Chitragupta: Hamara Adhikar (1971) / Sonik Omi: Dharma (1973)

'Hamara Adhikar' is another soundtrack where asking prices have so far prevented me from obtaining an LP copy; fortunately the score's highlight is featured in its full length on this EP. 'Bum Pam Bum Pam Ra Ra Ra' is a bouncy pop'n'roll tune with cool guitar licks (even a Dick Dale inspired bit) and a catchy chorus. The track has pedigree of sorts – it's essentially a straight lift of a similarly titled 1967 Greek tune by Aris San, and was later given an Arabic makeover by Bob Azzam. I like Chitragupta's take best. On the flip side, country-tinged 'Rona Tera Ghadi Ghadi' is sweet too.



'Dharma' first came to my attention via the film's superb cabaret sequence. A medley (and for a while I thought the clip might be the construct of a present-day YouTuber, but the whole thing does actually appear in the movie) that revisits 'Mera Naam Hai Jameela' from 'Night In London', combined with an exhilarating new track, itself multifaceted: 'Are Saqi Jo' starts off as an appealing, lounge-jazzy ballroom/nightclub affair, whereupon, after an interlude of traditional dance, we are transported underground, to a seedy, drug-infested den of vice, with heady grooves to match. All very RD Burman influenced (as Sonik Omi were prone to be), but wow; I was kind of mind-blown. The EP-version, edited as always, leaves out the dance break but contains decent portions of the rest. Was a full version of the song released anywhere?

The qawwali 'Raaz Ki Baht Ka Doo To' is apparently quite famous.

Track listing, 'Hamara Adhikar':
1. Kishore Kumar & Asha Bhosle: Bum Pam Bum Pam Ra Ra Ra
2. Mohd. Rafi: Rona Tera Ghadi Ghadi
3. Asha Bhosle: Bhaiya Mera Laya

Track listing, 'Dharma'
1. Asha Bhosle & Mohd. Rafi: Raaz Ki Baht Ka Doo To (Qawwali)
2. Mohd. Rafi: Na Solah Oopar Na Sattrah Se Kam
3. Asha Bhosle & Omi: Are Saqi Jo


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Sonik Omi: Mahua (1969)

This comparatively early Sonik Omi score took me slightly by surprise. While the duo's trajectory would in time see them embrace (and sometimes copy) the modern styles of especially RD Burman, 'Mahua' represents a much more traditional sound, one which I previously hadn't associated with them. And that could go either way. But the music here is of such quality that stylistic form becomes moot.

The album's best tracks have a pleasantly melodic, really quite poppy feel to them, and lyrical content and context notwithstanding, I can easily imagine 'Main Hun Tera Geet Gori' and 'Thumak Thumak Teri Chal Masani' with a modern, more western-influenced (re)arrangment. Not that they in any way require it; they're pretty great as they are. Happy sounding 'Chham Chham Chhani' is another favourite, and best of all might be the opener 'Sajan Tere Pyar Mein', a stirring and uplifting Asha Bhosle song, accompanied by some gorgeous visuals.

Track listing:
1. Asha Bhosle: Sajan Tere Pyar Mein
2. Mohd. Rafi: Thumak Thumak Teri Chal Masani
3. Asha Bhosle & Usha Timothy: Mohe Bikta Sajan Miljaye
4. Asha Bhosle: Chham Chham Chhani
5. Mohd. Rafi & Sulakshana Pandit: Jab Jab Apna Mel Hua
6. Mohd. Rafi & Asha Bhosle: Main Hun Tera Geet Gori

7. Mohd. Rafi: Dono Ne Kiya Tha Pyar

8. Asha Bhosle: Pyar Mera Jo Tu Ne Loota


If the above post gave you some joy or value, if you've ever been inspired by the contents of this blog, please consider leaving a tip. In addition to showing your support, you could gain access to currently unavailable downloads. Or, maybe buy a copy of MFT3F's unique guide to 100 Bollywood Soundtracks Every Music Lover Ought To Hear. Either way, you'll be letting me know the work I've put into this matters to you, and you'll be motivating me to continue.

