Mera Pyaar Shalimaar: Pancham's Gem of a Soundtrack
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Few Bollywood films open with a golden record disc. Shalimar does, and deservedly so. R. D. Burman’s experimental music encompassing everything from cha-cha to jingalala-hoo, duly complements the exotic undertones of the film.
The film follows the quest of four criminals, each undertaking a heist of the eponymous diamond, to assume the heirship of mafia master Sir John. The premise, inspired by the novel The Vulture is a Patient Bird by J.H. Chase, developed into the Indo-American production called Shalimar. Some panned the film, some considered it futuristic, but the music hardly went unnoticed, getting Filmfare nominees and ranking at 346 in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Starting off with “One Two Cha Cha Cha” in a casino club, the film’s soundtrack builds up a powerful hook. Novice ears would ascribe this song to Bappi Lahiri, but Cha Cha is pure Pancham.
Gunshots cue in the title music. Flanging guitars, pacy percussions and jazzy trumpets roll the opening credits of the film. Typical Pancham, putting rhythm to primacy but never at the expense of melody, which exudes in Anand Bakshi’s romantic ballad “Hum Bewafa”. Considered the signature song of the film, it is seminal for another reason; the recurring motif of “jingalala hoo”.
Tribal music is a recurring motif in the film, as tribals are key characters of the film; the minions of Sir John, continuously en garde to guard the Shalimar from theft.
Hence, the soundtrack is abound with cymbals, bongo-conga riffs and native calls. One quirky song, “Naag Devta”, featuring Rafi, showcases the tribe embalming and deifying a dead man.
Jazz politicises the soundtrack. While tribals are given high pitched alarming cues, the high society thrives are given soft and seductive ones. “Countess’ Caper” and “Baby Let’s Dance” can duly attest. Not to forget the “Romantic Theme” which ably segues from sounding Western to waltz.
En fin, Shalimar’s bestselling soundtrack attracted people to the theatres more persuasively than its stars. Sure, the Dharmendra-Zeenat Aman chemistry was something to look out for, but more important was to unravel the oriental musical mystery behind “Mera Pyaar Shalimar”.
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