THE ROUGH GUIDE TO BOLLYWOOD (2002)

Artists: Various Artists

With Bollywood constantly reaching a wider audience throughout the world, its no surprise that the global mainstream media is being lured to the world of Indian cinema. There has been a spate of recent Bollywood mix CDs hitting the market and the latest edition is the much awaited 'Rough Guide to Bollywood' album.

The album has been compiled by London's very own DJ Ritu - a lady who can famously be found behind the decks of various popular Asian club nights in the big city. She has picked a variety of songs that cross the boundaries of time and style, bringing together an eclectic mix of Bollywood classics on one album.

A large portion of the songs are Bollywood golden oldies which were hugely popular during their first release and continue to appeal to today's generation, both through the original versions and from the various remixes that get released every now and again. The perfect example is the album's first track, 'Dum Maro Dum' from the movie Hare Krishna Hare Ram. Sung perfectly by the amazing Asha Bhosle, this is truly an excellent song to get the listener started. It is followed by the likes of the upbeat 'Roop Tera Mastana' sung by the legendary Kishore Kumar, 'Piya Tu Ab To Aaja' (a duet with Asha Bhosle and R.D. Burman), and 'Chura Liya Hai Tum Ne' (Asha Bhosle obviously a popular choice, this time with Mohammed Rafi).

What type of selection would it be without Lata Mangeshkar lending her vocals for a few songs? Thankfully we don't have to wonder because the singing sensation appears in the evergreen classic 'Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein Khayal Aata' and the more recent hits 'Tujhe Dekha' from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and 'Didi Tera Devar Deewana' from Hum Aapke Hain Kaun?

Fans of more modern music will be glad to hear that the album doesn't only concentrate in the past. There are also songs from films such as Kaho Na Pyar Hai (Ek Pal Ka Jeena), Bombay (Kehna Hai Kya) and the title tracks from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani.

So is the album worth buying? It probably depends on your taste in Bollywood music although its hard to imagine that this selection doesn't have at least one or two songs that appeal to all Bollywood music fans. DJ Ritu has obviously spent much time and care in choosing the right selection of songs, and gets it right on the whole (Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani is an alright song but not worthy of this album). All in all, a good album to play on your walk man or in the car without having to worry about constantly changing the cassette!

TRACK LISTINGS:
1) Asha Bhosle: Dum Maro Dum
2) Kishore Kumar: Roop Tera Mastana
3) Asha Bhosle and R.D. Burman: Piya Tu Ab To Aaja
4) Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh: Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein
5) Asha Bhosle and Mohd. Rafi: Chura Liya Hai Tum Ne
6) Kishore Kumar: Pyar Diwana Hota Hai
7) Kishore Kumar and Manna Dey: Yeh Dosti Nahin
8) Nazia Hassan: Aap Jaise Koi
9) Udit Narayan: Jaadu Teri Nazar
10) Lata Mangeshkar and Kumar Sanu: Tujhe Dekha
11) Chitra: Kehna Hai Kya
12) Lata Mangeshkar and S.P. Balasubhramaniam: Didi Tera Devar Deewana
13) Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
14) Lucky Ali: Ek Pal Ka Jeena
15) Udit Narayan: Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani

REVIEWED BY ROBEEL HAQ