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Sonik Omi: Heeron Ka Chor (1981)

There's generally a lot of interesting (if not always entirely original) stuff happening in Sonik Omi's music. 'Heeron Ka Chor' is one of only a few of the duo's 1980s efforts I've come across, and while the songs aren't necessarily very memorable this too has a lot going for it. Like some excellent dancefloor-friendly grooves, spread out through the album.

A trio of tracks stand out. 'Ye Jawani Hai Meri Jaan' effectively melds Latin and Arabic influences and is infectious as hell. String sections are obviously common in Bollywood film songs, yet I can't recall many featuring an actual fiddle solo. 'Kuchh Aise Ashiq Saamne' has a compelling, vaguely psychedelic and sort of sleazy vibe (Helen sporting a whip contributes to that); the arrangment is riddled with neat details. And 'Phoolon Se Hai Meri Dosti' has a cool, double bass and percussion driven jazz thing present, augmented by 70s/80s synth touches.

Additionally, the opening disco number 'Mera Dil Dhak Dhak Dhak' is a beat heavy stomper (you'll need to get past its rather cringeworthy English introduction), and 'Title Music' is almost (but not quite) up there with the best Kalyanji Anandji action movie themes. So all in all, despite there not really being any melodies to hum, a pretty ace soundtrack.

Track listing:
1. Amit Kumar & Chandrani Mukherjee: Mera Dil Dhak Dhak Dhak
2. Mohd. Rafi & Asha Bhosle: Ye Jawani Hai Meri Jaan
3. Mohd. Rafi, Asha Bhosle & Chorus: Kuchh Aise Ashiq Saamne
4. Aziz Nazan, Asha Bhosle & Chorus: Chilman Se Nikalkar Saamne Aa
5. Mohd. Rafi & Chorus: Phoolon Se Hai Meri Dosti
6. Title Music


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Sonik Omi: Teen Eekay (1978)

Contrary to expectations, Sonik Omi's 'Teen Akay' is an excellent soundtrack. I first encountered it many years back when the track 'Ree Baba Ree Baba' turned up online (possibly on some forum or other) as an example of weird Bollywood novelty songs; on it Om Prakash Sharma adopts a form of comical scat singing, no doubt inspired by RD Burman's so-called Mehbooba voice... to be honest I was more bemused than impressed. I'm not actually sure it's featured in the film (I fast-forwarded through that on YouTube where it can be seen in its entirety) even though it might have fit its mood: quite slapsticky, probably a bit daft.

Luckily the album has several songs that far surpass 'Ree Baba' in quality, including a trio of great Asha Bhosle-sung cabaret numbers. 'Yeh Gora Badan' is the poppier of them, happy-go-lucky and sing-along-able. A cool, staccato rhythm and an intoxicating melody is what characterizes 'Parde Men Pyar Kare' and best of all, the fantastic 'Jua Kisika Na Hua' is loud and gritty, harking back to the classic cabaret numbers from the start of the decade and packing a similar punch as Madan Mohan's sensational 'Kitni Haseen Hai Meri Pyar Ki Nazar' from 'Mahraja'.

'Nazar Kazrari Ho Raja' and 'Tum Ho Johari' are more traditional, and were, at least at the outset, tracks that interested me less, but they both have an oddly psychedelic tinge, especially in the breaks, so I keep coming back to them too.

Track listing:
1. Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar & Chorus: Nazar Kazrari Ho Raja
2. Asha Bhosle & Chorus: Yeh Gora Badan
3. Asha Bhosle: Parde Men Pyar Kare
4. Omi: Ree Baba Ree Baba
5. Asha Bhosle: Jua Kisika Na Hua
6. Joginder, Asha Bhosle & Dilraj Kaur: Tum Ho Johari
7. Music

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Sonik Omi: Do Chehere (1976)

'Is Raat Ke Sannate Men' is a fantastic track, slightly reminiscent of the psychedelic marvels heard on Madan Mohan's superb 'Hanste Zakhm' from 1973. Rousing and hypnotic; it features an otherworldly melody, ominous horror effects, dramatic percussion and forceful guitar breaks – mesmerizing!

