'Teesri Manzil': RD Burman's musical marvel that changed the landscape of Hindi cinema

RD Burman had already made four films, all forgotten and with them their music, when he came up with ‘Teesri Manzil’. The 1966 Shammi Kapoor starrer broke all traditions of Hindi cinema music and is a testament to the talent of the ever-experimenting genius.

Burman, one of India’s most versatile composers, would have been 86 today.

With songs that ranged from romantic to rock, the “Teesri Manzil” album was an instrumentalist’s dream, a soundscape not heard before in the industry that went on to change the way songs were composed.

According to “RD Burman: The Man, The Music” by Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal, Pancham — as Burman was fondly known — would listen to music composer Kersi Lord’s collection of LP records of jazz, Latin American, European and Middle-Eastern music.

And those early influences trickled into the music of “Teesri Manzil”, making “O haseena”, “O mere sona re”, “Aaja aaja main hoon pyaar tera”, “Deewana mujhsa nahi” and “Tumne mujhe dekha” blockbuster hits.

That they live in public memory even today is a tribute to Burman, who was just 54 when he died of a heart attack in 1994.

Burman, according to the book, was designing his personal blend of rock, jazz, Latino and twist to create a sound, the likes of which was unheard of in the then 35-year history of Hindi films and featured instruments such as the violin, the cello, the vibraphone, the chime, the sax, the trumpet, the drums, the conga and castanet.

“In those days, the usual pattern was to play sixteen bars on the violin, then the flute, following which the antara would start on cue. Inspired in part by Henry Mancini, Pancham decided to break from tradition in ‘Teesri Manzil’,” the book recalled.

But before he could become the composer, he had to go through Shammi Kapoor, who was not convinced that the composer was suited for the job. Jaikishan, of the Shankar Jaikishan duo, and screenplay writer Sachin Bhowmick requested Shammi to give the young musician a chance to prove himself.

In one of his most challenging auditions, Burman sang lines of a Nepali tune that Shammi had heard and wanted a tune based on it. But the actor remained unimpressed.

“Shattered nerves gave way. Flabbergasted, Pancham left the room. After a couple of perfunctory puffs on a cigarette, Pancham re-entered the music room and played the tunes he had reserved for the occasion: ‘O mere sona’, ‘Aa ja aa ja’, and ‘O haseena zulfon wali’. Shammi Kapoor stopped him abruptly and said, ‘You’ve passed. You are my music director.’”

“O haseena”, according to the book, set the standard for the portrayal of lively music and dance in Indian cinema. Burman had worked on Shammi’s earlier films “Professor” and “Jungli” as an assistant to his father SD Burman. After “Teesri Manzil’, Shammi and he worked on “Brahmachari” and “An Evening in Paris”, both hugely successful albums.