Memories in the Grooves: Stories from Old Bollywood Vinyl Collectors
In a digital world where music comes in megabytes and cloud storage, the warm crackle of a vinyl record playing an old Bollywood tune feels like magic from another era. For a special group of collectors across India and beyond, Bollywood vinyl records are not just about sound—they are repositories of personal memories, cultural identity, and lifelong passion. These collectors find more than melodies in the grooves; they find pieces of themselves, frozen in time. Each record tells a story, not just of the film it represents, but of the person who treasured it. Here are some heartfelt stories from Bollywood vinyl collectors whose lives have been shaped by their timeless collections.
For Ajay Mehta, a retired school teacher in Mumbai, collecting vinyl began in 1969 when he bought his first record, the soundtrack of Aradhana. He saved two months’ worth of pocket money for it. “I still remember holding the cover with Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore smiling at each other. It felt like I had bought a piece of stardust,” he says. Today, Ajay’s collection has grown to over 500 records, many of them original first pressings. But his most prized record is still that worn copy of Aradhana, with a slight warp and a tear on the sleeve. “It reminds me of the first time I fell in love—with both music and cinema.”
Then there’s Rukmini Das, a textile artist in Kolkata, who inherited her grandfather’s collection of Bengali and Hindi film LPs. “He was a gramophone enthusiast and played records every evening. When he passed, everyone took jewelry and furniture, but I took the wooden cabinet with his records.” Rukmini didn’t grow up listening to vinyl, but rediscovering her grandfather’s collection introduced her to the music of Baiju Bawra, Sujata, and Anupama. “These songs became my inheritance,” she says. “I play one record every Sunday and feel like I’m sitting beside him again.”
For some, vinyl collecting is a way of reclaiming lost memories. Vivek Sharma, a software engineer based in Pune, began collecting old Bollywood vinyls after his father passed away in 2015. “My dad loved Guide and Teesri Manzil. We had those records at home when I was a kid, but they were sold off during a house move.” After joining online collector forums, Vivek tracked down original HMV pressings of both albums. “When I finally played Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai, I cried. It was like my father had come home for a visit.” Now, he’s slowly rebuilding the soundtrack of his childhood, one record at a time.
In Delhi, Rekha Malik runs a small vintage boutique where a corner is dedicated to her Bollywood vinyls. “Customers come for sarees, but they stay for the music,” she laughs. Her collection, built over 20 years, features both mainstream and obscure soundtracks. “I once found a rare vinyl records pressing of Mera Naam Joker in a junkyard wrapped in plastic with broken toys. That moment was like unearthing buried treasure.” Rekha believes each vinyl has its own personality. “You can hear the love, the scratches, the dust of time. It’s real. Streaming may be convenient, but vinyl has soul.”
Some collectors stumbled into the world of Bollywood vinyl by accident. Danish Khan, a photographer from Lucknow, was exploring an old bookstore when he saw an album cover of Shree 420 with Raj Kapoor walking in the rain. “The artwork drew me in. I didn’t even have a record player at the time, but I bought it.” That impulsive purchase led to a full-blown obsession. Today, Danish has more than 300 Bollywood records and has started a photo series documenting collectors and their collections. “Each collector I meet has a story that goes beyond music. Vinyl becomes a part of who they are.”
Even younger fans are getting involved. Shruti Nair, a 27-year-old filmmaker from Bengaluru, began collecting records during the pandemic. “I got bored of playlists and wanted to slow down my listening experience.” She now owns over 50 records, mostly soundtracks from 1970s parallel cinema like Ghar, Koshish, and Bhumika. “Vinyl helped me reconnect with the kind of stories I want to tell in my own films. The process of flipping a record, reading liner notes, and hearing the music unfiltered—it’s deeply inspiring.”
What unites all these stories is a shared sense of intimacy and nostalgia. Bollywood vinyl records are not just relics or collectibles; they are emotional time machines. They carry the laughter of forgotten evenings, the silence of lost loved ones, the joy of discovery, and the comfort of routine. In the grooves of these records are layered the voices of Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar, and Lata Mangeshkar—but also the quiet hum of turntables spinning in living rooms filled with stories, memories, and love.
In a world driven by speed and convenience, these collectors remind us that some things are worth slowing down for. And that sometimes, a scratchy old record playing a familiar tune is all it takes to bring the past beautifully, vividly, back to life.
