – 10+ Less-heard But Wonderful Bollywood Tunes

R. D. Burman, the most celebrated music composer of Indian cinema, whose songs appeals youngsters belonging to different generations. Burman is mostly associated with westernized tunes, associated with fast beats and several experimental music instruments. Yet his music can never be tagged under a particular music category. He has tried with almost every genre of film music and came up with chartbuster hits.

Most recently I watched Teesri Manzil starring Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh, and got struck with a fun-filled duet of Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle filmed in a fair – “Dekhiye Sahibo Woh Koi Aur Thi“, penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri. The song is so lovely and fun to watch on screen also, and I have heard the song earlier. The song is entirely different from other R. D. Burman’s songs and unique. But the song has never been listed among the best songs of Pancham da, Rafi, Asha (Bhosle) or Shammi Kapoor. Why it happened so? It’s only because the album track include some of the best rock numbers of 1960s – O Haseena, O Mere Sona Re, Tumne Mujhe Dekha, Deewana Mujhsa Nahin and Aaja Aaja, and the beautiful track, “Dekhiye Sahibo Woh Koi Aur Thi” sank somewhere in between.

I felt that if the song, “Dekhiye Sahibo Woh Koi Aur Thi” was included in any other film of Shammi Kapoor or R. D Burman with weak tracks, this track would have stood out. It’s such a lovely song. Then I just thought, R. D. Burman has composed music for thousand film songs of which we catch up with some of his career bests. Then why I can’t I make a list of some of the beautiful songs of the composer which went unnoticed or were underrated? Here I present a few more such songs which easily strike my memory; Less heard, but purely R. D. magic.

1. Hume Raston Ki from Naram Garam (1981)

This Asha Bhosle solo filmed on Swaroop Sampat and Amol Palekar and the tune was based on S. D. Burman’s Thandi Hawayein, which has inspired more than 10 tunes. Read more. When the song was released, it doesn’t get enough attention. However over the years the song earned a lot of music fans. The tune was reused for the title tracks of Sagar and Agar Tum Na Hote.

2. Bheegi Bheegi Aankhen from Ishk Ishk Ishk (1974)

The film starring Zeenat Aman and Dev Anand was a major flop, and the duet sung by Kishore Kumar and Dev Anand also went unnoticed. Lyrics were penned by Anand Bakshi.

3. Jab Chaha Yaara Tumne from Zabardast (1985)

This teasing song of Kishore Kumar filmed on Rajiv Kapoor and Rati Agnihotri, along with Jayaprada and Sunny Deol is not familiar to many music fans. The tune is nice, and the song was lovely filmed with a blue umbrella. The song was one among the best of Kishore da’s last phase of Bollywood career. Majrooh Sultanpuri penned its lyrics. It was Nassir Hussain’s last film.

4. Kah Rahe Hain Yeh Ansoo from Jheel Ke Us Paar (1973)

It’s a party song filmed on Mumtaz, Dharmedra and Yogeeta Bali. Mumtaz plays a blind girl in the song, and Yogeeta tries to humiliate her in the party by doing makeup for her in the very funny way. This sad solo of Lata Mangeshkar went unnoticed, while Lata songs like Do Ghoont Mujhe Bhi Pila De and Chal Chalen Ae Dil became popular. But do you know, when this tune was reused for one Malayalam film, ‘Avalude Ravukal’ in 1978 (without composer’s permission, it seems) to recreate it as a lullaby by composer A. T. Ummer, the song became one of the finest lullabies ever made in Malayalam cinema. The wordings were ‘Unni Aarariro’ and song was rendered by S. Janaki, who sang one more song, ‘Rakendu Kiranangal’, inspired from ‘Pal Bhar Mein Yeh Kya Ho Gaya’. Both songs were direct lifts with no alteration in music arrangement, and became more popular than Hindi versions.

5. Aisa Kyon Hota Hai from Ameer Aadmi Gareeb Aadmi (1985)

The first line of this Asha Bhosle solo definitely influenced Pancham da to compose ‘Kyon Naye Lag Rahe (Pyar Hua Chupke Se)’ for his final masterpiece, 1942: A Love Story. Though this Asha solo went unnoticed, Pyar Hua Chupke Se became one of the finest romantic songs composed by Burman ever. Nida Fazli penned original lyrics.

