He was an inventor: Vishal Dadlani

On the iconic composer’s 74th birth anniversary, singer Vishal Dadlani talks about the influence Rahul Dev Burman has had on his career and the entire film industry.

Rahul Dev Burman has been an inspiration to many musicians. And even though the iconic composer passed away 19 years ago (in 1994), he is still remembered fondly by many budding artistes.

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Composer-singer Vishal Dadlani is one such fan, who calls ‘Pancham da’ the man who inspired him to strive and take up music as a career option.

Speaking to us on RD Burman’s 74th birth anniversary (on June 27), Vishal recalls, “He was more of an inventor, who assimilated sounds from all around the world. By experimenting with music, he opened doors not only for his contemporaries, but also for the coming generations. Every musician is just trying to get to where he left us.”

Incidentally, over the years, Vishal and his composer-partner Shekhar Ravjiani have had the opportunity to work on two songs originally composed by the musical legend —Humein tumse pyar kitna (for Jhankaar Beats; 2003) and the title track of Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008).

“But we didn’t mess with the original songs. Our versions are a tribute to RD Burman, and we made sure that he and the song’s lyricists got their due credit,” he says, adding that Pancham da was a man much ahead of his time.

“His songs are not nostalgic; they are as modern as today’s songs. You will discover something new every time you listen to them, even if you’ve heard them a hundred times before. You can’t escape his influence,” he says.