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Tamil: A R Rahman, Ilayaraja, Deva, Karthikraja, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Others
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Nadeem Shravan, O P Nayyar, Pritam, Rajesh Roshan, R D Burman, Salil Chaudhry, S D Burman, Sandeep Chowta, Sanjeev Darshan, Shankar Jaikishen, Others
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R D Burman [Hindi]

 
1
Mehbooba Mehbooba [Film: Sholay (1975)] <TC>
Inspired from Demis Roussoss’s Say You Love Me.  
Listen to Mehbooba | Say you love me
Demis' original was released in 1974, while Sholay came out in 1975. See Link - Check out the 3rd album listed!
2
Tumse milke [Film: Parinda] <TC>
Inspired from Leo Sayer’s When I Need You.
Listen to Tumse Milke | When I need you
When I need you was recently popularized by Rod Stewart. R D Burman's was a good Indianized version of the original! 
3
Chura liya hai [Film: Yaadon ki baraat]
Rehashed from the theme of the movie 'If its Tuesday this must be Belgium'
Listen to Chura liya | If its Tuesday
It was indeed part of the movie soundtrack of the same name. The version I've posted is by Bojoura. Well, there are sure traces of the original in the hindi version but this could be termed as a good inspiration - again, no way a blatant copy!
4
Jeevan ke har modh pe [Film: Jhoota kahinka]
Looks like it is inspired from a Azerbaijani number 'Gulsenim'. Stumbled upon this track by chance while searching for some Azerbaijani tracks via Napster! The track song clip is here to listen, but it could be a possible reverse copying too - possibly the Azerbaijani number has been inspired by some other number, based on which RDB created the hindi song!
Listen to Jeevan ke har | Gulsenim
Sure looks inspired, either way!
5
Dekta hun koi ladki haseen [Film: Sanam teri kasam]
Inspired from a traditional Egyptian track, 'Mustafa mustafa', made popular by Bob Azzam's French version.
Listen to Dekhta hun | Ya mustafa
Nadeem Shravan used the original to create a song in Aatish! 
6
Milgaya hum ko sathi [Film: Hum Kissse sai kam nahin] <TC>
From ABBA's Mama mia!
 
Inspired! 
7
Kaisa tera pyar [Film: Love Story]
From ABBA's 'I have a dream'
 
Inpsired. 
8
Jeevan ke din chotte sahi [Film: Bade Dilwala]
From the theme of Love Story, by Francis Lai!
Listen to Jeevan ke din (opens in YouTube) | Francis Lai's theme from Love Story
Inspired, but not copied!
9
Aao twist karein [Film: Bhoot bangla]
From the track 'Come lets twist again' by Chubby Checker!!
 
Inspired. 
10
Tera mujhse hai pehle ka naata koi [Film: Aaa Gale Lag Ja] <TC>
From the track 'The Yellow Rose of Texas' by Elvis Presley!
Listen to Tera mujse | The Yellow rose
Yup copied! 
11
Phir wohi raat hain [Film: Ghar] <TC>
The opening 3 lines same as the Carpenters' song "Sing a song"
Listen to phir wohi | sing a song
Surely inspired, but no copy, this!
12
Kahin karti hogi [Film: Phir kab milogi] <TC>
Inspired by The Lonely Bull by Herb Albert and Tijuana Brass.
Listen to Kahin karti hogi | The Lonely Bull
Inspired.
13
Tum ho meri dil ki dhadka [Film: Manzil] <TC>
Inspired by Procol Harem's 'A whiter shade of pale'
Listen to Tum ho meri | A whiter shade of pale
The inspiration stems from the organ played at the beginning of Procol's track which forms the base of the beginning of vocals in the Manzil number. In any case, it looks like Pancham has surely heard the original number, but as usual created an amazing song out of a marginal inspiration. Take a look at a page which collects versions of Procol's this number - AWSoP, Manzil is listed there too!
