Movie Details of Bombay Velvet
Music: Amit Trivedi
Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya, Majrooh Sultanpuri
Label: Zee Music Company
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Among all the Western musical genres that have influenced Bollywood music, jazz probably goes the longest back, on account of a large number of yesteryear music arrangers having been jazz musicians. Jazz flavoured songs have appeared in Hindi soundtracks from time to time (and if it interests you, here is an Apple Music playlist where I explore some jazz-influenced songs from Bollywood) – composer duo Shankar-Jaikishan even did an album called Raga Jazz Style in 1968 – but it wasn't until 2015 that a movie went the whole hog in presenting the genre.
Set in a time when jazz was all the rage in Bombay and with Anushka Sharma's central character modelled on yesteryear Goan singer Lorna Cordeiro, Bombay Velvet was indeed a perfect vehicle for such a homage. It was unfortunate that the movie did not do well, but composer Amit Trivedi delivered a brilliant retro score steeped in the genre. For the composer whose portfolio is largely made up of less-mainstream, experimental projects, this would rate right among the top in terms of offbeatness.
Best Song of Bombay Velvet: The top notch quality of Bombay Velvet's music was as much a result of Amit's work as it was of Amitabh Bhattacharya's words and some fabulous singing, mainly from Neeti Mohan and Shefali Alvares. Amit, Amitabh and Neeti's efforts came together in the most beautiful yet heart-crushing fashion in Dhadaam Dhadaam.
The Bombay Velvet Playlist:
Listen to the entire album of Bombay Velvet here:
(With contributions by Praveen VR, co-founder of musicaloud.com)