Tag Archives: Indian film industry

Film Music’s Shift from Melody to Sound Design

Music composer Kaushal Inamdar recently posted an insightful Twitter thread about how film music had changed in recent decades. The crux of the point he made was that technological advances in music production had shifted the focus of music directors from music composition to sound design. He argued that creating interesting sounds was becoming more important than creating beautiful compositions. The singer’s voice, which traditionally delivered the main melody in film songs, had become just another element in the sound the composers were looking to create. As Inamdar described it – “More and more singers sang less and less”.

A few years ago. I had talked about these concepts a little bit while comparing the music of the films “Raanjhanaa” (2013) and “Lootera” (2013). I had found A.R. Rahman’s music for “Raanjhanaa” (2013) to be more textured and intricate but had enjoyed Amit Trivedi’s “Lootera” (2013) more since it was more melodic and hummable. To borrow Inamdar’s words, while “Raanjhanaa” (2013) had more interesting sounds, the composition was better in “Lootera” (2013). For me, “Lootera” (2013) has stood the test of time significantly better than “Raanjhanaa” (2013).

The shift from a melody-centric to a sound-centric music-making process was enabled by technological advancements in music production. Synthesizers and software programs made it easy for music directors to create new sounds (even those mimicking live musical instruments, like the sarod in “Mitwa” (“Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna”, 2006)), use newly recorded or pre-recorded samples and loops, and manipulate and assemble them into a song. Recording songs live in a studio with singers and session musicians coming together became obsolete. Composers increasingly channeled their creativity in creating catchy hooks and danceable rhythms that drew listeners in. Melody – the crucial element of film songs that creates a lasting impact – took a back seat. Music production became less organic and reminiscent of assembly-line productions. 

The use of technology to improve the sound of film music is not a new phenomenon. The celebrated “Been” theme of “Nagin” (1954) created by Kalyanji Virji Shah (of Kalyanji – Anandji) on a keyboard instrument called clavioline is among the earliest uses of electronic music in Hindi films. Kalyanji – Anandji (and their brother Babla) went on to push the boundaries of film music with their use of synthesizers. The use of the mini Korg synthesizer in “Yeh Mera Dil Yaar Ka Deewana” (“Don”, 1977) was a significant milestone and made electronic instruments more popular than ever before. R.D. Burman was another music director who embraced technological innovations in music production. His efforts to use technology to improve the sound quality of his recordings set him apart from his peers.

However, the biggest technological shift in music production happened in the 1990s with the rise of A.R. Rahman. As sessions musician Shankar Indorkar points out in Gregory Booth’s book “Behind the Curtain: Making Music in Mumbai’s Film Studios” – “He’s the one who changed [the sound and the production process of film music] because if you see Roja [1993], there’s hardly any acoustic instrument and hardly any Indian instrument also. And that was his first picture.”. Rahman’s pioneering use of sampling in music production was poignantly described by Indorkar through a personal experience:

It is important to note that Rahman himself cannot be held responsible for the erosion of melody from film music. While his sound design gave him an edge, his biggest strength was always his ability to create exquisite melodies. Lesser composers could emulate Rahman’s use of technology to produce music but could not match his music-making genius. Technology became a crutch for them. The changing tastes of music listeners also caused sound design to be prioritized over melody. As attention spans of music listeners reduced, the demand for instant gratification increased, leading to the proliferation of songs with repetitive and catchy hooks. In the 2010s, as songs started losing their place as storytelling devices in films, melodies were replaced by dance numbers that could be used to promote the film. The rise of hip-hop also served to extricate melody from Hindi film songs.

A.R. Rahman himself lamented about the disappearance of melody from film songs in a 2014 interview. On being asked to comment about Amit Trivedi and Sneha Khanwalkar as “offshoots of the ARR movement”, the maestro said – “They have their own sound, I like what they do but it’s also important to have that classic film melody in your repertoire. That’s missing nowadays, which is sad. Like something Laxminkant-Pyarelal employed or what Nadeem-Shravan did. The bread and butter songs.