It is however pretty much the only song that impresses me on 'Do Chehere'. I confess a soft spot for Sonik Omi; they weren't the most original of duos yet I've many times found their often RD Burman-inspired soundtracks to contain plenty of worthwhile music. Occasionally forgoing the master's influence might have been a good idea, but what's left here is merely average. It's not that 'Mera Chhail Bhanwar Anguri Piye' and 'Chali Thi Thumka Deke Thaske' are actually bad songs, they're just a bit nondescript.

Track listing:
1. Asha Bhosle: Ek Buddhu Se Pyar Kar Baithi
2. Usha Mangeshkar: Mera Chhail Bhanwar Anguri Piye
3. Asha Bhosle & Minoo Purshottam: Chali Thi Thumka Deke Thaske
4. Mohd. Rafi, Manna Dey & Minoo Purshottam: Aaj Ki Raat Peene De Saqi
5. Asha Bhosle: Is Raat Ke Sannate Men

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Sonik Omi: Woh Main Nahin (1974)

Damn it, this pressing is so wonky I don't know what's happened... inexplicably there are portions of the record that sound as if they've managed to include the pressing machine's unoiled, squeaky parts onto it. Annoying, because while 'Woh Main Nahin' may be a minor soundtrack, the songs still warrant decent reproduction. So for those able to listen past the noise...

To me, Sonik Omi have always come across like RD Burman copyists, a bit. The Latin inspired cabaret elements on 'Tujhe Ek Ladki Mile Jawan' and the lounge-jazz start and easy-pop feel to the rest of 'Sanam Tu Hi Hai Tu Hi Tu Hi Hai' could easily be mistaken for something he could have done during the same period. But even if Sonik Omi's arrangements aren't particular original, they still often sound good, and the melodies are nice. At the end of the day that's what matters.

Track listing:
1. Asha Bhosle, Mohd. Rafi & Chorus: Lehnga Khisak Jayega
2. Asha Bhosle: Tujhe Ek Ladki Mile Jawan
3. Asha Bhosle & Kishore Kumar: Sanam Tu Hi Hai Tu Hi Tu Hi Hai
4. Asha Bhosle: Cheecho Cheech Ganeriyan
5. Kishore Kumar & Chorus: Chayeh Purush Ho Chahey Nari

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Sonik Omi: Shahi Lutera (1975) / Basu Manohari: Sabse Bada Rupaiya (1975)

Some EPs coming up, this and the next post. These don't have a lot in common other than they're all from 1975, a fairly good year for Bollywood soundracks, in general. That said, Sonik Omi's 'Shahi Lutera' leaves me surprisingly cold and I'm not sure why I at one point convinced myself I needed it. Bits of 'Gore Chehre Pe' has a sort of cool mystic vibe and 'Dil Se Dil Takra Lo' is moderately poppy, but both they and the two other tracks are really rather underwhelming, unfortunately.



'Sabse Bada Rupaiya' by Basu Manohari (another previously unposted team) is better. The title track especially is a cool organ and guitar driven souljazz-tinged number, again somewhat indebted to RD Burman stylistically, but that's not unnatural considering both Basu Chakraborty and Manohari Singh had worked as assistants for him. I'm not a huge fan of actor/singer Mehmood but I like this song, it's catchy and it's fun. 'Bahi Jaiyo Na' is quite pretty as well.

Track listing, 'Shahi Lutera':
1. Asha Bhosle & Omi: Gore Chehre Pe
2. Asha Bhosle & Manna Dey: Gar Ushq Men Aisa
3. Asha Bhosle, Mohd. Rafi & Omi: Dil Se Dil Takra Lo
4. Asha Bhosle: Tikhi Tikhi Nazron Se

Track listing, 'Sabse Bada Rupaiya'
1. Lata Mangeshkar & Kishore Kumar: Wada Karo Janam
2. Lata Mangeshkar & Kishore Kumar: Dariya Kinare
3. Mehmood & Chorus: Sabse Bada Rupaiya
4. Lata Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar & Chorus: Bahi Jaiyo Na

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Vijaysingh: Khoon Khoon (1973) / Sonik Omi: Wohi Raat Wohi Awaz (1972)

