Sachin Dev Burman (S.D.) hailed from royalty and indeed many of his compositions were truly majestic. S.D. started off as a singer, before scoring his first album in the mid-40s. It was with the film Do Bhai, Dada Burman, as he was known, scored his first major hit. In the 50s, Dev Anand's Navketan Banner wisely selected S.D. to compose the music for their films. S.D also gave songs to Kishore Kumar to sing during the days when no one else would.

Apart from Dev Anand, S.D. also struck a good rapport with other producers such as the legendary Bimal Roy (Sujata and Bandini) and Guru Dutt (Pyaasa and Kagaz Ke Phool). The 60s saw a trio of smash hit scores, Guide (1965), Jewel Thief (1967) and Aradhana (1969). Despite his advanced age, S.D Burman capably competed with the youngsters of the day, like his son R. D. and Laxmikant-Pyarelal in the early 1970s.