He was on his knees when he first sang ‘Roop Tera Mastana’, for a girl. Well, in this case, Benny Dayal was punished and was outside his classroom. “I was kneeling in the corridor which overlooked the girls’ school. I saw a girl walking by and started singing. She kept turning back, looking at me, and smiling. I was 16 then,” grins Benny. Even though the soundtrack for Aradhana was largely composed by S.D. Burman, assisted by son R.D.Burman, this is the song that introduced eight-year-oldBenny to junior Burman’s work.
Apparently quite a few of R.D. Burman’s compositions have come in handy for the singer. “His music is emotionally grounded and very intense,” he says. According to him, ‘Roop Tera Mastana’, is a sensual way of telling a girl she’s beautiful. There is a timelessness about his songs and that’s why they are still remembered and sung by singers, upcoming and established alike.
With the late composer’s 76th birthday coming up on Saturday (June 27), 92.7 BIG FM has lined up a segment that plays the best of R.D. Burman’s compositions sung by singers Akriti Kakkar, Tochi Raina, Abhinanda Sarkar, Kanika Kapoor and Benny Dayal. The playlist has popular ones such as ‘Mera kuch samaan’, ‘Ek main aur ek tu’, ‘Chura liya hai’, ‘Do lafzon ki hai’, ‘Tum se milke’, ‘Piya tu’…
“‘Tum bin jaon kahan’ is my favourite. Sung by Kishore Kumar, it’s got a storytelling approach. You feel like he’s looking into your eyes and talking to you,” adds Benny, whose repertoire also includes a selection of other numbers close to his heart such as ‘Sagar kinare’, ‘Rim jhim gire saawan’, ‘O mere dil ke chain’, ‘O haseena zulfon wali’…
“Pancham da was a trendsetter. He changed the sound of music by bringing in Latin sounds, cabaret, psychedelic vibes, retro disco and funk sounds. His songs enabled me to know him when I was a child. And thanks to them, my music sensibilities have grown,” says the singer.
(Catch R.D.Burman’s hits on BIG 92.7 FM till June 27, between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Benny Dayal will sing on June 26.)
