Shankar Jaikishan: Gumnaam (1965)

Here then, a rather famous one. Featuring of course 'Jan Pahechan Ho', as danced to by Enid over the title credits in 'Ghost World'. It's a wonderful track, one of Shankar Jaikishan's greatest rock'n'roll moments... of which there were quite a few. Nothing wrong with the rest of 'Gumnaam' [trailer] [review] either, although listening to it now for the first time in ages I'm realizing how derivative some of the songs are. 'Gumnaam Hai Koi' has a melody lifted straight from Henry Mancini's 'Charade' theme from two years prior, while 'Jane Chaman Shola Badan' is more than a little reminiscent of the evergreen 'Autumn Leaves'... no worries though as they're both excellent. (I'm particularly fond of the former, with its exotic sounding horror effects - and for those unaware, 'Gumnaam' is in fact a Hindi remake of Agatha Christie's 'And Then There Were None'.)

Other highlights include the chirpy 'Gham Chhodke Manao Rang' (Helen in a bathing suite doesn't hurt one bit), and 'Pike Ham Tum Jo Chale', a delightful drunken duet sung by two of the Mangeshkar sisters. In all, a damn fine score!

Happy holidays folks.

Track listing:
1. Lata Mangeshkar: Gumnaam Hai Koi
2. Mohd. Rafi & Sharada: Jane Chaman Shola Badan
3. Asha Bhosle & Usha Mangeshkar: Pike Ham Tum Jo Chale
4. Mohd. Rafi & Mehmood: Khayalon Men
5. Sharada: Aayega Kaun Yahan
6. Mohd. Rafi: Ek Ladki Hai Jisne
7. Lata Mangeshkar: Gham Chhodke Manao Rang
7. Mohd. Rafi: Jan Pahechan Ho

(PS: For anyone who fancies some non-Bollywood sounds over the holidays, there's free music wot my record label's just released here. Ho ho ho!)