Now that the DVD is all set for retail and distribution,

              for more details of the released DVD, you may log on to

                        www.panchamunmixed.shemaroo.com

 

About Pancham Unmixed (an unending journey …) / A very brief feedback …

Pancham Unmixed: Mujhe Chalte Jaana Hai by Brahmanand Singh brings rare glimpses into the life of     the legend … The two-hour long documentary … features over 40 eminent personalities from the industry, who unequivocally vouch for Burman's genius and largesse as a human being.

 

--- Sangita Sultania in Mumbai Mirror, Jan 6, 2008

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?Page=article&sectid=47&contentid=200801062008010604274662d9ca9a59

 

One of his fans, Brahmanand Singh has recently completed a two hour long documentary film Pancham Unmixed: Mujhe Chalte Jaana Hai on RD Burman for which he has interviewed some of the most revered names in the Film Industry like Asha Bhonsle, Shammi Kapoor, Gulzar, Rishi Kapoor, Pyarelal, Javed Akhtar, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Vishal Bharadwaj, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Shantanu Moitra, Shiv Kumar Sharma, Hari Prasad Chaurasia and loads more.

 

--- Faridoon Shahryar for India FM & Bollywood.com

http://www.indiafm.com/features/2008/01/04/3431/index.html

faridoon@indiafm.com

&

http://www.bollywood.com/?q=node/2843

The tribute is a thorough look at R D Burman's life and work - and what exactly made his music so trend setting and timeless …

--- Deepa Gahlot in HT Café Jan 4, 2008

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=19be3f30-133f-423b-93c0-134f9f042f8a

 

 A poignant portion is when Vidhu Vinod Chopra speaks about the dark phase in Pancham’s career — apparently RDB had almost been written off by the music industry …

 

--- Chaitanya Padukone in DNA Jan 2, 2008

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1142672

 

The film takes an incisive look not only at the body of work of the legendary composer, but also reveals various facets of R D Burman that you would never know …  The film is not only a nostalgic trip down memory lane for friends of the late composer, but it’s also a cinematic tribute to one of the greatest mSusic directors, Bollywood has ever known.

 

--- Yahoo.com, In.Movies

http://in.movies.yahoo.com/news-detail/16424/Filmmaker-pays-tribute-R-D-Burman-death-anniv.html

 

 

We loved having you and your film at the festival. Such a great presence, and I’m happy that the jury recognized it …

"Christina Marouda" <cmarouda@indianfilmfestival.org> Tue, 29 Apr 2008  (IFFLA Festival Director)

 

Simply Great Documentary ... There's no doubt it will be successful and will be most talked about documentaries...

 

--- "Nitin Shitole" <nittins@yahoo.com> Sun, 27 Apr 2008

 

A dear friend of mine Oz (who runs passionforcinema.com reported):" … the reaction was awesome ... the film is so balanced that it appeals to RD’s fans and also the western audience who did not know about Pancham-da …  My hair stood out, all throughout the documentary. Brahmanand is a very intelligent filmmaker"

 

--- "Pavan Jha" <pavanjha@gmail.com> Tue, 29 Apr 2008

 

Brahmanand, like a master craftsman, weaves his tale without any sign or fingerprint of the master on his work …

 

--- "shashirao" <shashi@uscorp.net> Tue, 29 Apr 2008 (penname Loin)

 

These 113 mins in your life are most precious and be sure you’ll live them fullest … You hear many untold and told stories again through narration, which makes you, hold the chair-arms firmly all the time …

 

---"sagar kopardekar" <sagarkopardekar@yahoo.com>  Tue, 29 Apr 2008

 

I could sense from a distance that you already knew what you had achieved!  The audience was spell bound with the RD magic unfolding for 2hrs.  I was skeptical before the screening, but all my inhibitions were dispelled within minutes of the curtain rising.  I was engaged TOTALLY …

 

--- Rajeev Chaurasia (Filmmaker & Media Expert)

 

THANK U FOR THE FILM (had tears in my eyes) … one of the finest films I have seen in 2008 …

--- Mayank Shekhar (Film Critic)

 

Fantastic  docu … Sincerity, passion, honesty, absolutely visible … You’ve made more than a documentary … You’ve restored faith in passion, in the crass commercial world … Needlesss to say, it has inspired me …

 

--- Manoj Tapadia (Creative Head at Lintas, lyricist and writer)

 

I was very, very tired and down with a cold and thought I would not be able to see much of it. The film revived me completely. It is so very interesting and absorbing …

 

--- Uma da Cunha (International Cinema Impressario)

 

Thanx for the great time...I cant get over it...I suddenly found myself in a state of emotional high that I had never experienced before … It’s such a well made documentary ... it took me to a different world....

