Since his film debut in the early ‘90s, Shahrukh Khan has become a familiar face in Bollywood, as India’s prolific movie industry is called. Several of his recent movies, especially My Name is Khan with its American setting, have won attention overseas.
King Khan: Songs from the Films of Shahrukh Khan (released by Times Square Records) collects musical performances by various artists from half a dozen of his albums. Like many Bollywood soundtracks, the music is breathtaking in its sweep and eclecticism, grounded in Indian traditions yet nonetheless pop and contemporary. Tablas, drum kits and turntables can be heard alongside keening vocals and Arabesque string arrangements. Occasionally, the eclecticism goes too far, descending into cruise ship Latin and Carribean sounds. But the many good tracks are highly listenable and entertaining, capturing a bracing melancholy that cuts across barriers of language.