14
Sapna mera toot gaya [Film: Khel khel mein] <TC>
Inspired by Ennio Morricone's piece 'The story of a soldier' from the Sergio Leone cult western classic 'The good, The Bad and The Ugly'.
Listen to Sapna mera | The story of a soldier
This is the piece which plays while Blondie (Clint Eastwood) and Tuco (Eli Wallach) are held up in the prisoner of war camp. As usual, the inspiration is limited to the opening 2-4 bars and the rest is Pancham's own gem of an imagination.
15
O mehki mehki thandi hawa [Film: Bombay to Goa] <TC>
Inspired by the Beach Boys number 'Help me Rhonda'
Listen to O mehki mehki | Help me Rhonda
Lifted!
16
Ek main aur ek tu [Film: Khel khel mein] <TC>
Inspired by the nursery rhyme 'If you're happy...'
Listen to Ek main aur ek tu | If you are happy
The version of the rhyme added here is sung by Elvis Presley! 
17
Meri jaan [Film: Do chor] <TC>
Inspired by Cliff Richard's 'Fall in love'
Listen to Meri jaan | Fall in love
Very Pancham'ish sorta inspiration.
18
Tum mere zindagi mein [Film: Bombay to Goa] 
Inspired by the Theme from Limelight composed by Charlie Chaplin for the 1951 movie of the same name!
Listen to Tum mere zindagi mein | Theme from Limelight
Amazing inspiration and very typical Pancham's way of localizing! Also refer to the other two versions of the same original - by Salil Chowdhury (Salil's Page - 4th listing) and Rajesh Roshan (RR Page - 21st listing)
19
Koi ladka koi ladki [Film: Seeta aur geeta] <TC>
Inspired by 'Did you ever' (1971) by Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra.
Listen to Koi ladka loi ladki | Did you ever
Inspired!
20
Jab andhera hota hai [Film: Raja Rani] <TC>
Inspired by 'The age of aquarius' by The Fifth Dimension.
Listen to Jab andhera hota hai | Age of Aquarius
Inspired.
21
Mera kaha manoge [Film: Gurudev] <TC>
Inspired from Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound machine's 'Oye mi canto' (Released in 1989) ('Hear my voice' in English). 
Listen to Mera kaha maanoge | Oye mi canto
Ditto 
22
Zindagi milke bitaayenge [Film: Satte pe satta] <TC>
[ItwoFS] comments:  
Inspired by 'The Longest day' from the movie of the same name, by Paul Anka.
Listen to Zindagi milke | The longest day
Heavily inspired. 
23
Main jhonka mast hawa ka [Film: Double Cross] <TC>
Inspired by Frank Sinatra's 'What now my love' (1966).
Listen to Main jhonka mast hawa ka | What now my love
Heavily inspired. Double Cross was released in the year 1973.
24
Maine tumko chaha pehli baar [Film: Double Cross] <TC>
Inspired by Jose Feliciano's 'Listen to the falling rain' (1972).
Listen to Maine tumko chaha | Listen to the falling rain
Inspired! Also listen to Anu Malik's version of the same original - Anu Malik page - entry 15. 
25
Kaahe apnon ko [Film: Raampur ka Laxman (1972)] <TC>
Mukhda inspired by the central motif in the second movement ('Romance') Lieutenant Kijé (opus number 60) - a symphonic suite by Sergei Prokofiev.
Listen to Kaahe apnon ko | Lieutenant Kijé suite: Romance
The suite was composed in 1934. Raampur ka Laxman was released in 1972. Sting has also used the same original in his 'Russians'! 
Listen to Russians - Sting
Also, S D Burman's 1969 Talaash has a song, 'Aaj ki jhunali raat maa' which has an interlude similar to 'Kaahe apnon ko' and in turn, to Prokofiev's piece in question! Very interesting!
Listen to Aaj ki jhunali raat maa (Mohd. Rafi and Lata open this audio clip and the interlude in question plays at the end of their singing)
26
Teri hai zameen [Film: The Burning Train (1980)] <TC>
Inspired by the Christmas carol, 'The first noel'!