6. Ghar Aaja Ghir Aaye from Chhote Nawab (1961)

The movie was the stepping stone to R. D. Burman as an independent composer in the early 1960s, though he preferred to remain his father’s assistant throughout the decade. This solo song sung by Lata Mangeshkar is melodious and close to Indian ragas. Ghar Aaja Ghir Aaye is also believed to be the first song composed by Pancham da. Its Lyrics were penned by Shailendra, and was filmed on a courtesan character who resembles Shubha Khote. (I searched several sites, but couldn’t find who is she). The song was based on Raag Malgunji, which is a mixture of Raag Bageshree and Raageshree, and Lata appreciated Pancham da soon after recording the song.

7. Pyar Ke Mod Pe from Parinda (1989)

The movie was a super hit and the chemistry of Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit was appreciated most. However this sad song sung by Asha Bhosle and Suresh Wadkar was not so popular at the time of release. With songs available in YouTube nowadays, the song has slowly picked up in the recent past. The movie is best remembered for yet another Asha solo – Tumse Milke Aisa Laga. Khurshid Hallauri penned lyrics.

8. Main Hoon Diya Sooni Raat Ka from Jal Mahal (1980)

The song sung by Lata Mangeshkar is nice, and so are the wonderful lyrics penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri. I heard this beautiful song for the first time, most recently only, and got smitten by its beauty. The song was filmed on Jeetendra and Rekha in some old palace. I still can’t figure out why I never heard this song before.

9. Tu Jahaan Mile Mujhe from Doosri Sita (1974)

The song belongs to less-heard movie Doosri Sita starring Jaya Bhaduri and Ramesh Sharma. It was one of the early associations of R. D with Gulzar, who gave some of amazing ‘poetry’ compositions in the late 1970s and 1980s. Asha Bhosle rendered her voice for this track. The movie also included a less-heard Lata Mangeshkar solo – Din Jaa Rahe Hai.

10. Aisa Sama Na Hota from Zameen Aasmaan (1984)

The song is always listed among my most popular Lata solos always. The song was filmed on Sanjay Dutt and Anita Raj, and written by Anjaan. It was a time when fast numbers were high in demand, and among Pancham da songs too, fast songs sold most. In my opinion, it’s one of the finest tracks composed by Pancham da ever. What a beauty! I can listen to this song a hundred times without getting bored.

11. Na Jane Din Kaise from Chala Murari Hero Banne (1977)

Kishore Kumar at his high pitched and intensified sad voice, he renders his voice for Asrani on screen. The comedian is seen in a very rare serious role and Bindiya Goswami also features in the song. Lyrics were penned by Yogesh. The song is so lovely and amazing, and Kishore Kumar has sung it so perfectly. I still wonder why I haven’t heard this song too much.

12. Kajra Badarwa Re from Pati Patni (1966)

Pati Patni was one of the early works of R. D. Burman, before he turned a star composer with the songs of Teesri Manzil the same year. The movie included a rain song – Kajra Badarwa Re filmed on Nanda and sung by Lata Mangeshkar. No doubt, the tune is absolutely melodious composed by a newcomer, but was not so popular so days. The movie marked the association of Anand Bakshi with Burman, and duo gave numerous chartbusters in the 1970s and 1980s.

13. Aao Aao Sawariya from Padosan (1968)

I should say this purely classical song sung by Manna Dey in a comic mood is one of the most underrated songs of R. D. Burman. During early phase of his career, he composed this tune based on Carnatic music and Carnatic musical instruments. It’s hard to believe that the composer who composed rock songs for Teesri Manzil composed this particular song. And how beautifully Manna Dey rendered his voice for Carnatic music, particularly towards the end of the song. In this song sequence Mehmood tries to impress Saira Banu with his talent in Carnatic music while his jealous ‘neighbours’ are watching them helplessly. 

I have seen many songs in different websites, marked as R. D. Burman’s underrated tunes. But I choose only a few based on my musical knowledge, and those which I felt could have been received better, and could be categorized as ‘rare gems’. I preferred soft songs most. Hopefully, I may add more songs too. Till then, enjoy a few more R. D. Burman songs belonging to this gallery.