If you, of rational mind, were to think it absurd to remake 'Dirty Harry' as a film laced with song & dance numbers, well then welcome to Bollywood. Because that's exactly what 'Khoon Khoon' [review] is. Ever wanted to watch Dirty Harry sing? In 'Kitni Thandi Pawan' his Indian counterpart does. Remember in the Clint Eastwood original when Scorpio the killer hijacks a school bus, beating the kids on board into singing 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat'? Slightly more menacing than Danny Denzongpa pirouetting to 'Teri Meri Achhi Hui Dosti', I'd say. It does all kind of look like fun though, and I'm almost tempted to watch it. And it has a cool cabaret number in 'Meri Aankhon Men Masti Hai' (I don't remember anything like that in the original), definitely belonging to the Pancham school of such things. From what I've been able to surmise, Vijaysingh (or Vijay Singh as he's more commonly known) was very much indepted to RD Burman.



'Wohi Raat Wohi Awaz' is another seemingly obscure film, with very few useful mentions on the net other than, surprisingly, a brief one by The British Film Institute. Apparently, music directors Sonik Omi appear in it. A supernatural thriller, touches of which can be sensed in the picturization of Asha Bhosle's haunting 'Mera Man Bhatak Raha Diwana'. And don't you just love the record's sleeve? You can hear the Scotch-wielding girl hiccup on the exquisitely moody 'Sochta Hai Kya'.

Two great EPs, two not very often heard soundtracks.

Track listing, 'Khoon Khoon':
1. Asha Bhosle & Tirath: Kitni Thandi Pawan
2. Mohd. Rafi: Maati Ke Jalte Deepak
3. Kishore Kumar, Sushma Shreshtha & Jayshree: Teri Meri Achhi Hui Dosti
4. Asha Bhosle & Vijaysingh: Meri Aankhon Men Masti Hai

Track listing, 'Wohi Raat Wohi Awaz':
1. Asha Bhosle: Mera Man Bhatak Raha Diwana
2. Asha Bhosle: Sochta Hai Kya
3. Mohd. Rafi & Radha Saluja: Jogiya Mera Thirke Badan

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Chitragupta: Pyar Ka Sapna (1969) / Kalyanji Anandji: Apradh (1972) / Sonik Omi: Play Boy (1975)

I consider the one album I have by Chitragupta to be fairly good, but he has never been a music director I've put much effort into pursuing. At least not until I saw a clip of Helen in 'Pyar Ka Sapna' and it became a matter of necessity to locate that film's soundtrack. The song in question, 'Night Is Lovely Lovely, is one of the tastiest, catchiest, best Bollywood pop songs ever made, end of story. I've yet to come across a sensible copy of the LP, but this EP does me nicely.



An EP is in fact all there ever was from 'Apradh' [review] [2]; for whatever reason the film wasn't afforded a full length album. The soundtrack is primarily noteworthy for 'Ae Naujawan Hai Sub Kuchh Yahan' which became kind of famous in the west when The Black Eyed Peas sampled it for 'Don't Phunk With My Heart'. I wasn't a big fan of the latter, but I do love Kalyanji Anandji's funky original. Who doesn't?



The Mohd. Rafi track on 'Play Boy', and indeed the score as a whole, is credited to Sonik Omi. But it's this 2-track single's A-side that's really interesting; 'O My Son Shine Baby' is one of the most unusual Bollywood songs I've heard, in the sense that it doesn't sound at all as if it was made in India. A mix of Burt Bacharach, 60s West End musicals, bubblegum pop-soul and fuzzed out freak beat, sung in English (and also written) by one Edgardo Binalling Bing; it's a wonderful treat. And I'd love to find out more about it.

I've never come across a full length version of this score either (and hardly any mentions of the actual film), but look around the interwebs for some additional songs; worth grabbing.

