Bollywood Bloodbath: A dark window into the horrifying lineage of the Bollywood B-Horror Film Genre
Bollywood Bloodbath 2xLP on Finders Keepers. Photo by Wai Trask
Bollywood Bloodbath
Our freakish friends at Finders Keepers have done it again.
The B-Movie genre- notable for its extremely low budget, overzealous actors, obnoxiously overplayed clichés, and cheap bold obnoxious plots- has created a cult following of diehard fans longing for the worst of the worst. Trust me; I’m definitely one of them. As for the Horror genre, we all know it’s in a league of its own. B-Movies and Horror flicks are two genres that helped to create the general foundation that has evolved into the film industry and entity we know of today. Add the magic touch of India’s epic Hindi film industry… and you’ve got yourself the muse of Finders Keepers’ beast of a compilation, ‘Bollywood Bloodbath: The B-Music of the Indian Horror Film Industry’. This has got to be one of the most fascinating film-based compilation releases I have ever gotten my hands on.
Catering to the likes of music enthusiasts from all across the globe, the monstrous music emporium that is Finders Keepers has lured us into its abandoned house of horrors with an outlandishly terrifying and gruesome witch’s brew of a compilation. This sinister collection of haunting melodies derived from the B-Horror film genre have an exotic twist: all these tracks are not from the far too familiar Old Hollywood Horror cinema (circa Bela Lugosi and William Castle), but from Bombay’s very own Hindi Film Industry, more commonly known as “Bollywood”.
Finders Keepers delved into a world unknown and-throughout the arduous and exceptionally efficient search through old forgotten video cassettes, discarded cassette tapes, and dusty worn-out vinyl records-gave us a window into the evolution and lineage of Bollywood’s B-Horror film genre. With sinister tracks derived from a vast array of B-Horror movies, Bollywood Bloodbath is an elaborate compilation of music from some of Bollywood’s finest musicians and composers, highlighting the brilliant and terrifyingly bold alliance of Hindi film and music.
Known as one of the largest film production industries in the world, Bollywood has been a fierce and astoundingly vicious force when it comes to pumping out efficient and quality material. Bollywood is comprised of a multitude of artistic mediums and performance-art genres. With its signature twist of incorporating intricate dance numbers and songs throughout each film as the chosen form of cinematic expression and dialogue, the Bollywood film has become more than just a movie genre. A Bollywood film is an incredibly elaborate production characterized by an amalgam of every performance art medium and Indian culture.
Straight from Finders Keepers’ gruesome underbelly comes this 2LP set with A-D sides that take you away into a harmonious nightmare of bone-rattling cries, ghoulish sound effects, venomous electro-pop, and trendy 70s disco. Capturing Bollywood’s ‘Golden Age’ of cinema, Bollywood Bloodbath also acts as a mini archive of the Hindi film and music camaraderie over a forty-year time period (1949-1985). With music from India’s greats, Bappi Lahiri, Sapan Jagmohan, and Laxmikant Pyarelal- to name a few- this ferocious release goes far beyond the current standards of modern Hollywood soundtracks.
With India’s electro-pop and disco guru, Bappi Lahiri, contributing to multiple tracks of this Bloody compilation, songs like ‘Meri Jaan’ are quick to illustrate what you’d imagine to be the under budgeted, obnoxiously outdone, Hindi B-horror flick. The composition and seemingly tacky gold-plated electricity of each score, paired with ethereally sweet vocals and-what seem to be- the not so subtle orgasmic cries of a woman in distress, juxtaposed with the terrifying 1981 Ramsay Brothers release, ‘Dahshat’ (Shock), you have got something exceptionally intricate and phenomenal.
The follow up to their 1980 horror film, ‘Guest House’, directors, the Ramsay Brothers, once more use their film as a showcase for the phenomenal Hindi music veteran Bappi Lahiri and his contribution to cinema. Bappi Lahiri is a music director whose fierce presence catapulted the use of disco and electro-pop in Hindi cinema.
This veteran maestro is shameless when it comes to his love and application of luminous disco compositions. At first it seems extremely unconventional to have music like Lahiri’s contributing to any horror film, but considering the classic nature of the B-Horror genre, Lahiri’s presence is nothing short of perfect. It’s the proper juxtaposition of the hip gold and neon-electro pop disco melodies and B-Horror film that create that signature timeless cult affect.
The dark arduous intro of Laxmikant Pyarelal’s ’Aa Jaane Jaan’ reminds us that, after all, this music is from an outcast of a genre. But, when the lovely and signature vox of Lata Mangeshkar catch your ear, you wonder whether or not that intro was intended for the satisfaction of maintaining the film’s intended effect. Between the melodic instances of screams, and abrasive brass instruments mixed with trendy 70s disco and electro-pop, you’re reminded that these are musicians who love to make music, and quality music at that. Unable to understand the lyrics of the album’s majority, it’s safe to say that the beautiful sound of Hindi only adds to the eclectic, elaborate, and without a doubt fascinating subgenre of music that can be admired by a global audience.
With four sides, this 2 LP set can only be described as a brutal collection of bloody tracks seducing you with its extremely technical and melodic mastery, punctuated by the sporadic sound affects of eerie creaking doors, subtle orgasmic cries- well, not exactly subtle- hauntingly expressive lyrics, and eerie suspense. Finders Keepers has compiled the works of India’s most accomplished musicians, composers, and songwriters, and filtered this work through a B-Bollywood-Horror strainer of sorts.
Finders Keepers proves that no matter how under-budgeted a film is, no matter how obnoxiously cliché and comical the plot and no matter how overzealous the acting, the music of the B-Horror film always seem to shine through its artistic counterparts.
Lucky for you, Sound Colour Vibration presents this clip of the Ramsay Brothers’ 1981 film, ‘Dahshat’ (Shock). In true Bollywood form, this music and dance number to Bappi Lahiri’s ‘Meri Jaan’ is nothing short of an epic production of B-Horror glory.
Bollywood Bloodbath
Sound of Wonder Series
Finders Keepers Records
Concept, all tracks and liner notes were compiled from Andy Votel
Track Listing
- Rajesh Roshan – Sanata Theme
- Hemant Bhole – Sansani Khez Koi Baat
mp3 - Bappi Lahiri – He Met Me In The Guest House mp3
- Bappi Lahiri – Meri Jaan
- Laximikant Pyarelal – Aa Jaane Jaan
- Ratandeep Hemraj – Birha Ki Maari Koi
- Bappi Lahiri – Dance Music
- Sapan Jagmohan – Aji Kahan Gum Ho
- Laxmikant Pyarelal – Theme Music
- Usha Kanna – Jeena Hai To Jee Bhar Hanslo mp3
- Marjaban Too Kuthe Part 1 – Rajesh Roshan
- Sapan Jagmohan – Sote Sote Adhi Rat
- Hemant Bhole – Ab Kahan Jayenge Ham (Sad)
- Sonik Omi – Main Theme From Andhera / Darwaza mp3
- Bappi Lahiri – Disco Title Music From Dahshat
- Rajesh Roshan – Superman, Superman
- Khemchand Prakash – Dance Music
- Bappi Lahiri – Aafat
- Laxmikant Pyarelel – Chal Re Doli
- Rajesh Roshan – Marjaban Too Kuthe Part 2 mp3
- Nadeem & Shravan – Dekho Dekho Dekho Magar Pyar Se
- RD Burman – Bindya Tarse Kajra Barse
Order a copy HERE
