To be broadcast on SET Max channel.
By Tathagata Mitra
BANGALORE: As a tribute to one of Bollywood’s greatest music composers, a special film will be screened on the birthday of R.D. Burman’s 75th birth anniversary.
The film is titled “Puncham – Mujhey Chaltey Jaana Hai” after the music composer who was popularly called Puncham by all in the industry and after a line in one of his popular songs, Musafir Hoon Yaaroon from the film Parichay (1972) which was sung by Kishore Kumar, with Jeetendra in the lead. He wrote this song in a hotel room after his separation from his first wife, Rita Patel.
The initiative for the film has been taken by Sony’s Set Max channel.
The film is a documentary-style feature presentation which will feature celebrities who were close to Burman in his personal life. The celebrities will include Asha Bhosle, who was his wife when he died, Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, Pyarelal, Shantanu Moitra, Vishal Bharadwaj, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor and Manna Dey. They will share their personal experiences with Burman giving a great deal of insight of what went into making the great music legend.
Shammi Kapoor and Manna Dey had passed away recently which gives us reason to believe the film has been in the making for quite some time if it is not using archival footages.
“R.D. Burman was a legend who still rules the hearts of millions all across the globe. It is our honour to salute a man of such stature by showcasing his classic work and his journey to become an idol through the distinctive film ‘Puncham – Mujhey Chaltey Jaana Hai’,” Neeraj Vyas, senior executive vice president and business head, Sony MAX, said in a statement. He added, “I am certain that the visuals and anecdotes of the megastar will inspire audiences of all age groups.”
Rahul Dev Burman scored the music for 331 movies, in a career spanning 33 years. Among the 331, 292 were in Hindi, 31 in Bengali, three in Telugu, two each in Tamil and Oriya, and one in Marathi. His frequent collaborations with Asha Bhonsle and Kishore Kumar produced some of the greatest classics of Hindi Film Music.
“Puncham – Mujhey Chaltey Jaana Hai” will air on Set Max on June 27, Burman’s 75th birthday.