R.D. Burman has influenced the bollywood music more than any other music director of his times and brought glitzy dance-oriented music to the stagnated techniques of the '70s. His approach, which takes cues from Western rock and electronic music and amalgamates it perfectly with Indian chorus and rhythm-based melodies is unprecedented and years ahead of his time. The use of new recording techniques and instruments reflected upon the changing attitude of his audience and acted as a trendsetting innovation to the Indian music industry.
Rahul Dev Burman (popularly known as Pancham) was born in Calcutta, India to the renowned music director S.D. Burman. In his initial years, Rahul learned the basics of rhythm from tabla maestro Brajen Biswas and sarod from Ali Akbar Khan and later Ashish Khan. He entered the bollywood music industry as an assistant to his father with Pyaasa being the first official film.
Rahul's first break as an independent music director came through the film Raaz.