Bombay (soundtrack)
Bombay is the soundtrack to the 1995 Indian film of the same name, with eight tracks composed by A. R. Rahman.[1] The film was directed by Mani Ratnam, and stars Arvind Swamy and Manisha Koirala, while the soundtrack album was released in 1995 by Pyramid.[2] The Indian film was originally a Tamil film dubbed into Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam. The soundtrack was thus released in multiple languages. The lyrics for the Tamil version were written by Vairamuthu, except for the song "Halla Gulla", which was written by Vaali. The lyrics for the Hindi and Telugu versions were written by Mehboob and Veturi, respectively.
| Bombay | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | December 1994 (Tamil) January 1995 (Hindi and Telugu) | |||
| Recorded | Panchathan Record Inn | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:50 | |||
| Label | Pyramid Aditya Music Polygram Universal Music Group | |||
| Producer | A.R. Rahman | |||
| A. R. Rahman chronology | ||||
| ||||
The soundtrack of the film became one of the best-selling Indian music albums of all time, with sales of 15 million units.[3][4] The soundtrack was included in The Guardian's "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" list,[5] and the Hindi version of the song "Kannalane", titled "Kehna Hi Kya" by K S Chitra was included in their "1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear" list.[6] The song "Hamma" was later reused in Ok Jaanu (2017) as "The Humma Song".[7] "Bombay Theme" has appeared in various international films and music compilations, while "Kannalanae" and "Bombay Theme" have been sampled by various international artists.
Release history
The soundtrack album was originally released in Tamil in December 1994. Soon after the original released, in 1995 it was also released in Hindi and in Telugu by Polygram MIL.[2] PolyGram MIL later merged in Universal Music.
Critical reception
Since its release, the soundtrack for Bombay has been influential, both nationally and internationally. The soundtrack also found success across India in its dubbed Hindi and Telugu versions. In 2007, the soundtrack was included in The Guardian's "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" list,[5] and the Hindi version of the song "Kannalane", titled "Kehna Hi Kya", was included in their "1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear" list in 2009.[5] In 2014, BBC Music listed Bombay among their "20 Greatest Soundtracks" of all time, and selected the instrumental "Bombay Theme" as its standout track.[8]
A. R. Rahman won the Filmfare Best Music Director Award (Tamil) for the soundtrack. Vairamuthu won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Lyricist, and K. S. Chithra won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Playback for the song "Kannalane".
Songs
Kannalane
"Kannalane", also known as "Kehna Hi Kya", is based on Qawwali, a form of Islamic Sufi music.[9][10] K. S. Chithra won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Playback for the song "Kannalane". Backing vocals were sung by A. R. Rahman, Sujatha Mohan, Ganga and Reshmi.
"Kehna Hi Kya", like the other songs on the Hindi soundtrack, was written by Urdu lyricist Mehboob. "Kehna Hi Kya" was included in The Guardian's list of "1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear".[5] The Hindi version of the song was also sampled by Ciara for her 2009 song "Turntables", featuring Chris Brown.
Bombay Theme
The track "Bombay Theme" is an instrumental orchestral piece composed and arranged by A. R. Rahman. It has been sampled by many artists in the world. The track featured in various compilations and films besides being sampled by many major artists. Major compilation albums on which it appeared include Chakra Seven Centers (1995; in which it was credited as "Ajna Chakra"), Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground (1997), Café del Mar Vol 5 (1998), Ambient Chillout Mix Vol. 1 (2002) and Paradisiac 2 . The track is alternatively credited as "Bombay Theme Tune," "Mumbai Theme Tune" or "Bombay Theme Music" in compilations. It was featured in the Italian film Denti by Gabriele Salvatores in 2000, in the Palestinian film Divine Intervention in 2002, in the 2005 Hollywood film Lord of War,[11] and in Julian Schnabel's Miral (2010).[12][13] Rahman reused the track as "Bombay Theme Intro" in the score of the 1996 film, Fire, by Deepa Mehta. It also appeared on a French TV commercial for Volvic starring Zinedine Zidane in 2000. The theme was also sampled by the German band Löwenherz for their song "Bis in die Ewigkeit",[14] and by the American rapper Lloyd Banks for his song "Rather By Me" (2009).[15]
Hamma
Uyire
The track "Uyire"[16] was among the most popular and acclaimed songs of the 1990s. It was sung by Hariharan, who believes it is the best one he has ever sung.[17] After composing the song, Rahman had three choices for the vocalist - S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. J. Yesudas and Hariharan. Rahman says: "I had three options for that song. SPB sir, Yesudas sir, Hariharan. Then I imagined all of them singing it. Since I had not heard Hari in a non-ghazal kind of song, I decided to take the gamble. Then when he did, he had a whole new flavour for the song."[18] The song also incorporates elements of Sufi music.[9]
The female vocals have been provided by K. S. Chithra for Tamil and Telugu, and the Hindi version was sung by Kavita Krishnamurthy. The song was called "Tu Hi Re" in Hindi while it was called "Urike Chilaka" in Telugu. The Hindi version was first sung by K.S.Chithra but music company wanted Hindi singer to sing henceforth it was sung by Kavita Krishnamurthy. The background voice was by Hariharan & Swarnalatha
The song was shot at Bekal Fort in Kerala.
Track listing
The Tamil track "Andha Arabic Kadaloram" had two different versions. The original release contained only A. R. Rahman's version; whereas the re-released version contained the rap portions by Remo Fernandes which were recorded for the Hindi dubbed version.