While melody has been the soul of Hindi film music since its inception, it cannot necessarily be equated with quality. Even the “classic” era of Hindi films had plenty of terrible songs. Also, musical genres like hip-hop and electronic music are not melodic but are enjoyed by millions of listeners across the globe. It follows that the loss of melody does not represent a loss of quality; it represents a change in the character of film music. There is no denying the fact that this shift is leaving many Hindi film music lovers disappointed. However, it can be argued that their disappointment stems not from the poor quality of today’s music as some of them claim but from a misalignment between their tastes and what’s on offer. While many melodic songs have been recorded in the past decade – “Phir Le Aaya Dil” (“Barfi!”, 2012), “Sawaar Loon” (“Lootera”, 2013), “Yeh Moh Moh Ke Dhaage” (“Dum Laga Ke Haisha”, 2015), “Agar Tum Saath Ho” (“Tamasha”, 2015), and “Ae Watan Watan Mere Aabad Rahe Tu” (“Raazi”, 2018) to name a few – there has also been an rising number of songs that may not be bad but are not very melodic, like “Chaar Baj Gaye Party Abhi Baaki Hai” (“F.A.L.T.U”, 2011), “Teri Keh Ke Loonga” (“Gangs Of Wasseypur”, 2012), “Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai” (“Khoobsurat”, 2014), “Kar Gayi Chull” (“Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921)”, 2016), “Aisi Dhaakad Hai Dhaakad Hai Aisi Dhaakad Hai” (“Dangal”, 2016), “Coca Cola” (“Luka Chuppi”, 2019), and the songs of “Gully Boy” (2019).

It remains to be seen if this shift is permanent or if melody stages a comeback at some point in the future. Also, will Hindi film music listeners warm up to this trend eventually or move on to greener pastures (non-Hindi film music or independent music)?

For more on this topic, check out this video:

Anand Bakshi’s Generation-Spanning Work

[Starting this week, we’ll re-publish here the Bollywood Retrospective series published in DNA blogs. This post was originally published here.]

This post is based on a question posed a few years ago on Twitter by film historian Pavan Jha, a passionate follower and chronicler of films and film music. The question – “Name the 5 pairs of father-son composers for whom Anand Bakshi has written lyrics”. It’s a fantastic question because it gives us a sense of how extensive Anand Bakshi’s career was. Anand Bakshi’s long career is indicative of compromises he had to make along the way (quality may have suffered at the expense of quantity) but more importantly, it speaks to his ability to connect with the common man over several generations and his success in adapting himself to changing times.

Here are my picks of Anand Bakshi’s songs for the seven father-son composer pairs he worked with out of the 3000+ songs he wrote for Hindi films:

S.D. Burman and R.D. Burman

Anand Bakshi had debuted in 1958 and proven his mettle earlier with films like “Jab Jab Phool Khile” (1965) and “Devar” (1966), but he had to wait till 1969 for an opportunity to work with S.D. Burman. It is well known that R.D. Burman played an important role in the music of “Aradhana” (1969) – he was credited as Associate Music Director – and one wonders if the younger Burman had anything to do with picking Anand Bakshi for the first time for S.D. Burman. Anand Bakshi went on to work with S.D. Burman in many other films including “Jugnu” (1973), “Prem Nagar” (1974), and “Chupke Chupke” (1975), but couldn’t quite match Aradhana’s success. My pick from Aradhana – “Kora Kagaz Tha Yeh Man Mera”:

Anand Bakshi’s body of work with R.D. Burman is far richer than that with his father. It contains bona fide classics like “Kati Patang” (1970), “The Train” (1970), “Amar Prem” (1971), “Hare Rama Hare Krishna” (1971), “Namak Haram” (1973), “Aap Ki Kasam” (1974), “Ajanabee” (1974) and “Mehbooba” (1976. I consider “Amar Prem” to be the pinnacle of their partnership. Although I am in awe of the powerful lyrics of “Chingari Koi Bhadke”, my pick from the film is “Kuchh To Log Kahenge” because of the deftness with which Bakshi Saab took a song of compassion and transformed it into an unflattering commentary on society.

Roshan and Rajesh Roshan

Roshan was one of the big-name music directors to work with Anand Bakshi early on in his career but they worked together on just a handful of films. “Devar” (1966) was the only film in which the two enjoyed a measure of success. My pick from “Devar” is “Baharon Ne Mera Chaman Loot Kar” because it’s one of the few songs in which Anand Bakshi challenges the average Hindi film music listener with limited knowledge of Urdu while keeping his trademark simple core intact.

