Rahul Dev Burman may have gone by the name Pancham Da to his fans, but his impact on Indian cinema was anything but ordinary. His songs are still a source of inspiration for musicians starting out today, and his own life story has all the makings of a great film. The latest news is that Excel Entertainment, owned by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, is putting together a biopic on the composer. Once the promotions for ‘Mirzapur: The Movie’ are done, before and after release, the makers are expected to begin filming. Reports also suggest Emraan Hashmi has been chosen to play Mehmood in the movie.

Emraan denies being approached for the role

However, Emraan has rubbished these reports. As he counts down the days to Awarapan 2’s release, he made it clear that no one has approached him for the biopic on Pancham Da, and denied any involvement in playing Mehmood in the still-unannounced project, reportedly helmed by Neeraj Pandey. Meanwhile, word is that Farhan will be the one portraying Burman on screen.Taking to Instagram story, Emraan wrote, “Just to clarify, the report about me playing Mehmood saab in a biopic are unture. I haven’t been approached for the film, nor am i doing it”.

Akshay Kumar to play Rajesh Khanna in Mehmood’s biopic

Meanwhile, Akshay Kumar is said to have agreed to portray his late father-in-law, Rajesh Khanna, in Mehmood’s biopic. Pinkvilla reports that the actor has set aside 10 days specifically to shoot the segment capturing the bond and friendship shared between the veteran star and the composer.

The friendship between RD Burman and Mehmood

The bond between RD Burman and Mehmood went well beyond work, they were close friends first. In fact, it was Mehmood who gave Burman his big break in the film industry. Pancham Da got his first shot as a composer thanks to Mehmood, on Chhote Nawab, though that project didn’t quite work out as planned. The two then teamed up again on ‘Bhoot Bangla’ in 1965, and this collaboration struck a chord with audiences. Mehmood had also wanted Burman to star as the lead in ‘Padosan’, an offer Burman turned down, leading the role to go to Sunil Dutt instead. He did, however, compose the popular track ‘Ek Chatur Naar’ for the film.

RD Burman’s musical legacy

Being the son of the legendary Sachin Dev Burman, RD Burman carried the musical legacy forward, but forged his own path by fusing Indian classical elements with rock, jazz, funk, Latin beats, and electronic sounds, ushering in a fresh era for film music. His body of work includes iconic tracks like ‘Aap Ki Aankhon Mein Kuch’, ‘Dum Maro Dum’, ‘Piya Tu Ab To Aaja’, ‘Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo Dil Ko’, ‘O Mere Dil Ke Chain’, ‘Yeh Shaam Mastani’, ‘Mere Naina Sawan Bhadon’, ‘Musafir Hoon Yaaron’, ‘Rimjhim Gire Saawan’, ‘Tere Bina Zindagi Se Koi’, ‘Bade Achhe Lagte Hain’, ‘Ek Ladki Ko Dekha’, and ‘Humein Tumse Pyaar Kitna’.

Emraan’s upcoming projects

On the work front, Emraan is set to reprise his role as Shivam in ‘Awarapan 2’, which also stars Shabana Azmi and Disha Patani. Directed by Nitin Kakkar, the film hits theatres on August 14, clashing with Sunny Deol’s ‘Batwara 1947’.