Track listing, 'Pyar Ka Sapna':
1. Lata Mangeshkar: Ye Zindagi Hamari Kya
2. Asha Bhosle: Night Is Lovely Lovely
3. Lata Mangeshkar & Mohd. Rafi: Aai Meri Zindagi Tu Nahin Ajnabi
4. Mohd. Rafi: Tere Chehre Se Hate

Track listing, 'Apradh':
1. Kishore Kumar & Lata Mangeshkar: Hamare Siwae Tumhare
2. Asha Bhosle: Ae Naujawan Hai Sub Kuchh Yahan
3. Kishore Kumar & Asha Bhosle: Tum Mile Pyar Se
4. Kishore Kumar: Tum Ho Haseen

Track listing, 'Play Boy':
1. Edgardo Binalling Bing: O My Son Shine Baby
2. Mohd. Rafi: Aaj Tumhare

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Sonik Omi: Agent 009 (1980)

I have to confess that what initially drew me to 'Agent 009' was the title and the cover's mod-tinged spy imagery; I'm a sucker for that type of stuff. I was slightly curious as well though, to find out what Sonik Omi sounded like in the 80s, seeing as most of my other albums by them were made nearly 10 years prior. Surprisingly then, perhaps, there hadn't been much of a change. For better or worse, this soundtrack sounds a lot like a mid 70s RD Burman offering. No gratuitous display of modern technology, no disco beats; simply a quartet of nice poppy songs with plenty of cool instrumental features. The Burman influence is especially noticable on 'Aag Lagi Di Pani Men' and 'Maharaja Maharaja', yet for all it's derivativeness, I really like this score.

Is it an obscure film? I couldn't find it on the IMDb, or anywhere.

Track listing:
1. Asha Bhosle: Teri Umar Ka Saal Badha
2. Chandrani Mukherjee: Sun Mere Sai Baba
3. Kishore Kumar: Aag Lagi Di Pani Men
4. Dilraj Kaur: Maharaja Maharaja Heera Hoon Kohinoor Hoon
5. Dialogues

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Sonik Omi: Doctor X (1971)

The intriguingly titled 'Doctor X' is a soundtrack that, to the best of my knowledge, doesn't turn up very often. The same thing goes for the film I think; I can't even find an entry on IMDb, never mind locating clips on YouTube. But it happens to be my favourite Sonik Omi score (admittedly I've only heard a few), featuring a couple of really cool tracks.

The overall vibe is upbeat and fun. 'Sukh Dukh Men Rahenge Saath', 'Badi Khuski Hui Aap Se Mil Kar' and 'Roop Ki Woh Taksal' are essentially traditionally instrumented, but with a nice poppy feel. And the two cabaret-type tracks are wonderful. 'Ye Raat Bhi Jawan' has a wild jazz intro and seductive melody (reminsicent of Laxmikant Pyarelal's 'Aa Jane Jaan'), and 'Luk Chhup Jana' is soul-jazz, light funk and breezy mod-pop rolled into one.

Perhaps Sonik Omi weren't the most original of Bollywood music directors; much of what I've heard by them sounds as if it could have been written by higher profiled ones. But to paraphrase a recently submitted comment, a few posts down: Who cares who wrote it, I'm just glad I can listen to it.

Track listing:
1. Asha Bhosle & Mahendra Kapoor: Sukh Dukh Men Rahenge Saath
2. Asha Bhosle: Ye Raat Bhi Jawan
3. Asha Bhosle: Luk Chhup Jana
4. Asha Bhosle & Mohd. Rafi: Badi Khuski Hui Aap Se Mil Kar
5. Kishore Kumar: Roop Ki Woh Taksal
6. Mahendra Kapoor: Khada Hua Hai Ashiq Tera

(The next post won't be for a couple of weeks; I'm off on holiday.)

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Sonik Omi: Umar Qaid (1974)

Unsurprisingly, it's the cabaret number that highlights this otherwise not very interesting score from Sonik Omi. 'Aag Men Jale Jawani' is full of bounce and rich in detail, falling somewhere between the jazzy rock'n'roll of 60s' Shankar Jaikishan, and RD Burman's later sonic adventurousness. An excellent track.

None of the other songs are very memorable, and the arrangements fail to excite me. There are nice bits here and there, like the hypnotic groove on the first two (Narendra Chanchal sung) minutes of 'Kya Lekar Aaya Hai' and the psychedelic sounding intro to 'Yaad Rahega', though not really enough to make the soundtrack to 'Umar Qaid' essential.

