Celebrating 44 Years Of R.D.Burman’s chartbuster music in Love Story, in this special feature, Subhash K Jha reveals that actually the composer hated the music of the hit film.
Love Story, released on 27 February 1981, directed by Rahul Rawail (though uncredited in the film), was a blockbuster. Kumar Gaurav and Vijayta Pandit played teen lovers who elope when their parents won’t let them be one (yawn!). The film, a crashing bore, sailed on the strength of its saleable unassailable music, especially the Lata Mangeshkar-helmed duet ‘Teri yaad aa rahi hai’ by R D Burman.
RD’s buddy Amit Kumar became Gaurav’s ghost voice.
Recalling the recording and his association with R D Burman and Kumar Gaurav, Amit Kumar says. “The songs of Love Story made me very popular. Rajendra Kumar, who launched his son, Kumar Gaurav, knew my father from the time Rajendra Kumar assisted H S Rawail in Sharaarat. My father sang in that film. Rajendra Kumar wanted Kishore Kumar’s son to sing for his son in Love Story.”
Then Amit reveals a shocking fact. “R D Burman HATED the music of Love Story. He never liked ‘Yaad aa rahi hai’, which became my biggest hit. I remember while recording the number Pancham called me aside and said, ‘Yeh gaana Yaad aa rahi hai bahut bakwaas hai. It sounds like a Bhajan instead of love song’. The song was a super hit. I rang up Pancham, ‘Ab bolo, kya bolte ho.’ Pancham was quiet.”
During that time RD was going through a lean phase. Love Story brought him back in the reckoning.
Says Amit, “My favourite song in Love Story was ‘Kaisa tera pyar kaisa gussa’ with Latabai. After Love Story, everyone hoped Kumar Gaurav and I would become a team like Rajesh Khanna and my father. But that wasn’t meant to be. Pancham and I came together to compose music for other Kumar Gaurav starrers like Teri Kasam, Lovers and Romance which were flops.”
Amit also recalled the first song recording of Love Story. “I remember the first song we recorded in Love Story was ‘Yeh ladki zarasi deewani lagti hai’ with me and Asha Bhosle. Raj Kapoor Saab and my father came for the recording. Just imagine I was singing in the recording booth with Asha Bhosle while Raj Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar, and Kishore Kumar were chattering away behind us. We were getting distracted and the stalwarts were asked to leave the recording room. The atmosphere was jovial, easygoing, and fun-filled.”
