Laxmikant Pyarelal: Jalte Badan (1973)

'Jalte Badan' [review]; a film about the perils of drug addiction. They tend to be quite fun. I don't know if the Bollywood ones were made with sincere intentions in mind or if they (too) were just exploitation, but either way, when trip-out songs were required for such films, music directors often excelled.'Aag Se Aag Bujhale' is no exception. It starts with a long intro (sadly missing from the

Ravi: Dharkan (1972)

Here's one from Ravi. Never the most ingenious of music directors, and more often than not I find his scores a bit dull; this soundtrack is however an exception. 'Dharkan' boasts a delightfully wistful lounge track ('Pee Meri Ankhon Se'), a rockin' cabaret number ('Jab Tu Ne Kuchh Na Kiya') much in the vein of Shankar Jaikishan or even early RD Burman, chirpy and catchy accordion pop ('Main To

Bappi Lahiri: Kamla (1984)

And another. This one's a very different sounding score from what is usually expected from Bappi Lahiri though; there's nothing bombastic or cheesy or even loud to be found on 'Kamla'. Perhaps it was decided that for a film dealing with modern-day domestic slavery, a more subdued tone would be appropriate. To his credit, Bappi pulls it off just fine - it's a soundtrack well worth a few

Bappi Lahiri: Pasand Apni Apni (1983)

I didn't plan on this one. I had presumptively pegged 'Pasand Apni Apni' as a dime-a-dozen, bland, mid-80s Bappi Lahiri soundtrack not really worth bothering with. And it was Sharon Prabhakar I was looking for YouTube clips of (having rather liked her on 'Qurbani In English) when I came across 'Ding Dong Ding Dong'. It took me by surprise that I couldn't stop playing it; that wasn't supposed to

Rahul Dev Burman: Deewaar (1975)

It shouldn't have come as a surprise to me, but it did. Collecting and listening to Bollywood soundtracks for more than a decade, blogging about them for four years; it wasn't until after I'd completed MFT3F's initial run that I first heard (heard of) what has to be one of RD Burman's greatest songs. Fellow enthusiast and frequent commenter Harshi posted a link to 'I Am Falling In Love' on

Bappi Lahiri: Surakksha (1979)

From what I've heard from those in the know, 'Surakksha' is the soundtrack on which Bappi Lahiri went from merely dabbling in disco to being the first Indian music director to fully embrace it. If that's true, 'Tum Jo Bhi Ho' could well be the first real Bollywood disco anthem. It has all the markings: Heavy beats, Giorgio Moroder-esque electro stylings, disco strings, soaring melody, funky

Laxmikant Pyarelal: Naatak (1974)

A Laxmikant Pyarelal score from 1974 (in addition to 1973, their best year I think) sporting a wonderfully cool cover; I couldn't resist picking this one up. 'Naatak' may not be quite on par with some of their best efforts from the period, but a few songs on the album strike my fancy. 'Zindagi Ek Naatak Hai' (I'm partial to the sad version) is packed with passion and drama, with an enticing intro