Shalimar (Hindi : शालीमार) is a 1978 Bollywood film, written and directed by Krishna Shah. The movie starred Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman, Shammi Kapoor, Prem Nath and Aruna Irani. English actor Rex Harrison and American actors John Saxon and Sylvia Miles appear in supporting roles in their first and only Bollywood film. Jayamalini does a dance number in the film. This was the last time that Mohammed Rafi's voice was picturized on Shammi Kapoor. Its English version is known as Raiders of the Sacred Stone. Rex Harrison's voice was dubbed by Kader Khan. The plot is inspired by the novel The Vulture is a Patient Bird by James Hadley Chase.
WikipediaShit like this on the list is both refreshing and infuriating. Refreshing because it is good, fun, interesting, and also not something I would regularly be exposed to! It's why I started this project and keeps me coming back. It's infuriating because the fact that it is included here means that Robert Dimery, the original author of the 1001 albums list is aware that music like this exists. He's clearly aware that there is an entire world of music out there. SO WHY HAVE I LISTENED TO 200 80s BRITISH NEW WAVE ALBUMS AND 200 SCOTTISH ROCK ALBUMS FROM THE 90S??!!?
I did like this album, but I wonder how familiar the author of 1001 albums is with Indian music and whether they would have selected this movie soundtrack if they had the same breadth of familiarity that they obviously have with american & english music.
I'll take a lot more where that came from. What a bright spot! It seems to have an optimism that might have been more common a decade earlier, combined with that wonderful Indian sound that brings me right back to Jaipur.
This was a funky listen! Also, indicative of how much of an afterthought world music is to this list. The original entry was "Shalimar/College Girl" because the list author had a bootleg album that threw two unrelated soundtracks together! 😆 "College Girl" is also worth checking out. The track "College Girl 'I Love You'" lifts a chunk of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" which is fun, and "Everybody Dance With Me" uses the riff from Iron Butterfly's "In A Gadda Da Vita"... Fave track (on Shalimar) - "Countess Caper (Music)" - loved that Bollywood spaghetti western vibe! The opening track "Title Music" was also very atmospheric...
This was pretty fun to listen to but really just in a kitschy way. It's not very good.
Crazy but I’m totally into this. I’d have never thought I’d enjoy it so much. I’d definitely listen to this again.
that was actually surprisingly impressive I’m not a big fan of indian music (or bollywood movies) but this actually had some really nice production overall I can overlook the parts of the album I found annoying for the quality of the overall music - 8/10
I thought I wasn't going to like this, but the energy sold me. I couldn't get over how vibrant and melodic this was, even if the vocals were sometimes "not my style".
4.1 + Colorful and varied. There's a quirky dance number with lots of instrumental layers ("One Two Cha Cha Cha"), a pretty love ballad ("Hum Bewafa Hargiz Na Thay") and some lush, cinematic instrumentals that tie in different musical influences (e.g. flamenco, Indian folk, big band jazz, funk...).
I personally prefer the instrumentals but it’s awesome that this is here at all. Go watch Kal Ho Naa Ho
i watched many a bollywood movie in my youth, but not this one! so i went into this with high hopes, bias, and more bollywood knowledge than most people have. this album has a pure seventies bollywood vibe! i have fallen in love with the romantic theme, but the other instrumentals are just as good. this album really jumps around in genres, and it can get corny at times with the sampling of english songs, but that's what adds to this soundtrack's charm. a fun, joyous listen. it doesn't have to be taken seriously.
It's nothing something I would listen to over and over again, but that is just because of my own cultural and generation biases.
I can go for this. He's like the Mancini of Bollywood. I genuinely enjoy these types of 60s and 70s soundtracks. Super entertaining. Love the blending of so many genres.
Absolute joy. How does it rate in the grand scheme of things? No idea. But loved it!
Very interesting fusion on some of the songs, and some just generally fun ones.
I really had low expectations going into this album, but a couple of songs in, I was already hooked. The instrumentals are just out of this world and very unique, which I suppose makes sense since this was a movie. Wish I could have understood what was being sung, but it was entertaining even though I couldn't.
Really cool instruments and groovy vibe. Never have heard of this before, but iti was really good.