Rajesh Roshan’s only Filmfare Award came in a film for which Anand Bakshi wrote lyrics, “Julie” (1975). My pick though is from a film which came the next year “Tumhari Kassam” (1978).  “Hum Dono Milke Kagaz Pe Dil Pe” belonged to a category of Hindi film songs Anand Bakshi did very well in – the conversational romantic duet. As with other songs in this category penned by him, Anand Bakshi keeps the lovers’ exchange light-hearted, flirtatious, and very real.

Kalyandji – Anandji and Viju Shah (son of Kalyanji)

After almost a decade of a rather unremarkable career, it was Kalyanji – Anandji who gave Anand Bakshi a blockbuster hit record with “Jab Jab Phool Khile” (1965), and almost overnight transformed him into the industry’s leading lyricist. I am not particularly fond of the album but I am clearly in the minority. The film’s music was very popular and with its range of themes and genres, it had something for everyone. My pick from the film is “Ek Tha Gul Aur Ek Thi Bulbul”. Contrived as the situation is, I think Anand Bakshi does a masterful job of telling the film’s story in three verses.

In terms of popularity, “Mohra” (1994) and “Gupt” (1997), would surpass anything else Anand Bakshi wrote for Viju Shah. At the age of 64, Bakshi Saab managed to write something as juvenile (some may say crass) as “Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast”. We could see the song’s lyrics as an unnecessary compromise by a senior lyricist or we could marvel at an old man’s ability to read the pulse of a generation far removed. My favourite Viju Shah – Anand Bakshi coming together, however, happens in the lesser heard “Tere Mere Sapne” (1996) with its two outstanding romantic duets “Kuchh Mere Dil Ne Kaha” and “Mere Piya Maine Jise Yeh Dil Diya”.  My pick – “Mere Piya Maine Jise Yeh Dil Diya”.

Chitragupt and Anand – Milind

There isn’t a lot to choose from when it comes to Anand Bakshi’s lyrics for Chitragupt – just six songs from two obscure films “Aadhi Raat Ke Baad” (1965) and “Angaaray” (1975). In fact, I came upon those songs only while writing for this post. My pick is Lata Mangeshkar’s ghazal from “Aadhi Raat Ke Baad” – “Mera Dil Baharon Ka Woh Phool Hai“.

Anand – Milind did 10 films with Anand Bakshi but nothing really clicked. The duo could not really get the best out of the aging lyricist. My pick of this combination is an OK melody but to be honest, I picked it for the resplendent Madhuri Dixit. The song – Kumar Sanu and Sadhna Sargam’s “Kitna Pyar Karta Hoon” (“Phool”, 1993).

Anil Biswas and Utpal Biswas (part of Amar – Utpal)

Anand Bakshi worked with Anil Biswas when he had yet to make a mark and the composer’s career had begun to wane. They collaborated for less than ten songs. My pick is a chirpy, big-band song sung by Geeta Dutt – “Aa Dil Ki Baazi Laga” (“Jasoos”, 1957).

The roles were reversed when Bakshi worked with Amar – Utpal, consisting of Amar Haldipur and Anil Biswas’s son, Utpal Biswas. Bakshi was one of the most sought-after lyricists at the time and Amar – Utpal were struggling. Their first collaboration together, “Shahenshah” (1988), went on to become their most memorable work. My pick from the film is its title song – “Andheri Raaton Mein Sunsaan Raahon Par”.

Shiv – Hari and Rahul Sharma (son of Shivkumar Sharma)

Shiv – Hari worked with Anand Bakshi in 5 of their 8 film albums, including the hit soundtracks of “Chandni” (1989) and “Darr” (1993). My pick is from their last film together – “Tu Mere Samne” (“Darr”, 1993).

Rahul Sharma, a santoor player like his father Shivkumar Sharma, worked as a music director for only one film – “Mujhse Dosti Karoge” (2002). It was perhaps inevitable that he collaborated with the legendary lyricist – “Mujhse Dosti Karoge” (2002) was produced by Yash Raj Films, the banner that trusted Shiv – Hari with as many as 6 films, 3 of which featured Anand Bakshi. Unfortunately, Rahul Sharma couldn’t meet the high standards set by Shiv – Hari. My pick from the film – the lovely duet by Udit Narayan and Lata Mangeshkar – “Andekhi Anjaani Si”.

