S.D. Burman: The Prince Musician Paperback – April 15, 2023

The difficulty of writing a biography without interviewing the person central to this book is immense. How do one research someone’s life without talking even to his wife and offspring? So, the authors interviewed a large number of his associates and friends to write this book on S.D. Burman. Memories frequently falter, and there are contradictions among notable incidents described by different people. Even there is controversy about the year SD was born. The authors were honest about these and wrote every questionable issue as clearly as one can do, citing each version. Therefore, the biography seems very authentic. One author’s knowledge of music helped writing this biography as well. As I could not remember many of the less popular songs, I had to search and listen to the song in YouTube to appreciate what I’m reading. So it took some time to read the book. There also were a lot of anecdotes, which gave a better insight about the man and his music. Although I don’t agree with all of the authors’ opinions and interpretations of some of the songs, in general, a large number of them I think are correct. If anyone wants to know about Sachin Karta, I strongly recommend reading this book. The authors did a very good job.

The follow up to RD Burman-The Man, The Music. If you need to read one book about SD Burman, this should be it.

What I like is the fact that the authors are objective in their review of S.D.Burman's work and do not always blindly praise what he has done. What I don't like is that they have too much of personal opinion in judging his work. Do not agree with the authors on quite a few of their judgements including the fact that Burman made a wrong choice of singer in the classical song "Naache man mora.."

Nice

I returned to these authors after thoroughly enjoying Gaata Rahe Mera Dil and the book on R D Burman. Once again the authors engage you through the stories and their 'easy-reading' writing making it a hard book to put down. There are many facts and anecdotes that I'm reading for the first time. It's not just about the music but of the man himself, where he came from, what made him who he was. I definitely recommend it.

Just like Karta's melody, the book slowly draws you in, engulfs your senses and then takes you on an unforgettable musical journey to cherish for ever. The writing style, attention to details, the numerous anecdotes - everything adds to the magic and also gives a glimpse of the intense research that the authors would have put in for this epic. Can't wait for more gems from this jodi.

Wonderful and well written. Amazing history of a disappearing world

A very research oriented, infirmative and objective book on SD. It contains a plethora of information about SD's Bollywood career and they are not based on gossips or myths. The authors have put painstaking effort in gathering information from various authetic sources and that makes this book a trustworthy read. SD as musician had his stength and limitations as well which has so beautifully come up through this book. I would love to get a deeper insight about RD's presence in SD's music room which totally transformed SD's music inthe 60s and helped him to remain relevant till his death.

Very well researched and beautifully written book. S D Burman is truly one of the greatest talents of Hindi cinema and his music remains special for music lovers even after all the years. dedicating a biography for such a tall legend is no mean task and on this aspect the book has been exceptional. It take us on a journey from Burman's early days in Comila to his hey days in Mumbai's film industry, which great flair and élan befitting the legend. It also shows the contribution of so many great Bengali personalities in the formative years on Hindi cinema.The book is eloquent in it's narration - something so critical in describing the life of a music composer and singer. The only reason for me to hold back a star in my rating would be that it could have been better edited and made a bit more taut. But for die hard Burman fans, all the little details and numerous anecdotes will be pure delight.