Salil Chowdhury was an Indian music director, songwriter, lyricist, writer and poet who predominantly composed for Bengali, Hindi and Malayalam films. He composed music for films in 13 languages. This includes over 75 Hindi films, 41 Bengali films, 27 Malayalam films, and a few Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Gujarati, Odia and Assamese films. His musical ability was widely recognised and acknowledged in the Indian film industry. He was an accomplished composer and arranger who was proficient in several musical instruments, including flute, the piano, and the esraj. He was also widely acclaimed and admired for his inspirational and original poetry in Bengali.
Salil Chowdhury
Sitting from left: Robin Majumdar, Bhanu Banerjee, Robin Chatterjee, Ila Bose, Bani Ghoshal, Sabita Chowdhury and Salil Chowdhury Standing from left: V. Balsara, Shyamal Mitra, Montu Bose and Jahar Roy
Chowdhury on a 2013 stamp of India
Rahul Dev Burman, known professionally as R.D. Burman, was an Indian music director and actor, who is considered to be one of the greatest and most successful music directors of the Hindi film music industry. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films, bringing a new level of music ensemble with his compositions. Burman did his major work with legendary singers Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, and Kishore Kumar. He also worked extensively with lyricist Gulzar, with whom he has some of the most memorable numbers in his career. Nicknamed Pancham, he was the only son of the composer Sachin Dev Burman.
Burman in 1981
Burman on a 2013 stamp of India