Sachin Dev Burman, popularly known by his initials, S D Burman is the name of one of the finest music directors that the Indian film industry has had. His son Rahul Dev Burman or R D Burman followed in the footsteps of his father, and also turned out to be a legendary music director. S D Burman was born in Comilla, (now Bangladesh) on 1 October, 1906, and was born to the Tripura Royal Family. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Comilla Victoria College and then went on to acquire a Masters degree from Calcutta University. After completing his studies, he trained in music under the renowned musician K C Dey from the year 1925 to 1930. Later he also trained under Kahifa Badal Khan and Ustad Allauddin Khan, and made swift progress with his music.

Young Burman's career as a composer began in the mid-1930s. He first composed music for Bengali theatre, but also worked as a part time singer with Calcutta Radio Station. His first compositions bagged his way into the films with Rajgee (1937), and his first hit film as a music director came in Rajkumarer Nirbashan (1940). The audience loved the music and it was also critically appreciated.

The year 1944 saw Burman moving to the city of dreams, Bombay, to fulfil his dream of becoming a successful music director in the Hindi film industry. He was invited by Sasadhar Mukherjee to Bombay to work on two Ashok Kumar films, Shikari (1946) and Aath Din (1946). Both films gave Burman some much needed recognition and fame in the industry. The people accepted his type of music enthusiastically.

After this, the talented musician never turned back and started composing for a series of hit Hindi films. During this period, he worked hard for both Hindi as well as Bengali cinema and garnered a lot of praise and respect from well-known names in the industry.

Burman’s work in Do Bhai (1947) was particularly appreciated. After a stable career, he teamed up with Dev Anand's Nav Ketan Productions and created musical hits like Nau Do Gyarah (1957) and Kala Paani (1958). He also gave music for Munimji (1955) and Paying Guest (1957). With these films, he was also counted among the most eminent singers of the industry.

Burman continued to work till the beginning of the 1970s. Abhiman (1973), Chupke Chupke (1975), and Mili (1975), were a few of his works from this period which stand out. He won numerous awards from the industry during his career which included the National Award for Best Singer for Aradhana (1969) and Best Music Direction for Zindagi Zindagi (1972), and the Filmfare Award for Best Music Direction for Taxi Driver (1954) and Abhimaan (1973). The Government of India also honoured him with the Padma Shri in 1969.

He passed away on 31 October 1975 in Bombay.