There are so many crazy Indian/Bollywood records out there I could never fathom adding all the information about them into my already-encyclopedic knowledge of vinyl records. Much like obscure international 78s and private label American soul and funk music, I tend to let various artists compilations introduce me to new musicians and rarely go out of my way to dig further. That is, until I showed up at a record party and a friend unleashed Shalimar on us. Typical record listening party courtesy is to play one cut from an album, then allow the next person in the rotation to go, on and on until you’e exhausted your supply for records for the night. We made an exception for the R.D. Burman soundtrack Shalimar, because we were so impressed.
Rahul Dev Burman (commonly known as R.D. Burman) was an Indian music composer who was born in 1939. Over the course of his life he scored over 300 films, and he is often credited with revolutionizing the music in Hindi films. His style and techniques are still followed by composers, even after he passed away in the mid ’90s. His rise to popularity came in the ’70s, as he brought electronic rock to the mainstream through the love stories he scored. Oftentimes he would mix disco and rock elements with traditional Bengali folk music. The music of R.D. Burman has been described as, “frenetic pacing, youthful exuberance and upbeat rhythms.” It was said of the composer that he “wrapped sugary strings swoops around as many ideas as he could squeeze in at once.”
The film Shalimar (or, Raiders of the Sacred Stone) was released in 1978. Burman was nominated for a Filmfare award for his music, and Kishore Kumar and Usha Uthup were both nominated for Filmfare awards for Best male Playback Singer and Best Female Playback Singer, respectively. The soundtrack was released by Polydor in India that same year. It has been reissued in recent years, but you can still find the original (with its beautiful fold-out cover) if you search hard enough. Be wary of eBay auctions, as items exported from India are typically in less-than-desirable condition.
R.D. Burman
Shalimar
(Polydor, 1978)
MediaFire DL Link
01. Title Music
02. One Two Cha Cha Cha
03. Hum Bewafa Hargiz Na Thay
04. Countess’ Caper (Music)
05. Naag Devta
06. Aaina Wohi Rehta Hai
07. Baby Let’s Dance Together
08. Romantic Theme
09. Mera Pyar Shalimar
10. Hum Bewafa Hargiz Na Thay (Happy)