 

--- Sohini Ray (Media Marketing)

 

Your film is a gem – educative, informative, entertaining and moving. Thank you for making the film. Thank you for sharing the man, the genius with the world.

 

BR Sharan (Chief Creative Officer, Saregama)

 

The film lingers in your mind well after leaving the screen …

 

--- Madhav Ajgaokar  (music composer)

 

We saw Pancham Unmixed at IFFLA 2007 and were blown away… it’s one of the highly engrossing and moving documentary in such a long time … the rest of the world doesn’t know what it’s missing.

 

--- Pankaj Sikka (of Passion for Cinema)

 

Truly a fantastic documentary, touching and elegant …

 

--- Nina (Writer & Blogger), on June 30th, 2008

 

It’s just simply fantastic! Haven’t seen such a moving / enegaging / informative / revealing two hour docu on a musician before! In fact, have become an even more ardent admierer of RD after watching this film!

--- Sanjivan Lal (filmmaker) on June 28th, 2008

 

There was not a moment where one felt uninvolved and it was one engrossing scene after the other. It was a memorable Sunday.

 

-- Ramchandran (at the East Coast premier in New Jersey), Sept 22, 2008

 

The film was beautiful, a masterclass in documentary filmmaking by itself, never a dull or digressing moment.  Not to mention, the nostalgia and closeness of the topic to my heart made my eyes swell up no less than a dozen times I reckon.

 

-- Arun Varma (at the East Coast premier in New Jersey), Sept 22, 2008

 

We are honored to have Pancham Unmixed as part of our showcase … As per the feedback from our audience, we strongly feel that your film not only entertained our audience a great deal, but also gave us further insights into our culture and our heritage, and helped us in understanding ourselves better as 21st century generation of South Asians. We owe the success of NJISACF 08 to films like Pancham Unmixed.

 -- Debarati Sengupta (Filmmaker Liaison, NJISACF), 24^th Sept 2008

 

I wanted to compliment you on your brilliant piece of work with Pancham Unmixed. This is an invaluable gift to music lovers...

 

-- Sapna, NJISACF, 24 Sept 2008

 

… Completely sold out were Amal by Richie Mehta and Pancham Unmixed by Brahmanand Singh. After the screening of both the films, the audience went ga-ga, clapping and wiping their tears simultaneously … Both the filmmakers were present to answer questions from the overwhelmed audience …

 

--- The South Asian Times, reporting on NJISACF, New Jeresey, Sept 23 - Oct 7, 2008

Pancham Unmixed: Mujhe Chalte Jaana Hai (an unending journey)

a film by Brahmanand S Siingh

The film adopts a rather non-linier approach to Pancham – the man and his music and attempts to explore many aspects of his music and being, with a well-worked out effortlessness.

From the apprenticeship to his already famous father  … to his early attempts in doing comic roles … to the stories of his first big film, Teesri Manzil … to his somewhat dramatic courtship, marriage & separation with Rita Patel, his first wife, the film evolves into a gripping narrative of Pancham’s reflective and innovative artistry with which he so dominated the music scenario of the seventies, right up to the mid-eighties.

Through extremely charming and insightful de-construction of some of his very well-known as well as some not-so-known compositions (by musician colleagues and by a few leading current generation composers), we get an uncanny peek into how exactly he went about setting trends --- not only in playback songs but also in title songs and background scores.

Effortlessly moving in and out of song stories, his amazing oeuvre and the man behind those amazing creations, the film explores the graph of his life and persona with heartwarming finesse. When we enter into the low phase of his life, it restructures human tragedy at its ironic best. The man who used to be surrounded by friends and colleagues all the time suddenly had no one by his side, once his commercial success went on the wane. Close friends recall, many with moist eyes, those terribly trying days, which he navigated with his dignity and humor intact, in spite of the low.

And then came 1942, A Love story, which sprang him back into his pristine glory. Vidhu Vinod Chopra, however, transfixes us with a few riveting accounts of his almost personal journey in the process --- the act of drawing out the genius composer from his own insecurities and demons to the real RD Burman that Chopra had always loved and adored.

In spite of an abundance of music (since that’s what best defines the great composer), the film is also adequately laced with anecdotes recalled by some of his closest working colleagues, with fondness and humor, about his peccadilloes, pranks and eccentricities (and of course creations of some of his timeless compositions).

