Did RD Burman Leave Only Rs 5 In His Bank Locker? (Photo Credit – Wikipedia/Facebook)
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It was on January 4, 1994, that Hindi Cinema lost one of its brightest gems. RD Burman, fondly called Pancham Da, died after suffering two back-to-back massive heart attacks. As soon as the news broke that Pancham Da passed away at 3.45 AM, the industry went into a state of shock.
Amongst the family and friends mourning, it was the music director’s mother, who could not process the news, and his wife, Asha Bhosle, who did not want to believe it to the point that she did not want to enter the room where the music director was lying dead.
An excerpt from a memoir by Ajitabh Memon, first published in the magazine Movie, in February 1994 issue, republished on a blog maintained by RD Burman fans read, “Ashaji refused to be taken to her husband’s room. She wailed, ‘Main uss kamre mein nahin jaaoongi. Main usse mara hua nahin dekh sakti. Main usse zinda dekhna chahti hoon.’ Gulzarbhai hugged her and comforted her.”
Lyricist Gulzar and his wife Raakhee were neighbors to RD Burman and Asha Bhosle. Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan were among the few who arrived immediately, and Jaya Bachchan read Gita so that the soul of the deceased could rest in peace.
Rs 5 In Bank Locker
After RD Burman died, his bank locker turned into a shocker for everyone since it had only Rs 5 as per a 1994 report by India Today. However, Asha Bhosle called it a joke.
The report as quoted by Times Now said, that RD Burman made sure that his bank locker was opened in his manager’s presence but Asha Bhosale suspected foul play and got a court order to seek what the locker holds. The report said, that before RD Burman’s manager arrived, Bhosale’s manager thoroughly searched the room and left with some papers and records. Later only Rs 5 were found in the locker. However, later in interviews, Asha Bhosale called the report a joke!
