In an historic achievement over the Independence Day weekend, the SHOLAY Soundtrack originally released 40 years ago, peaked at #1 on the iTunes Store and Apple Music – both in the `albums’ category.  The soundtrack, released digitally in TWO volumes as `SHOLAY: The 40^th Anniversary Collection’ – Vol. 1 & 2, to mark 40 Years since the release of the iconic FILM way back in August 1975, peaked at a towering #1 and #2 on the iTunes `overall’ albums chart (download) as well as the Apple Music (streaming) chart. 

It must be noted that never before has a classic soundtrack peaked at #1 on today’s charts! This is particularly significant as digital being the new format for music consumption has propelled a 40 Year old soundtrack to #1.  The 40^TH Anniversary Collection is an album of all original material from the film and includes over 2 hours of songs and dialogues sequenced in chronological order as it appears in the film.

The `Sholay: 40^th Anniversary Collection’ is released exclusively on Universal Music and is available across digital and physical formats.

Praising showers on the soundtrack, here is what some of today’s luminaries in the world of music had to say:

“Sholay is pure nostalgia ... an R D Burman gift to us...which got its due and still shines like a diamond.” A R RAHMAN

“The music of SHOLAY that released in 1975 was way ahead of its time. It’s amazing that R D Burman created music like that 40 years ago. It has something for every music lover. From the melodious “Yeh Dosti” to the big dance number “Mehbooba Mehbooba”. The combination of R D Burman, Kishore Kumar, Lata ji and lyricist Anand Bakhshi worked like magic. And it’s great that Universal Music is putting out a `40th Anniversary Collection’ album – I’m sure this album will introduce the timeless music of SHOLAY to a whole new generation.”  Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan

“Everything about 'Sholay' is iconic including the music which has become a part of `popular’ culture in India. The soundtrack of the film is R.D. Burman's biggest selling album of his illustrious career”. Adnan Sami

“Sholay will always be a benchmark in Indian Cinema. It is a text book to study dialogue, drama, screenplay, action, editing, music; all packed in one film”. Salim Merchant

“Sholay’s background score was path breaking. New sounds, new concepts were introduced into Hindi Film. The songs of Sholay, though mostly situational reached iconic popularity. “Mehbooba Mehbooba” still plays at every house party or Club. “Yeh Dosti” is the number one song on `Dosti’ till date. “Holi ke Din” blares on loudspeakers every Holi year after year. And who can forget “Jab Tak Hai Jaan Main Nachungi”. Strangely the soundtrack did not have a pure romantic song but “Koi Haseena Jab” had loads of attitude and 70’s verve.” Shaan.

“Sholay is the biggest landmark in the Indian Film industry. Its music transcends time and technology. Panchamda’s stroke of brilliance is seen on every song making the visuals look bigger.  The background score is pure audio listening that conjures up the whole film in front of you. It’s so thoughtful of Universal Music to celebrate 40 Years of Sholay this week! Let’s get nostalgic and drown in the music of Sholay”. Hariharan.

“In respect and love for the legendary composer R.D. Burman I address him as ‘peer baba’. While the film is a classic with variety of songs, my favourite is the tabla in the chase sequence that the music director got played by maestro Shanta Prasad. This reflects the intellectual thinking of a creative genius as R.D. Burman who was ahead of his time. Those days chase sequences had heavy orchestra playing but ‘peer baba’ got a single tabla played in such a novel manner. Salute!” Sukhwinder Singh