Nadeem – Shravan and Sanjeev – Darshan (sons of Shravan Rathod)

Nadeem – Sharavan did just two films with Anand Bakshi. Bakshi Saab’s advancing age and the disruption in Nadeem – Shravan’s career due to Nadeem’s legal troubles (he was named accused in T-Series’ Gulshan Kumar’s murder) meant that they didn’t work together after “Pardes” (1997). But what an album “Pardes” was! The film had many good songs and deservedly won Nadeem – Shravan a Screen the award for Best Music Director. My pick is the mellow love ballad sung by Kumar Sanu, “Do Dil Mil Rahe Hain”.

Anand Bakshi’s work for Sanjeev – Darshan came in the last two years of his life when he was a spent force, although still prolific and with the ability to produce a sporadic good song. I’d rather not pick a Sanjeev – Darshan song.

Instead, I will end the post with a song Anand Bakshi wrote for his most significant collaborators, Laxmikant – Pyarelal. About half of all the film songs Anand Bakshi ever wrote were for LP. Theirs was a hit-making team as they churned out one chartbuster after the other – “Do Raaste” (1969), “Aan Milo Sajna” (1970), “Mehboob Ki Mehndi” (1971), “Bobby” (1973), “Anurodh” (1977) and “Karz” (1980) – to name just a few. My pick is “Aadmi Musafir Hai” (“Apnapan”, 1977) which won Anand Bakshi the Filmfare award for Best Lyricist and is an apt song to revisit the beautiful memories the people’s poet left behind.

[Updated on 21/7/2021: The original article featured five father-son pairs who worked with Anand Bakshi. This post adds two more pairs – Anil Biswas and Amar – Utpal, and Shiv – Hari and Rahul Sharma.]

1930s Hindi Film Music – Now Available on MySwar

We had promised in February to complete the task of cataloguing the first decade of Hindi film music, starting with “Alam Ara” (1931), by April. We’re happy to report that the task is done right on time. MySwar now lists all the films released between 1931 and 1940 and their songs.

At this point, the data for film names, song listings and music related credits is complete to the extent that we have information for them. We have updated credits for directors, actors, banners for some of the films but this remains a work in progress. The task of linking to YouTube and iTunes (where available) is also in progress.

We hope you find this effort useful and invite any feedback you may have.

Thoughts On Amit Trivedi’s “Bombay Velvet”

This is not a review of Amit Trivedi’s Bombay Velvet. I loved the album to bits and wanted to share a few things that stood out for me as I was listening to it:

  1. It struck me as a rare album in that it is so thematically consistent. We hear Neeti Mohan’s voice in six of the fourteen songs and other than two songs, the album is based on jazz music with a few modern embellishments in places. We have had this kind of consistency in Hindi film albums before, of course, but such albums have been few and far between. Also, this is the first time a Hindi film album has dedicated itself to jazz-based genres. We must commend Anurag Kashyap for his vision and guts to stick to his vision and Amit Trivedi for delivering to the vision in style. Guts? Yes, guts because when was the last time you heard an album that did not mix up an assortment of pop, Sufi, a variety of folk and light classical sounds with a base of “filmi” music? Heck, if a music director doesn’t deliver all those sounds in an album, he/she runs the risk of being seen as using “templatized” music. Bombay Velvet runs the same risk. Also, guts because jazz-based music is far from mainstream and may not be an average Indian listener’s cup of tea.
  1. I think it’s time to officially declare Neeti Mohan a diva. What a voice! Smoking hot texture, incredible range and although it ought to be a given for singers at this level – boy can she hold a tune! I am surprised that people continue to look at her as an up-and-coming singer. For example, when we reported that she was the most prolific female singer of 2014 with 42 songs, a common reaction was “Really?!”. It’s high time we acknowledge her as a premier singer in the Hindi film industry. I’ve heard parallels drawn between Mohit Chauhan/Rockstar and Bombay Velvet/Neeti Mohan but in my opinion, that comparison is unfair to Neeti. Neeti makes Bombay Velvet her own in a way that Mohit Chauhan could not with Rockstar, which was an A.R. Rahman album all the way. (Highly subjective opinion. I would understand and accept vehement disagreement.)
  1. There have been rumblings of the sameness of Amit Trivedi’s music in the past few albums. I countered those criticisms here. His out-of-tune singing has also been criticized. This is a fair criticism, although his signing, at least on recorded songs, has not annoyed me as much as it has others. Perhaps he’s heard criticism of his singing and other than a couple of harmonies (I think it’s him), he’s not sung in the album! With this tour de force of an album, my guess is that complaints about the sameness of his music will ease. For some time.

