Sticking to the Rhythm

A ary film being screened this week pays tribute to the shuttered Rhythm House, Mumbai’s iconic music landmark

There is an interesting manner in which Aliya Curmally describes the people who gave customers recommendations at Rhythm House, the legendary musical store that shuttered in 2015. Curmally, producer of The Last Music Store, a documentary on the erstwhile Kala Ghoda landmark, calls each of them a “human Spotify”. “You discovered music by asking people who know more about the subject than you did. You’d ask for one song and get 10 recommendations,” she says about the pre-streaming services era, when looking for new albums meant relying on word-of-mouth information or browsing at a store, instead of depending on algorithms.

Megha Ramaswa and Aliya Curmally

The film will be screened this week as part of a documentary festival called Lights Camera Music. Curmally tells us that the project, which Megha Ramaswamy directed, is a tribute to those who made Rhythm House possibly Mumbai’s most famous music destination. Her family owned it, and she has fond memories of spending time there as a kid, looking at records, and realising how important they were. When her family decided to shut shop, she tried to convince them against it. It didn’t work. Technological advancements had changed how listeners consume music in such a drastic manner, that it didn’t make financial sense to continue operations any longer.

The Last Music Store is her way of keeping memories of the landmark alive, through interviews with people who worked there. “I wanted to create a memoriam to the amazing times they had selling music,” Curmally says, adding that the film is not just meant for those who can recall their own experiences of Rhythm House. “Anyone who understands loss and nostalgia will like to watch it.”  

On: July 9, 9 am (available till July 16)
Log on to: The Royal Opera House Mumbai page on YouTube

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