In an attempt to recreate the late composer, the film uses some rare photographs and archival material (live footage, though, has been kept, deliberately, to a minimum, since the quality encountered wasn’t very great).

Without the use of any voiceover, the film is a structural delight, where one facet of his music or persona seamlessly flows into another, propelling the narrative forward every few minutes. In the process, we come out with a rich and endearing experience of a journey that’s delightfully, unending.

Highlights:

·              Pancham’s early take off --- Chote Nawab, BhootBangla etc

·              Story of how he got to do Teesri Manzil

·              His contributions in SD’s compositions and how he broke-off by creating an original style for himself

·              Vishal Bhardwaj, Ismail Durbar, Ehsaan Noorani & Taufiq Qureshi share their fascination about songs like Duniya mein … breath rhythm etc …

·              Padosan – elements of scale change … notion of introducing a lot of polyphony into our music and getting away with it … people saying ‘hey that’s so nice …’ etc

·              Panchamda’s caring style of getting the best out of his singers & his songs not being simple songs but with a lot of reading between the lines, the subtleties …

·              His rather exciting courtship, marriage & (sad) divorce with first wife, Rita Patel

·              How legends of India would keep sitting for his creations … and his democratic and warm way of working with his fellow musicians and getting the best out of them …

·              It never felt like work, recall close colleagues, pointing out how they’d look forward to a new day … what new is going to happen today … song stories …

·              Gulzar about the high moments he shared … how they shared the best of years of theirs, together  … in a search, not for work but of themselves …

·              Friends talk about Pancham’s naughty pranks …

·              Musical insights … folk Ektara to Madal … with song stories

·              Insights into his rhythm experimentations … with song stories and examples …

·              Fans … their craze, and endless exciting reasons for it …

·              Percussionists Nitin Shankar mentions how after doing his 10^th grade, he chose a subject of unending study, a subject called Pancham … Shantanu Moitra, Vishal Bhardwaj, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, all acknowledge influences and fascination …

·              The magic of off-beat …  why it added so much to the playfulness of his tunes

·              Gulzar & Ahsa Bhosle … about their rather close association … with personal anecdotes & song stories and an intimate peek into Pancham’s creativity and persona …

·              The depth inside the composer … one who’s lived a life in all its hues … contemporary composers share their awe on the range of RD’s music, with insight and examples …)

·              Amazing background scores … Satte Pe Satta … gargling story, horse chase (Sholay) stories etc …

·              Influences and inspiration … RD’s way of adapting melodies … and giving it a new lease of life, making it even more popular and charming …

·               The success of Pantera, a Latin Anerican album he had done, in the west …

·              RD, was he constantly trying to negate the idea of form? 

·              Bengali … Puja albums, their cult status, appropriation into Hindi etc

·              Side rhythms experimentations … obsession with real sounds …

·              Recording expertise … why the quality of his songs still sound so good …

·              Lighter moments, glimpse into personal side --- sense of humor, dress, driving 

·              Sagar debacle … how it set him back …

·              Dil Padosi Hai  … brilliant album …

·              Growing depression  … changing times, changing professional styles/ethics of others …

·              Lesson from RD Burman’s life … how he was destroyed because he wrongly believed in commercial success and failure … and loneliness he was driven into …

·              Mohammad Ali Clay’s definition of a champion …

·              How initially, movie companies refused to buy music of 1942, A Love Story, upon hearing RD Burman’s name …

·              The refreshing 1942 … Vinod Chopra’s new year’s party … Pancham’s last moment of glory while alive …

·              Pancham lives on … he’s not dead because he’s music …

·              Along with Puccini, Richard Rodgers, Pancham being positioned as the third greatest melody maker of the 20^th Century …

·              People’s admiration growing by the day … much after he’s passed away … Remixes

·              Fond salutations and moist eyed, reflective memories from close friends and colleagues about a man who was so adorable … and a composer whose music is an unending journey …

What has gone into the making of the film

Tireless effort of getting the possible key people on the film, shooting with them with patience and sensitivity … and over fifteen hundred editing hours, to create a seamless structure that covers Pancham the man and his music --- all important aspects, retaining its engaging elements at all points.

The effort has also been made to create a film of international class, in content, structure and technical quality (has been shot on HDV, wide screen format, 16:9 aspect ratio … is compatible with good quality reverse-telecine for theatrical release).