It all sounds like a set of poorly-recorded random Indian pop music, but I liked it!
When this record came up, I prejudged it as another Ravi Shankar-esque album before even hearing the first note... and then I forgot about it. Going back to see the albums I missed I put this one and whoa... it's wonderfully eclectic and awesome. It's a mix of Morricone-esque numbers, with Indian instruments, quite a lot of good tongue in cheek, some bossa nova - it's a delight from start to finish. Looking back I feel like an ass for missing out on this.
I’m glad this album was included but it really draws attention to the fact that Indian music is not well represented on this list. The album itself clearly has taken its direction from western music and has a bit of a classic 60s movie soundtrack sound with some really lovely Bollywood and Indian Classical motifs front and center. I wish I knew enough to really be able to understand this better.
Did not understand a word in this album yet it was still soo beautiful.
Fun and interesting and still a pretty chilled thing to have on in the background. I can't say it was particularly my thing but there were a couple of songs I did quite like. Not sure if I'll come back to it any time soon but I'm certainly intrigued about the movie. Favourite: One Two Cha Cha Cha
Loved loved loved the opening three tracks. So good - Indisco. It gets a bit more rote after that but is still a solid Bollywood soundtrack.
A delight with a mix of styles and lots of pleasing melodies and hooks and riffs, though, even as an Indophile, one's not totally clear as to just what to make of it. One's glad to have heard. Definitely worthy.
Only half of this is actually available on Stupify, and I couldn't very easily find an alternative source for the full release, but based on what I heard I can comfortably give this a 4/5 I very very much enjoyed it. I really need to dig into more Bollywood stuff, as I absolutely love a lot of what I've heard but I also really don't know shit!
Better than I expected. I loved the general vibe and nodded my head more than once.
This is awesome! You never know what you're going to get listening to the soundtrack for a film you've never seen. It's a widely diverse soundtrack. Lots of swelling instrumentation. A surprisingly fun listen!
This album was one of the more unique ones on this list and overall I enjoyed it. It is hard to properly rate when this is such an unfamiliar type of music to me. No recognized songs
While I still appreciate getting albums like this, this is the first one I didn't enjoy very much. The last few songs were pretty good but the rest were more annoying than anything.
If you're wondering where the '90s exotica thing borrowed heavily from, then this is your album.
A pleasant surprise, not what I expected based on the album cover. It's a lot less Bollywood-sounding than it looks. The title music sounds like something from a 70s Hollywood thriller and other instrumentals have shades of Morricone western soundtracks. The film sounds pretty good as well.
This is super interesting - there's multiple genres in these tunes. I actually enjoyed listening to this while I worked.
I was a bit worried when I heard the opening bars using a time signature that made zero sense to my ears, that I was in for a long 40mins. But this turned into a pretty fun mixture of of East meets West and absolutely everything in between. No chance I’ll come back and listen again though.
Shalimar was new music for me and I've never heard of Rahul Dev Burman. "One Two Cha Cha" was my least favorite track. Perhaps there was one other track that I was ready to have it finish sooner. I liked listening to something new and from a different culture. At this moment I'm not feeling like I should go check out the movie any time soon, but that could change.
What a completely seemingly random assortment of musical styles. No idea what this film could be about. An interesting listen but I'll probably never listen again.
This clearly ain’t my usual bag, but this ain’t all that bad… defo listenable!
Was pleasantly surprised. It was a very solid listen, with some decent production.
I'm assuming this is iconic due to reasons I am not familiar with. It's... ok?
First Bollywood soundtrack I have listened to all the way through. Really enjoyed it, found the wee references to "western" music sprinkled throughout very interesting. Hard to pick a favourite track, other than to mention that "one two cha cha cha" is probably the most immediate
05/19/2022 Actually pretty killer. Lots of it sounds like a 70's action soundtrack.
As far as soundtracks to movies I've never seen go, this isn't too bad.
I haven't seen this movie, but this sound track paints a picture of both the content and the time frame it comes from. Not my kinda music, but good listen anyway.
Wasn’t sure when I first seen this album, but was enjoyable and glad Iv listened to it, probably deserves to be on the list.
