Bombay | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 24 December 1994 | |||
Recorded | Panchathan Record Inn | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 40:50 | |||
Label | Pyramid | |||
Producer | A.R. Rahman | |||
A. R. Rahman chronology | ||||
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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.
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.