Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra thought back to the time he approached veteran composer RD Burman to compose the music for his 1994 blockbuster, 1942: A Love Story. At IFFI Goa 2024, Chopra recalled how others had asked him not to approach RD Burman for his film, as he was going through a very bad phase. When he finally composed the music for the film, Burman asked Chopra to return to his father SD Burman and re-tune it.

Elaborating on it, Chopra said, “There was a gentleman who told me that if I took RD Burman, he would not buy our music. It was very bad.”

The filmmaker further added, “For me, I established that bond with him in Parinda. I knew he was the best at that time. He refused to buy music at that time. He gave me options of some new people , but I left.” For RD. It’s a story I’ve told many times. It’s boring, but I’ll say it right away for people who haven’t heard it that the first song I gave them was Kuch Na Kaho.”

He said, “I went to RD Burman and he played Kuch Na Kaho for me with his musicians.”

Elaborating further about the tune, the filmmaker said that he was shocked when Burman played it for the first time. “Generally, I say what I feel. If I feel like saying some words here which are not appropriate then I will say so. So, I looked at him. And he asked how it was. I didn’t have the courage to tell him it was nonsense. I was calm. So, I said I would think about it and tell him. He asked me about my first reaction to the song. I thought I would break it gently (to him) and said ‘Dada, very bad (it’s horrible)’.”

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On the work front, Vidhu Vinod Chopra last directed the award-winning film, 12th Fail, starring Vikrant Massey.