Time for some retro ear candy

If the songs from Golmaal aren't your idea of melody, log on to Bombay Production. The online music station will reacquaint you with gems from Hindi cinema's past ufffd from compositions by OP Nayyar and Hemant Trivedi to those by AR Rahman and Vishal-Shekhar. Log on and enjoy

Ever had a yearning for soothing compositions by Khayyam when your ears are assaulted by screechy ringtones from today's Hindi films?

Bombay Production, an online music station, is here to rescue you. A veritable treasure trove of some of Hindi cinema's most loved songs from the 1950s to the 2000s, it streams a selection of songs divided into 14 categories. The verdict? A big thumbs up.

The 14 categories have been created keeping in mind identifiable musical epochs in Hindi cinema. Pick from categories named Ghazals, Rahman, Kishore Kumar (of course), 1950s, '60s, '70s and '80s, and Disco Fever, a homage to the foot-tapping genius of Biddu and Bappi Lahiri.

We checked out each, and came away satisfied. The music buffers quickly, for the most part. Who wants to wait eons for Mohammad Rafi's mellifluous voice to make it to your ears? We've already been through that torture with slow-to-load YouTube videos.

The website design itself is a visual treat ufffd in keeping with the old-world theme, each category has a retro Hindi movie poster feel to it. Click on it, and music starts to play (almost) in a jiffy. Score.

What we did miss, though, were film names to accompany the song playing. Let's face it, we might be able to hum along to Chura liya, but not everyone knows what movie it belonged to. That's an addition that certainly wouldn't hurt.

Another disappointment is the lack of eclecticism in choice of songs. Don't get us wrong ufffd when we clicked on Kishore Kumar, we would have been positively mortified if O mere dil ke chain wasn't available for a listen. But it would be nice to chance upon a couple of lesser-known gems. Something that Bombay Production might hopefully work on as its database grows.

Some song selections are also questionable ufffd Deol fest Yamla Pagla Deewana may be a hit, but does the title song really deserve a place in Today's Top 25?

Refreshingly though, modern-day maestros like Amit Trivedi and Vishal Bharadwaj find a place among the much-loved successes of Anu Malik and Kalyanji Anandji, who have an entire category dedicated to them.

Bombay Production's most user-friendly triumph is its belief in your participation. Want a particular song to feature on the site? All it takes is an email. And if clicking through a bunch of songs to find one that suits your mood isn't your style, you can create your own station based on listening preferences. And we're not even talking about the use of Bombay, not Mumbai, in the title. We like it.