I’m not questioning RDB’s genius but I’ve always wondered how he stood so tall in the company of fellow greats like SD Burman, SJ, LP, KA, Roshan, Naushad, OP Nayar, MM, etc. My favorite composers SJ consistently produced immortal songs that people today can listen to and immediately be in awe of. Same can be said for the others. LP successfully overcame all changes, trends, new singers, and obstacles over the course of 35 yrs. They always gave RDB tough competition in 70s and 80s. What was unique about RD Burman that set him apart? At hamaraforums – the RDB forum has twice as many posts as the second most popular composer thread. On hamaracd, almost all of the top 20 requested songs are composed by RDB. Why? Three theories have been given to me…
1. RDB introduced plain note compositions that are easy to appreciate for even new music enthusiasts (like me) who have yet to fully develop an ear for music. Naushad is a sharp contrast to this as he often composes raga based classical songs. To fully appreciate his music – the listener has to be experienced.
2. Recency effect + association with Amitabh Bachchan. RDB was active as “recent” as 13yrs whereas the others have been inactive longer. RDB’s favorite singer was the great Kishore Kumar whose resounding barritone voice was the voice of Amitabh Bachchan. The latter is one of the most remembered and popular superstars (maybe #2 or #1?) and the fact that he is still active helps to maintain popularity in the immediate radar of current fans. Dilip Kumar, while greatly revered and respected, is in the back of the casual fan’s mind since he is no longer active. Before Amitabh, Rajesh Khanna was the big superstar and he was also heavily associated with RDB. The other MDs also employed great singers like KK but RDB’s rise was most chronologically aligned with RK & AB.
3. So what about LP? The last theory is that LP’s music was always mostly “Indian”. SJ, KA, LP weren't incorporating Western music as much as RDB who gets a lot of credit for incorporating Western music into the Indian film music. Today, much to my dismay, Indian music is more and more mimicking Western music.
Reasons #1 and #3 – when I listen to a RDB composition or a LP composition – I don’t notice something so drastically different. Both are excellent. #2 doesn't seem enough, although given how brilliant RDB already was, maybe a little boost from this factor could help. I'm not sure. So why is RDB so overwhelming popular in comparison to his equally great father and the other brilliant composers? My intention isn't to start a competition - I just want to understand the different traits for the popularity difference that is so obvious here at HF or hamaracd or the Internet in general.