All lyrics are written by Vairamuthu; all music is composed by A. R. Rahman
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hamma Hamma" | A. R. Rahman, Remo Fernandes & Swarnalatha | 5:10 |
| 2. | "Kannalanae" | K. S. Chithra, A. R. Rahman & Chorus (Sujatha Mohan, Reshmi, Ganga) | 5:48 |
| 3. | "Uyire Uyire" | Hariharan & K. S. Chithra & Humming (Swarnalatha) | 7:14 |
| 4. | "Kuchi Kuchi" | Hariharan, Swarnalatha, G. V. Prakash Kumar, Bombay Saradha & Shweta Mohan | 5:01 |
| 5. | "Poovukkenna Poottu" | Noel James, Anupama, Malgudi Subha, Srinivas & Pallavi | 5:55 |
| 6. | "Bombay Theme" | Instrumental | 5:18 |
| 7. | "Malarodu Malaringu" | Sujatha Mohan, Anuradha Sriram & Chorus | 2:43 |
| 8. | "Idhu Annai Bhoomi" | Sujatha Mohan, Noel James, Srinivas, Sivanesan, Ganga Sreenivasan, Renuka & Anuradha Sriram | 3:28 |
All lyrics are written by Mehboob; all music is composed by A. R. Rahman
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hamma Hamma" | Remo Fernandes, A. R. Rahman & Swarnalatha | 5:10 |
| 2. | "Kehna Hi Kya" | K. S. Chithra, A. R. Rahman & Chorus | 5:48 |
| 3. | "Tu Hi Re" | Hariharan & Kavita Krishnamurthy & Humming (Swarnalatha) | 7:14 |
| 4. | "Kuchi Kuchi Rakkamma" | Udit Narayan, Kavita Krishnamurthy, G. V. Prakash Kumar & Sharadha | 5:01 |
| 5. | "Kuch Bhi Na Socho" | Pallavi, Shubha, Anupama, Noel James & Srinivas | 5:55 |
| 6. | "Bombay Theme" | Instrumental | 5:18 |
| 7. | "Aankhon Mein Ummeedon" | Sujatha Mohan & Chorus | 2:43 |
| 8. | "Apna Zameen Yeh" | Sujatha Mohan, Noel James, Srinivas, Sivanesan, Ganga Sreenivasan, Renuka & Anuradha Sriram | 3:28 |
All lyrics are written by Veturi; all music is composed by A. R. Rahman
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Adi Arabi Kadalandam" | Remo Fernandes & Swarnalatha | 5:10 |
| 2. | "Kannanule" | K. S. Chithra, A. R. Rahman & Chorus | 5:48 |
| 3. | "Urike Chilaka" | Hariharan & K. S. Chithra | 7:14 |
| 4. | "Kuchi Kuchi Koonamma" | Hariharan, Swarnalatha, G. V. Prakash Kumar & Sharadha | 5:01 |
| 5. | "Poolakundi Komma" | Pallavi, Shubha, Anupama, Noel James & Srinivas | 5:55 |
| 6. | "Kulamela mathamela" | Sujatha Mohan & Chorus | 2:43 |
| 7. | "Bombay Theme" | Instrumental | 5:18 |
| 8. | "Idhu Maathrubhoomi" | K.S.Chithra, Shankar Mahadevan, Sujatha Mohan, Noel James, Srinivas, Sivanesan, Ganga Sreenivasan, Renuka & Anuradha Sriram | 3:28 |
References
- "Bombay soundtrack by Rahman". A. R. Rahman Official Website. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011.
- "Bombay soundtrack release history". Tripod.
- "The "Mozart of Madras" AR Rahman is Performing LIVE in Australia". SBS. 14 February 2017.
- Surajeet Das Gupta, Soumik Sen. "A R Rahman: Composing a winning score". Rediff. Retrieved 21 September 2002.
- "100 Best Albums Ever". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- "1000 songs everyone must hear; Part one: Love". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 March 2014.
Songs about love across the barricades delivered in a coquettish fashion are something of a staple in Bollywood. Which is why Kehna Hi Kya by AR Rahman is all the more extraordinary. With its extravagant vocal gymnastics and qawwali-esqe devotional wails, this tale of inter-religious attraction set a new standard and leaves you in no doubt that Rahman deserves his India's greatest living composer tag.
- "Here's what Shraddha Kapoor thinks about 'OK Jaanu' co-star Aditya Roy Kapur!". 11 January 2017.
- "Sound of Cinema: 20 Greatest Soundtracks". BBC Music. BBC. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
- "Twenty- Five Magical Years of Allah Rakha Rahman". Outlook. 24 April 2017.
- "Rashtriya Sahara". Rashtriya Sahara. Sahara India Mass Communication. 2 (2). 1994.
In the first song, Kehna Hi Kya (sung by Chitra), Rehman has used the 'solo' kawwali technique, the form which perhaps only late Roshan could have thought of.
- "Lord of War (2005) - IMDb". IMDb.
- "Rahman credits Frieda for getting him Miral - Times of India". articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- "Jai ho! - Hindustan Times". Archived from the original on 29 June 2013.
- Löwenherz - Bis in die Ewigkeit on YouTube
- "7 Times AR Rahman's Music Inspired International Composers & Made Its Way Into Hollywood Films". India Times. 6 June 2016. Archived from the original on 7 June 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
- "Bombay Film Soundtrack". arrahman.com. A R Rahman. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
- `I love to sing'[Usurped!]. The Hindu. Retrieved 5 February 2005.
- Saraswathy Nagarajan. Of rhythm and soul [Usurped!]. The Hindu. Retrieved 16 June 2006.
