RD Burman Refused To Compose For Raj Kapoor, Said He Worked With 'Normal People': 'I Wouldn't Have Signed...'

Musical maestro RD Burman, fondly known as Pancham, despite being good friends with Randhir Kapoor, flat-out refused to score music for Raj Kapoor. Yes, you read that right! Pancham was signed on to compose the music for Dharam Karam, Randhir Kapoor’s directorial debut. But when it came to scoring a song for Raj Kapoor in the film, Pancham said no. This was revealed by Raju Bharatan, an assistant editor at the Illustrated Weekly of India, during a tell-all interview with Rediff.com years ago.

Randhir Kapoor asked Pancham to come up with that tune with Raj Kapoor in the room, but it didn’t sit well with him. Pancham got upset, saying, ‘Dabboo, you did not tell me that I had to play a tune in front of Raj Kapoor, else I would have not signed the film.’ Why the reaction? Well, reportedly, Pancham had a bad experience working with Guru Dutt and heard that Raj Kapoor could be difficult too.

Pancham said that Guru Dutt “drove me mad.” He would choose a tune after listening to many but would change his mind at the next meeting, asking Pancham to come up with something new. This left Pancham confused about what Guru Dutt really wanted.

Pancham also thought Raj Kapoor was difficult when it came to picking tunes, so when Dabboo asked him to play something for his father, he said no. Randhir Kapoor tried to reason with him, saying that Raj Kapoor was very creative. But Pancham responded that he had worked with creative people before and knew how hard it could be. He just wanted to work with “normal” people.

After a lot of coaxing, he finally agreed, but he was really nervous. Raj Kapoor preferred Shankar-Jaikishan’s work and wasn’t a fan of Laxmikant-Pyarelal. RD Burman then played the tune for “Ek Din Bik Jayega Maati Ke Mol,” even though the lyrics weren’t ready. To his relief, Raj Kapoor loved it and confidently said the song would be a hit. He had a talent for knowing what would be popular just by hearing a tune!

RD Burman had hit collaborations with the Kapoor family. For Shashi Kapoor, he composed for Shaan (1980) and Pyaar Ka Mausam (1969). His work with Randhir Kapoor includes Jawani Diwani (1972) and Dharam Karam (1975). With Rishi Kapoor, Burman created some of his most iconic songs in 17 films, including hits like Khel Khel Mein (1975) and Hum Kisise Kum Nahin (1977), featuring tracks like Khullam Khulla Pyar Karenge and Tu Tu Hai Wohi.

RD Burman died in 1994.