MUMBAI: Veteran lyricists and scriptwriter Javed Akhtar launched Balaji Vittal and Anirudha Bhattacharjee’s book on R. D. Burman: The Man, The Music.

The foreword in the book has been written by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. It states, "It is impossible to capture the talent, energy and dedication to craft that was R.D. Burman, but this book comes close."

To a nation fed on classical music, the advent of Rahul Dev Burman with his repertoire of Western beats was a godsend. Pancham Da – as he was lovingly called – revolutionized Hindi film music in the 1970s, and his emphasis on rhythm and beats.

R.D. Burman: The Man, The Music looks at the phenomenon called R.D. Burman and how he changed the way Indians perceived Hindi film music. Through anecdotes and trivia that went into the making of Pancham Da’s music – the many innovations he introduced, like mixed rhythm patterns, piquant chords and sound mixing – and through interactions with the musicians who were part of RD’s team, the authors have created a fascinating portrait of a man who, through his music continues to thrive, nearly two decades after his death.