Listen to Teri hai zameen | The first Noel 
Inspired! John Denver's rendition of The First Noel added here!
27
Mausam pyar ka [Film: Sitamgar (1983)] <TC>
Inspired by the Christmas carol, 'The first noel'!
Listen to Mausam pyar ka | The first Noel 
Inspired! John Denver's rendition of The First Noel added here!
28
Aaja o mere raja [Film: Apna Desh (1972)] <TC>
Inspired by the song 'Blue Light Yokohama' by Japanese singer, Ayumi Ishida (also noted as Ishida Ayumi in some websites)!
Listen to Aaja o mere raja | Blue Light Yokohama
The original belongs to the 60s but I couldn't not trace the exact year of release so far. There's also a later cover version of this song by Tony Martin and more recently by another Japanese singer, Tomoko Tane. The song is credited to Jun Hashimoto and Kyohei Tsutsumi. It seems Ishida changed her singing style for this song, adopting one taught to her by Jun Hashimoto. The song seems to be quite popular as one site calls it, 'a saccharine-sweet Japanese pop oldie'. Incidentally there's also an optical mouse (as in, computer mouse!!) from a company by name Century Corporation, which is called 'Bluelight Yokohamouse' where the name is said to be inspired by this song! - Boy, this is one helluva trivia! Coming back to the inspiration, this time its a bit more blatant...as usual I'm adding the relevant portion only, not the entire song.
29
Maine dil diya [Film: Zameen Aasmaan (1982)] <TC>
Inspired by the song 'Pulstar' by Vangelis!
Listen to Maine dil diya | Pulstar
Pulstar was from Vangelis' album by name 'Albedo' released in 1976.
30
Tumne yeh theek socha hai [Film: Imaan (1974)]
A small phrase inspired by the Beatles track, 'Norwegian Wood'!
Listen to Tumne yeh theek socha | Norwegian Wood
Also check out Anu Malik's inspiration of the same Beatles' track - In Anu Malik page, entry no. 42. Norwegian wood was part of the 1965 album Rubber Soul. 
31
O Maria [Film: Saagar (1985)]
The opening line of the song inspired by the song 'Mamunia' by Paul McCartney and the Wings!
Listen to O Maria | Mamunia
'Mamunia' by Paul McCartney and Wings was released in 1974 as a part of the album, 'Band on the run'. Not to rob any credit from Pancham, just the opening line has been used by him and the rest of the song is completely his own. Trivia: Paul derived the song title 'Mamunia' from a house name-plate he saw in Marrakesh (Morocco's capital) during a Wings holiday earlier in 1973 (Mamunia incidentally means a ' safe haven' in Arabic).
32
Aa Dekhe Zara [Film: Rocky (1981)]
Partly inspired by the track, 'Eve of the war' by Jeff Wayne.
Listen to Aa Dekhe Zara | Eve of the war
What Pancham seems to have used is just snapshots of the original in the prelude of the Rocky number. The actual tune for the words 'aa dekhe zara' remains Pancham's original.
More trivia on 'Eve of the war': Composer Jeff Wayne's musical adaptation of the H G Wells sci-fi classic, 'War of the worlds' (originally published in 1898) saw its commercial release in 1978. Jeff Wayne composed, orchestrated, conducted and produced the album. The lyrics were written by Gary Osborne and Paul Vigrass while Richard Burton did the narrative part for the role of 'The Journalist'. Jeff Wayne's version of the story is considered much more true to the original than 23 year old Orson Welles' 1938 Radio Broadcast version or the 1953 George Pal movie version. It tells the listener how the first cylinder lands on Earth in the uptempo 'Eve of the War', on which Justin Hayward (of Moody Blues) does the vocals ('The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one' he said)
33
Aaya hoon mein tujko le jaaoonga [Film: Manoranjan (1974)] <TC>
Inspired by the track by Sergio Mendes, 'After Sunrise'.