2014 Bollywood Music Review

2014

2014 was not a great year for Hindi film music. The Indian Express carried a bleak piece discussing the death of Hindi film music in 2014. We have observed the rise of multi-composer albums and albums riding on one or two item songs for a few years now. This trend continued in 2014. The other thing that happened in 2014 was that there were fewer solid, single-composer albums to offset the mediocre ones. For example, while 2014 had only Queen, Haider and Highway as the hit-the-ball-out-of-the-park albums, 2013 had Lootera, Kai Po Che, Raanjhana, Aashiqui 2, Yeh Jawani Hai Diwani, Bhaag Milka Bhaag and D-Day.

Moving on, to digging deeper into the year. 2014 saw the release of 142 films with 982 songs between them.

The year saw the passing away of Chandrashekhar Gadgil, Juthika Roy, Raghunath Seth and Sitara Devi. It also saw influx of new talent. Some of the notable debuts of 2014 were:

The most prolific composers in 2014 were:

  1. A.R. Rahman – 7 films, 68 songs
  2. Himesh Reshammiya – 4 films, 46 songs
  3. Shankar – Ehsaan – Loy – 4 films, 24 songs
  4. Vishal – Shekhar – 3 films, 24 songs

Since Rahman’s list includes 2 Hollywood films (“Million Dollar Arm” and “The Hundred-Foot Journey”) and 3 Tamil films dubbed in Hindi (“Kochadaiiyaan”, “Lingaa” and “I”), we have included 4 composers in this list instead of the usual 3.

The most prolific lyricists in 2014 were:

  1. Kumaar – 22 films, 60 songs
  2. Irshad Kamil – 9 films, 55 songs
  3. Amitabh Bhattacharya – 8 films, 39 songs

Kumaar tops the lyricist list again. As we had mentioned last year, the disconnect between how much he gets talked about and the volume of his work output is stark. Other than Irshad Kamil and Amitabh Bhattacharya switching spots, this list is the same as last year’s. The stability of this list gives us an indication of how much value Bollywood places on these three lyricists.

The most prolific male singers of 2014 were:

  1. Arijit Singh – 62 songs
  2. Mika Singh – 37 songs
  3. Himesh Reshammiya – 22 songs

If 2013, with Aashiqui 2, was Arijit Singh’s breakout year, 2014 was the year he established his dominance. With 62 songs, he ruled the charts and the airwaves. Despite murmurs of “over-exposure”, Arijit has managed to appeal to both the masses and the critics. Mika Singh’s presence on this list shows Bollywood’s continued and, for us, inexplicable, fascination for his voice and/or the genre he represents. Singer Himesh Reshammiya can thank music director Himesh Reshammiya for all the songs he got to sing in 2014.

The most prolific female singers of 2014 were:

  1. Neeti Mohan – 42 songs
  2. Shreya Ghoshal – 32 songs
  3. Shalmali Kholgade – 21 songs

The careers of Neeti Mohan and Shalmali Kholgade continue to be on the rise and deservedly so. Shreya Ghoshal is still placed comfortably although she seems to have lost a bit of her sheen. It is very clear that Sunidhi Chauhan is getting fewer offers, although, as you’ll see below, the songs she does sing are well-liked.