Track listing:
1. Manna Dey, Mahendra Kapoor, Sonik, Chanchal, Mahendra Pal & Chorus: Kya Lekar Aaya Hai
2. Asha Bhosle, Minoo Pushottam, Mohd. Rafi & Chorus: Phinjoda Bhak
3. Lata Mangeshkar & Mukesh: Yaad Rahega
4. Asha Bhosle: Aag Men Jale Jawani
5. Asha Bhosle: Yun Na Dekh Mujhe

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Sonik Omi: Beti (1970)

This one doesn't excite me much either. As has been demonstrated earlier, Sonik Omi were capable of some ace stuff; 'Beti' however I think is a run-of-the-mill job. (And the pressing's rubbish.)

There are bits in it that are OK; 'Mere Mehboob' is quite a nice song, and the happy version of 'Aaja Nindiya Suhani' has a, well, happy feel to it (the other version sounds more melancholy than sad)... but that's basically it for me. I just relistened to it, and my mind kept wandering.

(On the other hand, it is Monday morning...)

Track listing:
1. Mohd. Rafi: Mere Mehboob
2. Asha Bhosle & Usha Mangeshkar: Lahenga Manga De Mere Babu
3. Mohd. Rafi: Haseen Zulfon Ka Rang
4. Lata Mangeshkar: Aaja Nindiya Suhani (Happy)
5. Mukesh: Ye Kya Kiya Re Duniya Wale
6. Mohd. Rafi & Asha Bhosle: Ek Mithi Nazar
7. Lata Mangeshkar: Sham Dhun Lagi
8. Lata Mangeshkar: Aaja Nindiya Suhani (Sad)

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Salil Chowdhury: Annadata (1971) / Sonik Omi: Ek Khilari Bawan Pattey (1972)

Let's do some EPs again. Two excellent ones, from music directors I don't usually expect it - which, as so often before, just goes to show you can never be sure what to except from Bollywood records.

'Annadata' is the poppy one, with a great, feel-good 60s vibe. Starts off with a pretty Lata Mangeshkar song, followed by Kishore Kumar's ace 'Guzar Jaye Din'; rock 'n' roll light, chirpy and fun. Then more sweetness from Lata before ending with the almost trippy 'Yahan Ab Kya Rahnae', sung by Manna Dey and Sabita Chowdhury (Salil's wife?)



'Ek Khilari Bawan Pattey' is slightly more out there; sounds pretty much like what you'd expect from the sleeve, very Burmanesque, especially 'Behroopiye Log Sare'; distorted organ, cool percussion, horn stabs, guitar licks, a wicked beat... But really, all three tracks are awesome (I love the children's chorus on 'Jio Mere Ladle').

Two near flawless records, the unfortunate fact that some of the songs are shortened notwithstanding - I think they did that a lot though to fit the format. I have no idea if LP versions exist (both scores are rare), but if they do they're certainly worth looking for.

Track listing, 'Annadata':
1. Lata Mangeshkar: Raton Ke Saye
2. Kishore Kumar: Guzar Jaye Din
3. Lata Mangeshkar: Nis Din Nis Din
4. Manna Dey, Sabita Chowdhury & Chorus: Yahan Ab Kya Rahnae

Track listing, 'Ek Khilari Bawan Pattey':
1. Asha Bhosle & Chorus: Jio Mere Ladle
2. Asha Bhosle: Le Le Yeh Dil Ka Nageena
3. Asha Bhosle: Behroopiye Log Sare

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Sonik Omi: Sawan Bhadon (1970)

A break from the usual suspects; here's one by Jaidev Sonik and Om Prakash Sharma (Omi), a composing duo I know very little about. The soundtrack to 'Sawan Bhadon' [2] was very much in demand a while back, primarily because of Burman-esque (and excellent) 'Ankhen Meri Maikhana'. The other tracks don't do that much for me... they're OK (I quite like 'Mera Nan Ghabrae), but pale a bit in comparison with the above.

Track listing:
1. Mohd. Rafi: Kaan Men Jhumka Chaal Men Thumka
2. Asha Bhosle: Ik Dard Utha
3. Asha Bhosle: Ankhen Meri Maikhana
4. Mohd. Rafi: Sun Sun Sun O Gulabi Kali
5. Asha Bhosle: Mera Nan Ghabrae
6. Asha Bhosle: Akhiyan Na Mar
7. Asha Bhosle: Hai Nazar Baaz Saiyan

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