Death to the Bandit
About Death to the Bandit
Death to the Bandit is a short vocal composition performed by Pakistani Qawwali maestro Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The track appears as the 23rd entry on Bandit Queen, Vol. 51, a compilation released on January 1, 1995, under the Oriental Star Agencies Ltd. label. The album belongs to a series of soundtracks associated with the 1994 Hindi-language film Bandit Queen, directed by Shekhar Kapur, though the extent of Khan’s direct involvement in the film’s original score remains undocumented in available sources.
The track spans 42 seconds and adopts a devotional or semi-classical vocal style characteristic of Khan’s broader Qawwali repertoire. The recording format is digital media, consistent with the label’s late-20th-century distribution practices. Oriental Star Agencies Ltd., a UK-based record company specializing in South Asian music, produced and distributed the volume as part of its extensive catalog of Khan’s work. No detailed credits for accompanying instrumentalists or producers are publicly verified for this specific track.
Bandit Queen, Vol. 51 forms one installment in a multi-volume series that repurposed Khan’s existing recordings—some originally unrelated to the film—for commercial release. The album’s connection to the film’s narrative or thematic elements is not explicitly clarified in official documentation. Khan’s contribution to the project aligns with his wider career as a prolific exponent of Sufi devotional music, though this track’s lyrical content and musical arrangement deviate from his longer, more elaborate Qawwali performances.
The brevity of Death to the Bandit distinguishes it within Khan’s discography, where extended improvisational pieces predominate. The track’s title suggests a thematic link to the film’s central figure, Phoolan Devi, but no confirmed lyrical transcription or translation exists in public records. Oriental Star Agencies Ltd. released the volume during a period of heightened international recognition for Khan, following his collaborations with Western artists in the early 1990s.