Relive Pancham - Review

It was a musical evening that RDB fans would remember forever. R.D.Burman's music troupe performed at the Esplanade concert hall last Sunday, entertaining the audience for more than 3 hours. Though I am a bigger fan of the father Burman ( S.D.Burman) , the son is not too behind in my list of favorite composers.

The concert was a pure musical concert devoid of any vocals ( except for the yodelling " Monica Oh my darling" ). The concert was compered very well by the renowned " Harish Bhimani" ( who provided a lot of trivia on RDB's life and films) and conducted ably by " " . The star of the show was Manohari Singh , the sax player in RDB's troupe who had assisted RDB from Bhoot Bhangla ( his first movie) to 1942 - A love story ( his swan song). Manoharida is 79 years old now - a frail figure who walks quite slowly due to his age. But the moment he takes the sax in his hands , he is transformed into a tour-de-force full of energy and ethusiasm.

Here are the songs performed at the concert:

1. Theme music of " Sholay"

2. Chanda Main ( Movie : ???)

3. Kya Janoon Sajan ( Movie : Baharon Ke Sapne)

4. Gulabi Aanken ( Movie : The Train) - Brilliant song , it set the mood for the concert.

5. Ae Jawani Ae Deewani ( Movie: Jawani Diwani)

6. Chura Liya ( Movie: Yaadon Ki Baarat)

7. Jaane Jaa ( Movie: Jawani Diwani) - Manoharida was wonderful on Saxophone.

8. Ab Jo Mile Tho ( Movie: Caravan)

9. Jab Andera hota hai ( Movie: Raja rani)

10. Khatooba ( Movie: Alibaba and 40 thieves)

11. O meri jaan ( Movie: The train)

12. Bachna ae haseeno ( Movie: Hum Kissise kum nahin)

13. Dil Lena ko ( Movie: Zamana ko dikhana hai)

14. Saiyan re saiyan ( Movie: The train)

15. Koi Haathon main ( Movie: Mela)

16. Kaanta Laga ( Movie: Samadhi)

17. Dum maro dum ( Hare rama hare krishna)

18. A "medley" from Hum Kissise kum nahin

19. Lekar hum ( Movie: Yaadon ki baarat)

20. Mehbooba ( Movie: Sholay)

21. Title song of Shaan

22. Title music of Shalimar

23. Piya Tu ( Movie: Caravan) - the best song of the evening with excellent orchestration

24. Yeh Jo Mohabbat ( Movie: Kati Patang)

The list was a surprise ( I expected Aandhi, Amar prem, Teesri Manzil, Ghar, Ijaazat, Golmaal, etc) for me. Since fast numbers sound better in a musical concert without vocals, the troupe must have chosen the aforementioned ones.

It was 3 hours of sheer nostalgia and bliss. I look forward to pancham 2009.

Relive Pancham - At Esplanade, Singapore

Rahul Dev Burman, the Maestro Music Composer, needs no introduction to music lovers. Pancham has enthralled us for decades now, with his varied range of compositions from the purely classical to the foot tapping rhythmic western pop, which were well ahead of his time.

”RELIVE PANCHAM” is a purely Instrumental Musical Concert, featuring the finest of the compositions of Pancham, performed by none other than the Original Musicians from his own Troupe, LIVE for the first time in Singapore. Manohari Singh, Kancha Bhai, Suraj Sathe, Shyaam Raj, Kishore Sodha, Nitin Shankar and other veterans who were with Pancham all through his scintillating career will perform LIVE for the FIRST TIME in Singapore.

The concert is on 3rd Aug and tickets can be purchased at the Sistic website or at their outlets.

Pancham Unmixed

This was long due. Brahmanand Singh has captured the life of the legendary composer R.D.Burman ( Affectionately called Pancham) in a documentary. The 4 min preview looks very tantalizing.

Looking at the trouble he is having in getting it released through traditional distribution channels, would an online distribution model suit him ( Given the large fan base Pancham has worldwide)?