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 on 24 December 1994 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.
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.
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".
"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.
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), Caf 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 Lwenherz for their song "Bis in die Ewigkeit",[14] and by the American rapper Lloyd Banks for his song "Rather By Me" (2009).[15]
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 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.
Thousands gathered to catch a glimpse of Ed Sheeran, who set the stage on fire with his electrifying concert here, which also saw the British music sensation perform with Indian artists Diljit Dosanjh and Armaan Malik.
Sheeran, who arrived in India on March 12 as part of the Indian leg of his "+ - = x Tour", regaled music aficionados for two-and-half hours and sang over 30 songs at the jam-packed Mahalaxmi Race Course grounds in South Mumbai on Saturday night.
"I know India is a big place but everyone here at the concert is not necessarily from Mumbai. People have travelled a long way to be here today. People got on trains, planes, they drove, and got kids. I know a lot goes into you spending your Saturday night with me.
"I did not take this for granted, I appreciate all the efforts of people to come here. Thank you so much for giving your Saturday night, you could be doing anything but you are spending it with me," said Sheeran, promising fans that he will return next year.
As the crowd erupted in joy after watching the two musicians perform together on a 360-degree circular revolving stage, Dosanjh in Punjabi said, "A loud round of applause for Sheeran". Sheeran, on his part, said "Mumbai, make some noise for Diljit."
After their performance, Malik said, "Ed, there's something that unites us all Indians, I taught you this a few days back. Would you like to do it with me?", and the two of them did Shah Rukh Khan's signature open-arm pose on stage.
Farah Khan also organised a star-studded part in Sheeran's honour which was also attended by Aryan Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Dixit Nene, Malaika Arora, Rajkummar Rao, Patralekhaa, Huma Qureshi, and Arshad Warsi.
On the day of his arrival in India, the singer visited a Mumbai school where he played his all-time favourite track "Shape of You" for children. He later met Ayushmann Khurrana, who treated him to the Punjabi desert pinni, prepared by the actor's mother.
Videos of Sheeran shaking a leg with Malik on the superhit track "Butta Bomma" from Allu Arjun's 2020 film Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo also went viral on social media recently. During his time in Mumbai, Sheeran was spotted playing cricket with Indian batter Shubman Gill and comic Tanmay Bhat.
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PARVAAZ brings to you "The Songs We Love To Hate" tour in June 2023. Only happening in 3 Cities - Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, the tour will witness an exclusive curated set list. This list of songs has been created after polls from audiences across all cities and the band will bring to life a never before set of songs. Also featuring guest artists in each city on multiple instruments, the band will play songs from the discography in collaboration with these guest artists..
Kaisi Baatein Karte Ho is a love letter in itself, about everything we miss saying in words and conversations. It talks of the need to let it out and express what remains with us, because that is what love means.
While most Bollywood movies have restricted themselves to badly remixed tracks and insipid songs, Baai offered us a soundtrack that actually catered to the story they were telling. And yet, was beautiful even in isolation. How rare has that become? With its music, Baai left us all a little bit in love.
There is perhaps no better way to experience the magic of Maharashtra than by exploring its beautiful music and dance traditions. Gifted with a rich culture and heritage, Maharashtra has many different types of indigenous dance forms and these can all be seen in areas in and around Mumbai. The ethnic dances of this region can be either colourful folk dances performed in groups as entertainment during weddings and festivals or those that that tell popular folk and historical tales as well as the more spiritual and personalised dance experiences that celebrate life. Povada is a dance form that showcases the lifetime achievements of the celebrated Maratha ruler, Shivaji Maharaj. Lavani and koli dance forms entertain with their mesmerising music and rhythmic movements. The Dhangri gaja dance form by Dhangars of Sholapur pays respect to god. Dindi and kala are religious folk dances, which express the ecstasy of Lord Krishna. Maharashtra has also had great saint poets, like Jnandev, Namdev, Tukaram, Jani and Soyara, who through their folk songs have taught importance of worship and urged everyone to merge into oneness with God.
India has a myriad of landscapes, great heritage and culture, varied flora and fauna. The country is the most preferred tourist destinations for tourists from all across the world for its picturesque landscapes, spectacular waterfalls, habitat of the country's largest tiger reserve and home to the warmest people on earth.
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