Tribute to the boss: R.D. Burman

June 7: Music lovers of the city will get a rare opportunity to relive the evergreen compositions of the legendary RD.

To pay tribute to R.D. Burman on his 68th birth anniversary, the North East R.D. Burman Memorial Committee will organise a singing competition at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra on June 27.

Popularly known as Pancham, RD was the only child of eminent singer and music director Sachin Dev Burman who ruled Bollywood with his melodious numbers.

“Youngsters of every generation like RD’s music and therein lies the magic of the junior Burman. Another objective of organising the programme is to help budding singers draw inspiration from the great musician who had his roots in the Northeast,” the general secretary of the committee, Moloy Sutradhar, said.

“RD and his illustrious father were among a few from the Northeast who dominated the Mumbai film industry. The committee is a fitting tribute to the memory of RD who was a descendant of Tripura’s royal family.”

The state-level competition will be open for all irrespective of age.

There will be separate categories for men and women and the contestants will have to perform from 30 RD-composed numbers selected for each category.

The winners and the first runners-up of the two categories will be awarded prize money, trophies and certificates.

After the competition, a memorial service and an R.D. Burman Nite will be organised where the winners as well as other artistes will sing his memorable numbers.

On the occasion, an yet-to-be christened album of the Assamese version of RD’s popular songs will be released.

The songs were sung by budding talents of the state under the banner of the committee.

“We have invited celebrities like Asha Bhonsle and Gulzar to attend the programme but they have not yet confirmed their participation,” Sutradhar said.

He said since they would be organising such a competition for the first time, they had restricted it to contestants from Assam only.

“If we succeed in our maiden venture, from next year the competition will be thrown open to artistes from across the Northeast.”

The executive member of the committee, Bhaskar Das, said they would also felicitate a folk artiste from the region. However, the committee has not yet announced the name.

“Our committee will act as a platform for talented singers from the region and back them so that they can make it to the national level. We have plans to organise workshops and seminars by bringing experts from across the country to hone local talents.”

“Hindi is not our mothertongue. Therefore, Hindi accents of a majority of singers from the region are flawed. That is why we will put emphasis on correct pronunciation of Hindi and Urdu words,” Sutradhar said.