Curiosa descoberta. Banda sonora de Bollywood plena d'influències de tot tipus, incloent occidentals. Música diferent a la qual estem acostumats a Europa, i molt consistent
I've already said my piece about how soundtracks shouldn't be on this list. But, I still really enjoyed this music. It was a mix of cultures, styles, genres, and even eras that somehow worked together. I almost want to see the movie now.
R. D. Burman is a behemoth of a workhorse within the Bollywood industry. Between his start in 1966 to his final film in 1987 (a mere 7 years before his death), Burman would have release 331 film scores. Shalimar is just one piece of his long legacy. Almost coming full circle, the characteristics of South Asian music that influenced psychedelic music are now giving a psychedelic edge to this soundtrack. Shalimar was apparently slated for crossover appeal to America, allowing Bollywood to break out and garner worldwide success. Too bad it was anything but. Given the 70's track record of soundtracks tinged with psychedelia (see: Shaft in 1971, Superfly in 1972), it makes sense for this soundtrack to follow relatively close behind. As far as soundtracks go, this one is fine. I don't know much about Bollywood nor do I find it particularly captivating, so the appeal of this soundtrack is sadly limiting.
Fun, a little jazzy, a little spicy, a little trippy, frequently elegant. Makes me curious to see the film. Fave Songs: Aaina Wohi Rehta Hai, Naag Devta, Romantic Theme, Mera Pyaar Shalimar, Title Music (Shalimar)
¡Saquen el curry! Me pasa con estos discos que es muy difícil saber qué tanto valen la pena. No sé nada de esa música entonces tengo pocos parámetros: si solo pienso en mi gusto personal, podría salir muy bajo, pero tampoco creo que valga ponerle 5 estrellas porque es el disco más relevante en su nicho musical específico. Tomando eso en cuenta, creo que este disco no es desagradable, al contrario, es un fondo musical muy chido, aunque no sé en qué momento podría escucharlo de nuevo. Así que en balance, le alcanza para 3 estrellas.
The title track, 'Title Music (Shalimar)', is great! When I heard that I was stoked for the album to come. From there, it was a pretty even split though. Tracks like 'Countess' Caper', 'Naag Devta', and 'Baby Let's Dance Together' kept the same vibe going, while the rest either made me want to rip my headphones off or just kind of bored me. Perhaps if most of the tracks didn't sound like a one-track dub off of an old television speaker, there would've been more to enjoy. In any case, I'm really happy to see more international representation on the list and I'll definitely be adding 'Title Music' to my playlist.
I refuse to review this album because it is a fucking travesty that the 1,001 albums generator has continued during such a tragic week. RIP week 7 of the 2022-2023 Premier League season. Long live week 8 of the 2022-2023 Premier League season (and Godspeed to those rearranging week 7).
Sounds like the soundtrack to a cheesy Bollywood movie. Oh wait, it is a soundtrack to a cheesy Bollywood movie. It's okay, but not quite sure why it's on this list. 3 stars.
Bollywood rocks. It is Bollywood right? Very sprightly. A nice change from The Smiths albums that have been popping up on an all too regular basis. .2% of the best 1000 albums ever recorded were by The Smiths. Unto me render a break.
Less high energy than I expected, but a pleasant background listen. 3.5
Title Music opens with a stuttering rhythm, one of the more unusual Indian musical ideas I've heard. The rest of the score is fun; It seems to be a wide survey, integrating jazz interestingly and featuring a variety of vocalists and moods.
Not my bag. I'm not wild about the vocalizations in eastern music. I recognize, however, the talent to do it, I just don't enjoy listening to it.
I don’t know about this one. It’s cool to hear music from around the world, as this is, but I don’t really grasp why this particular soundtrack was selected to the list. It was fine, with some enjoyable tracks, but if it’s more than that I can’t tell. Naag Devta stands out as a pretty righteous sounding tune with compelling harmonies.
This seemed like kind of a goof mostly, it didn’t really scan for me as something to sit down and just listen to as an album. I did kind of want to join in a big crazy costume dance number.
It's like Bond-esque funk, met a spaghetti western in India and decided to stay.
Enjoyable album from the start until the end, solid and interesting tracks overall.
3/5. A fairly enjoyable soundtrack with fun instrumentation. The hits are the vocal tracks though.