''Bombay'' is the soundtrack to the 1995 Indian film of the same name, with eight tracks composed by

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...

. The film was directed by

Mani Ratnam Gopalaratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. H ...

, and stars

Arvind Swamy Arvind Swamy (born 18 June 1970) is an Indian actor, film director and entrepreneur known for his work in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi cinema, Telugu cinema and Malayalam cinema. He was introduced as an actor by Mani Ratnam with the blockbuste ...

and

Manisha Koirala Manisha Koirala (; born 16 August 1970) is a Nepali people, Nepalese actress who works in Cinema of India, Indian films, predominantly in Hindi and Tamil language, Tamil. Born to the politically prominent Koirala family, she is the daughter of ...

, while the soundtrack album was released on 24 December 1994 by

Pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

. The

Indian film The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on pr ...

was originally a

Tamil film Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Chen ...

dubbed into

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

and

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

. The soundtrack was thus released in multiple languages. The lyrics for the Tamil version were written by

Vairamuthu Vairamuthu Ramasamy (born 13 July 1953) is an Indian lyricist, poet, and novelist working in the Tamil film industry. He is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world. A master's graduate from the Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai, he firs ...

, except for the songs, Humma Humma & Halla Gulla, which was written by Vaali. The lyrics for the

and

versions were written by Mehboob and

Veturi Veturi Sundararama Murthy (29 January 1936 – 22 May 2010), known mononymously by his surname Veturi, was an Indian poet and lyricist who is known for his works in Telugu literature and cinema. Veturi is a recipient of the National Film Award, ...

, respectively. The soundtrack of the film became one of the best-selling

Indian music Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk, rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed over several ...

albums of all time, with sales of 15million units. The soundtrack was included in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

s "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" list, and the Hindi version of the song "Kannalane", titled "Kehna Hi Kya" by

K S Chitra Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963) is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning around five decades, she has recorded over 25,000 Songs in various Indian languages languages such as Tamil, Kann ...

was included in their "1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear" list. The song " Hamma" was later reused in ''

Ok Jaanu ''OK Jaanu'' () is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film directed by Shaad Ali, with screenplay and story based on Mani Ratnam's Tamil film O Kadhal Kanmani, and produced by Ratnam and Karan Johar under their banners Madras Ta ...

'' (2017) as "The Humma Song". "Bombay Theme" has appeared in various international films and music compilations, while "Kannalanae" and "Bombay Theme" have been sampled by various international artists.

Release

The soundtrack album was originally released in Tamil in December 1994. Soon after the original released, in 1995 it was also released in

and in

by Polygram MIL.

Critical reception

Since its release, the soundtrack for ''Bombay'' has been influential, both nationally and internationally. The soundtrack also found success across India in its dubbed

and

versions. In 2007, the soundtrack was included in ''

s "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" list, and the Hindi version of the song "Kannalane", titled "Kehna Hi Kya", was included in their "1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear" list in 2009. In 2014,

BBC Music BBC Music is the arm of the BBC responsible for the music played across its services. The current director of music is Lorna Clarke. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio operational division; however, its remit also includes music used i ...

listed ''Bombay'' among their "20 Greatest Soundtracks" of all time, and selected the instrumental "Bombay Theme" as its standout track. A. R. Rahman won the Filmfare Best Music Director Award (Tamil) for the soundtrack.

won the

Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Lyricist The Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Lyricist is given by the state government as part of its annual Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Tamil (Kollywood) films. The list See also * Tamil cinema * Cinema of India References {{Tamil Nadu St ...

, and

K. S. Chithra Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963) is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning around five decades, she has recorded over 25,000 Songs in various Indian languages languages such as Tamil, Kann ...

won the

Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Playback The Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer is given by the state government as part of its annual Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Tamil (Kollywood) films. The list Here is a list of the award winners and the films for wh ...

for the song "Kannalane".

Songs

Kannalane

"Kannalane" is based on

Qawwali Qawwali is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing originating in the Indian subcontinent. Originally performed at Sufi shrines throughout the Indian subcontinent, it is famous throughout Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and has ...

, a form of Islamic

Sufi music Sufi music refers to the devotional music of the Sufis, inspired by the works of Sufi poets like Rumi, Hafiz, Bulleh Shah, Amir Khusrow, and Khwaja Ghulam Farid. Qawwali is the best-known form of Sufi music and is most commonly found in ...

won the

for the song "Kannalane". Backing vocals were sung by A. R. Rahman,

Sujatha Mohan Sujatha Mohan is a renowned Indian playback singer known for her contributions to a wide range of Indian film industries, particularly in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu cinema. Over her decades-long career, she has also recorded songs in other ...

, Ganga and Reshmi. "Kehna Hi Kya", like the other songs on the

soundtrack, was written by

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

lyricist Mehboob. "Kehna Hi Kya" was included in ''

''s list of "1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear". The Hindi version of the song was also sampled by

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. She was discovered by record producer Jazze Pha in the early 2000s, and rose to prominence with her debut studio album, ''Goodies ...

for her 2009 song "

Turntables A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...