Finally, based on a combination of ratings and number of well-rated songs in 2014, the most popular artists of 2014 were:

  1. Most popular composers: A.R. Rahman, Shankar – Ehsaan – Loy, Vishal – Shekhar, Pritam
  2. Most popular lyricists: Amitabh Bhattacharya, Gulzar, Irshad Kamil
  3. Most popular male singers: Arijit Singh, Vishal Dadlani, Papon
  4. Most popular female singers: Shreya Ghoshal, Neeti Mohan, Sunidhi Chauhan

Bollywood Musicians Bare Claws

Is there something off in the Bollywood music industry? Consider this:

  • Shaan on Twitter about Rahat getting off easy – Rahatbhai found rahat pretty easily with DRI and FERA. A Fine and he’s fine to carry on. Wonder if we were in Another Country in similar situation, would it be as easy ??!!
    My take: Shaan’s public outburst is a little disappointing. Even if there is some truth in what he is implying, he comes across as a bitter, fading star. I think he’s better than that.
  • Abhijit alleges a music industry racket involving producers (Mahesh Bhat), music labels (Tips) and Pakistani musicians (like Rahat). He doesn’t exactly spell it out but with the Rahat arrest incident in the backdrop, is he insinuating money laundering?
    My take: Sour grapes. Abhijit is a long time Pakistan baiter who feels that his career went south because of Pakistani singers. He is wrong. His career went south because of singers better than him – Pakistani and Indian.
  • Sonu Nigam roasts Shankar Mahadevan, A.R. Rahman, Himesh Reshammiya and Adnan Sami at GIMA awards. Sample this song sung to Maa’s tune –
  • Main kabhi batlata nahin, Kharaj (low note, sa) se mooh phirta hoon maa,
    Gaane do mujhe uche suron me, Neeche ke sur se darta hoon main maa

    My take: Good fun! And by the looks of their laughter, it looked like Shankar, ARR and Adnan Sami were having fun too. Or was it a case of “Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho…”?

The Importance Of Cover Songs

In an interview with Rajeev Masand, Asha Bhonsle rips apart Sunidhi Chauhan’s rendition of ‘Duniya Mein’ in a song called ‘Parda‘ in ‘Once Upon A Time in Mumbai’. And she does it with a beatific smile lighting up her face. She’s a spirited old lady alright and I admire her verve and energy.

However, I disagree with her insinuation – the lady conveys a lot without saying much – that original songs should be left alone. As long as the following two conditions are met, I think cover songs are great:

  1. Credit – The original should be given credit and given credit prominently.
  2. Creative interpretation – It’s no good if the cover version tries to be just like the original.

Here is why I think cover songs are important:

  1. It helps listeners discover new artists and genres and it helps artists span across generations. I bought my first Bob Dylan album because I wanted to find out what the original ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ sounded like (I heard the Guns N’ Roses version first). Every time a new artist covers a Dylan song, a new generation discovers Dylan.
  2. Cover songs unearth hidden gems. My guess is that Asha Bhosle’s reaction would have been more favourable if one of her lesser-known songs had been covered. It took the cover version of ‘Kya Janoon Sajan‘ in “Dil Vil Pyar Vyar’ for me to discover the beautiful original sung by Lata Mangeshkar. (In fact, all songs in ‘Dil Vil Pyar Vyar‘ are wonderful covers of R.D. Burman songs.)
  3. Sometimes, just sometimes, the cover can improve on the original. If I say, ‘Black Magic Woman‘, ‘All Along the Watchtower’ and ‘The Man Who Sold the World’, do you think Santana, Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana; or Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan and David Bowie? Can you think of a world without these cover songs?
  4. Cover songs help new artists stand their ground while they establish themselves. Not my personal favourite, but ever heard of a band called Boyzone?

We don’t have enough cover songs in India. I am not talking about plagiarized music (copying without permission/credit), renditions with no creativity (artists trying to sound like the original) or remixes that add gobbledygook (or jhankaar beats or whatever) to the original. We have plenty of those. I am talking about musicians taking an original with permission, imparting it their voice and style and making it their own.

Why India Survives

Two incidents in my apartment complex resulted in a lot of debate related to religion and language in India:

1.     Religion – It was discovered that two maidservants who identified themselves with Hindu names were actually Muslims. The residents’ association banned these individuals from the complex since their integrity was now in question. Debate:

  • Did the maidservants choose to identify themselves as Hindus because they were finding it difficult to find jobs otherwise? If this was the reason, were they justified in passing themselves off as Hindus?
  • Did their religion have anything to them being banned?