Listen to Aaya hoon mein tujko | After Sunrise
The Manoranjan song, in itself is a pretty unconventional number with a really strange tune pattern. The actual mukhda of the song goes, 'Aaya hoon mein tujko...'. The antara is what R D Burman seems to have borrowed from Sergio Mendes. The interesting fact is that in the original there are no lyrics and all it has is a series of 'la la la la's' interspersed with music. Its the tune of the la la la (which plays just for about 10 odd seconds, but repeatedly, all through the song) that RDB has used to create his antara. On second thoughts, I think the tune for the mukhda too (Aaya hoon...) is partly inspired by the Mendes number, because it has similar twists in tune like the antara, and RDB has also made it a bit faster. But this is definitely one of RDB's most interesting influences!
Trivia Note on Sergio Mendes: Sergio Mendes' Biography | The song 'After Sunrise' was part of Sergio Mendes' 1972 album 'Primal Roots'. The female vocals in the song include Mendes' wife, Gracinha Leporace. The song is supposed to have been written by Mendes' bassist, Sebastian Neto. 
34
Kahin na jaa [Film: Bade Dilwala (1983)] <TC>
Inspired by the French singer Edith Piaf's 1946 number, 'La vie en rose'.
Listen to Kahin na jaa | La vie en rose
'La vie en rose' (roughly translates to 'Looking at life through rose-coloured glasses') was also featured in the 1954 Billy Wilder smash hit, Sabrina, starring Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn and William Holden - Audrey sings La vie briefly while in the car with Humphrey [Video of Audrey and Bogart in the car with Audrey singing...available at http://www.audrey1.com/sounds.html]. Pancham's version is a rather direct but with his usual add-ons.
Trivia note on Edith Piaf [Detailed biography - Very interesting!!]: Born Edith Giovanna Gassion she was a street singer from the age of 15. Mother was a cafe singer and father was a well-known acrobat. Given the stage name 'Piaf' (Parisian slang for sparrow) when she began singing in nightclubs. Later appeared in theatre and films. The self-penned 'La Vie en Rose' became her theme song. Many of the songs she is associated with depict defiance and despair eg, 'Je ne regrette rien' (I regret nothing). Known for her husky and emotion-laden voice.
35
O Jab Tak Hai Jaan [Film: Sholay (1975)] <TC>
Inspired from the prelude of 'Jomeh', by Iranian singer Googoosh!  
Listen to O jab tak hai jaan | Jomeh 
Googoosh's track Jomeh was released in 1972. This reminds me of Pancham's use of the prelude to Procol Harem's 'Whiter shade of pale' to create the Manzil track, 'Tum ho meri dil ki dhadkan'. The rest of 'Jomeh' is very different, like Procol's track. In fact the prelude in Jomeh sounds completely out of place to the rest of the song, moreso since we're used to the Sholay tune and just cannot imagine it to be opening a Persian song!
Trivia Notes: Googoosh is one of the most popular singers from Iran. Googoosh was born Faegheh Atashin in 1951, in Tehran, to Azerbaijani immigrant parents. When she was two, they separated. Because of her father's profession - he was an acrobat and an entertainer - she grew accustomed to the stage early on, and was part of his act until she was three. She began doing impersonations of some of the singers of the time. When her father discovered this talent, he put her on stage. She has been on stage as a paid professional since she was three. During the 1970's Googoosh began a meteoric rise to fame and success as she drove the edge of Iranian pop music further and further. Known for her flamboyant outfits, and fashion sense, Googoosh wowed her pop culture hungry fans in Iran and abroad with her trademark hairdos and hip-elegant style. Iranian women changed hairdos with Googoosh and she was always one step ahead of them with a new look. She has even acted in Persian movies. After the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, Googoosh had been forbidden from performing and her material had been banned. Googoosh is back now with new concerts and albums.

TIME Magazine's 2001 interview with Googoosh about her comeback tour! -
Read here!
36
Aaj tu gair sahi [Film: Oonche Log (1985)] <TC>
Originally composed by Kemal Ahamad, for the 1983 Pakistani movie 'Dehleez' and sung by Mehdi Hassan.