", featuring

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

Bombay Theme

The track "Bombay Theme" is an instrumental orchestral piece composed and arranged by A. R. Rahman. It has been sampled by many artists in the world. The track featured in various compilations and films besides being sampled by many major artists. Major

compilation albums A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from one artist, then generally the tracks we ...

on which it appeared include ''Chakra Seven Centers'' (1995; in which it was credited as "Ajna Chakra"), '' Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground'' (1997), '' Café del Mar Vol 5'' (1998), ''Ambient Chillout Mix Vol. 1'' (2002) and ''Paradisiac 2'' . The track is alternatively credited as "Bombay Theme Tune," "Mumbai Theme Tune" or "Bombay Theme Music" in compilations. It was featured in the Italian film ''

Denti '' Denti'' (''Teeth'') is a 2000 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Gabriele Salvatores. It is based on the novel with the same name written by Domenico Starnone. It entered the competition at the 57th Venice International Film Festival. Plot A ...

'' by

Gabriele Salvatores Gabriele Salvatores (born 30 July 1950) is an Italian Academy Award-winning film director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Naples, Salvatores debuted as a theatre director in 1972, founding in Milan the Teatro dell'Elfo, for which he directe ...

in 2000, in the Palestinian film ''

Divine Intervention Divine intervention is an event that occurs when a deity (i.e. God or gods) becomes actively involved in changing some situation in human affairs. In contrast to other kinds of divine action, the expression "divine ''intervention''" implies that ...

'' in 2002, in the 2005 Hollywood film ''

Lord of War ''Lord of War'' is a 2005 Crime drama film, crime-drama film written and directed by Andrew Niccol. It stars Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto, Bridget Moynahan, Ethan Hawke, and Eamonn Walker in primary roles. The plot follows an unscrupulous Ukrain ...

'', and in

Julian Schnabel Julian Schnabel (born October 26, 1951) is an American painter and filmmaker. In the 1980s, he received international attention for his "plate paintings"—with broken ceramic plates set onto large-scale paintings. Since the 1990s, he has been a ...

's '' Miral'' (2010). Rahman reused the track as "Bombay Theme Intro" in the score of the 1996 film, ''

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

'', by

Deepa Mehta Deepa Mehta, (; born 15 September 1950) is an Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter, best known for her Elements Trilogy, Fire (1996 film), ''Fire'' (1996), ''Earth (1998 film), Earth'' (1998), and ''Water (2005 film), Water'' (2 ...

. It also appeared on a French TV commercial for

Volvic Volvic () is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. The church at Volvic is dedicated to “St Priest” ( Projectus), who is reputed to have been killed here in 676 AD. Population International relations ...

starring

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; ; ''Zineddin Lyazid Zidan''; ; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as an attacking midfi ...

in 2000. Theme is inbedded in the Song "Still Nr. 1" by Artist Neophyte. The theme was also sampled by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

band

Löwenherz ''Löwenherz'' (; ) is a German-style board game designed by Klaus Teuber and published in 1997 by Goldsieber in German and by Rio Grande Games in English. A revised edition, titled ''Löwenherz: Der König kehrt zurück'' (''Lionheart: The Kin ...

for their song "Bis in die Ewigkeit", and by the American rapper

Lloyd Banks Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip-hop, East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, which he formed with childhood friends ...

for his song " Rather By Me" (2009).

Hamma

Uyire

The track "Uyire" was among the most popular and acclaimed songs of the 1990s. It was sung by Hariharan, who believes it is the best one he has ever sung. After composing the song, Rahman had three choices for the vocalist -

S. P. Balasubrahmanyam Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), commonly known as SPB or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is widely regarde ...

K. J. Yesudas Kattassery Joseph Yesudas ( /jeːʃud̪aːs/; born 10 January 1940) is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely considered one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian m ...

and Hariharan. Rahman says: "I had three options for that song. SPB sir, Yesudas sir, Hariharan. Then I imagined all of them singing it. Since I had not heard Hari in a non-ghazal kind of song, I decided to take the gamble. Then when he did, he had a whole new flavour for the song."Saraswathy Nagarajan. .

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

. Retrieved 16 June 2006. The song also incorporates elements of

. The female vocals have been provided by

for Tamil and Telugu, and the Hindi version was sung by

Kavita Krishnamurthy Kavita Krishnamurthy (born as Sharada Krishnamurthy), is an Indian playback and classical singer. She has recorded numerous songs in various Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Rajasthani, Bhojpuri, Telugu, Odia, Marathi, ...

. The song was called "Tu Hi Re" in

while it was called "Urike Chilaka" in

. The Hindi version was first sung by

K.S.Chithra Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963) is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning around five decades, she has recorded over 25,000 Songs in various Indian languages languages such as Tamil, Kann ...

but music company wanted Hindi singer to sing henceforth it was sung by

. The background voice was by Hariharan &

Swarnalatha Swarnalatha (29 April 1973 – 12 September 2010) was an Indian playback singer. In a career spanning almost 22 years (from 1987 until her death), she recorded over 10,000 songs in many Indian languages, including Tamil language, Tamil, Telugu ...

The song was shot at Bekal Fort in Kerala.

Track listing

The Tamil track "Andha Arabic Kadaloram" had two different versions. The original release contained only A. R. Rahman's version; whereas the re-released version contained the rap portions by Remo Fernandes which were recorded for the Hindi dubbed version.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bombay (Soundtrack) A. R. Rahman soundtracks Tamil film soundtracks 1995 soundtrack albums Hindi-language albums Urdu-language albums Hindi film soundtracks Filmi soundtracks Qawwali albums Sufi music albums World music albums by Indian artists Albums recorded in India