Kalyanji, Anandji

Kalyanji V. Shah and Anandji V. Shah were two small town brothers who lucked out to become two of the biggest incidental music composers to jam sitars in Bollywood, India, the largest commercial film industry in the world. During Bollywood's Golden Age in the 50s and 60s, the traditional Indian family drama gave way to the Masala (mixed spice) film, a particulars brand of brownsploitation filled, as the liner notes entice, "with Kung-fu, gunfights, car chases, loose women, badass hoods in smoke-filled opium dens and of course the good guys." This collection of never-been-released music from the original motion pictures, unearthed from a Bollywood bungalow, delivers just that promise. The brothers combine the rhythms of their native Rajasthan with the grooves that came vibing Eastward from America and Europe to kick up the wildest and funkiest corn you ever bought for a lark. Curried with additional drum tracks by DJ Josh Davis, the pieces preserve their essence of unbelievably tacky sexiness. It's hard to pick favorites from a menu so prime and juicy, but "Ganges A Go-Go" and "Punjabis, Pimps & Players" have to be right up there. As a bonus, most tracks are opened with splices of dialogue from old movies, and accents are always funny.