Listen to Aaj tu gair sahi (Oonche Log) | Aaj tu ghair sahi (Dehleez)
Oonche Log is a freemake (remake without appropriate credit?) of Dehleez and its no wonder both the film and this track conveniently forgot to credit the originals!
37
Aap sa koi haseen [Film: Chandi Sona (1977)] <TC>
Gharibeh Ashena, composed by Shamaiezadeh and sung by Googoosh in the early 70s.
Listen to Aap Sa Koi Haseen | Gharibeh Ashena
This page also lists the Indian version and even gives out a audio clip to compare! No mention of the Hindi film or the composer. Now we know! Yes, its inspired but, as usual, in the inimitable R D Burman style which involves tweaking the tune beyond the initial 4 lines. Was Pancham a fan of Googoosh? Two inspirations!
38
Kabhi bekasi ne [Film: Alag Alag (1985)] <TC>
Blatant, direct lift from the Pakistani track 'Kabhi khwaishon ne' from the 1982 film, Mehrbani, sung by Akhlaq Ahmad and composed by M Ashraf.
Listen to Kabhi bekasi ne | Kabhi khwaishon ne
Smacks of a 'Prodoocer-ne-kaha' type of lift considering the extent of lift in terms of tune and lyrics. Even the lyrics seem to have been lifted - just interchanged the bekasi's, bebasi's, maara's and loota's!
39
Raju chal raju [Film: Azaad (1978)] <TC>
Inspired by the song, 'It was a very good year', composed by Ervin Drake in 1961 and subsequently made popular by Frank Sinatra as a single in 1965.
Listen to Raju chal raju | It was a very good year
Pancham has tweaked with the song's pace and also added a few twists, in his own inimitable style, that you really do not catch the inspiration early on
Trivia on 'It was a very good year': Frank Sinatra's version of this track won him the Grammy for Best Vocal Performance in 1966!
40
Karo baaten [Film: Bhanwar (1976)] <TC>
Inspired by Donovan's 1968 track, 'Jennifer Juniper'.
Listen to Karo baaten | Jennifer Juniper
Need not necessarily be classified as a lift, but could merely point to what Pancham might have heard and worked on when he started creating Bhanwar's track.
Trivia: "Jennifer Juniper" is supposedly inspired by Jenny Boyd, sister of George Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd!
41
Katra katra [Film: Ijazat (1986)] <TC>
Inspired Jeff Wayne's 'Horsell common and the heat ray' from the 1978 musical, 'War of the worlds'
Listen to Katra Katra (Ijazat) | Katra Katra (Pancham hums) | Horsell common and the heat ray
This is one of the best discoveries stumbled recently upon, at itwofs! We already know Pancham's interest in Jeff Wayne's 'War of the Worlds' (1978) musical based on his use of generous snatches from 'Eve of the world' in Rocky's 'Aa dekhe zara' (Refer item 32 above!). In the usual Pancham tradition, the inspiration is restricted to the opening line while his inimitable style embellishes everything forward. But, the similarity is pretty apparent! In fact, it comes out a bit more pronounced in the album, 'Gulzar remembers Pancham' where Pancham's humming is closer to the source!
42
Aaja tujhe pyaar [Film: Ehsaan (1970)] <TC>
Inspired by the jazz standard 'St. Thomas' made popular by sax artist Sonny Rollins.
Listen to Aaja tujhe | St. Thomas
"St. Thomas" was part of Sonny's 1956 album, 'Sonny Rollins: SAXOPHONE COLOSSUS'. Out of the 5 tracks in this album, three were credited to Sonny and St. Thomas was one of them. Strangely, Sonny had later made it clear that the record label insisted on his taking credit for this song, even though this is a traditional piece and had already been recorded by another artist, Randy Weston, in 1955 in a track titled, 'Fire down there'! Wikipedia notes that this track has since become a jazz standard and Sonny's is perhaps the most popular recorded version!
Listen to
Fire down there
 

© Karthik S, 2006

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