2.     Language – Some residents expressed frustration that some of the apartment staff (security, reception, etc.) spoke only the local language, “Kannad”. Someone suggested that all staff should know Hindi, the national language of India. There were a couple of quick responses – a) it is Kannada, not “Kannad” and, b) Hindi is the official language of India, not the national language. Debate:

  • Shouldn’t Hindi speaking people living in non-Hindi speaking places try to learn the local language?
  • How do we solve the communication issues across India? There were three options that came up during this incident – English, Hindi and Sign Language!

I am sure debates like these happen all across India every day. I think our community was lucky that this debate was civil (keeping my fingers crossed). I realize not every community is this lucky. I am only reassured by the text in one of my favorite books on India, “India After Gandhi” by Ramachandra Guha. To anyone who has ever wondered why India stays united, I suggest they read at least the prologue and epilogue of this book. The prologue is titled “The Unnatural Nation” and frames the paradox and challenges that define India. The epilogue is titled “Why India Survives”. For the most part, Guha steers clear of a definitive answer to this question. But in the last line of the book, he offers this:

So long as the constitution is not amended beyond recognition, so long as elections are held regularly and fairly and the ethos of secularism broadly prevails, so long as citizens speak and write in the language of their choosing, so long as there is an integrated market and a moderately efficient civil service and army, and – lest I forget – so long as Hindi films are watched and their songs sung, India will survive.

Go out there, catch the latest Bollywood movie, sing the hits and help India survive.

5 suggestions to recognize film music’s “extras”

Ever wondered who played the violin in Yeh Ab Aap Sochiye (Mere Sanam); the sitar in Deewana Hua Baadal (Kashmir Ki Kali); the harmonica in Ye Dosti (Sholay); the accordion in Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega (Sangam); the guitar in Ilaya Nila (Payanangal Mudivadhillai); or even who whistled in Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (Nau Do Gyarah)? I researched and haven’t found any record yet. It appears that we have failed to recognize and give credit to hundreds of instrumentalists and other artistes who have contributed to film music over decades.

However, recent releases (not sure when the trend started), seem to be doing a very good job of giving credit to people involved in the creation of the music. Inserts are getting meatier and provide a lot of information, including the lyrics and credits for the musicians and the recording crew. Sharing credit is a no-brainer because all parties win. Contributors get recognized; creators (labels, producers, music directors) appear nice because everyone likes people who share credit publicly and visibly; consumers get information. Can anyone, who has seen “Om Shanti Om”, forget the credits for the movie? My esteem for Farah Khan went up several notches for giving the credits a human touch. In general, movie folks seem to do a better job at sharing credit than their music industry counterparts.

While the detailed inserts are welcome, I have the following suggestions to offer:

  1. Standardize the nomenclature and format for sharing credits on the inserts, so that finding information becomes easy and intuitive.
  2. Make the insert available in digital form.
  3. Provide information on a per song basis.
  4. Add an audio clip that gives credit to all contributors. When compared to inserts, audio clips would be more easily accessible, more closely associated with the music and less likely to be misplaced.
  5. Throw in a “Making of the music” audio or video. Credit for individual contribution is nice but what people really love are stories of collaboration between the musicians. A great example is the “Making of Veer Zaara” CD.

The extra offerings should not come at extra cost. Instead, they should be provided as incentive to people who buy music, by using DRM type technology or providing online access based on a key/code provided during purchase.

Is Bollywood Overdose killing Indian music?

I love Bollywood music. It forms about 35% of my music collection, only because I follow four languages, like a number of genres and most importantly – I research and buy music I like and I buy a lot of it. Most Indians find it easy to just succumb to Bollywood Overdose (BO). Although regional music markets face the same onslaught from regional movies, I single out Bollywood simply because it is the largest producer of music in India and has pan India presence.

What is BO? BO is the phenomenon of large sections of Indians being exposed to a handful of Bollywood songs and pretty much nothing else. It results in a populace with stunted musical taste or disinterest in music.

An entire system is responsible for BO – risk-averse Bollywood producers promoting the creation of music they believe will be hit, weary music directors who sell out to make a fast buck or suppress their creativity to play it safe, short-sighted music labels who abandon music lovers with discerning and/or niche taste and build businesses around a large market that is not very picky, a clueless media that refuses to acknowledge a creative world beyond Bollywood and lastly, Indian music listeners who either don’t have the time to explore and experiment or don’t care. (The Indian aversion to paying for music also figures somewhere here but that’s a topic for another day.) Ironically, Bollywood music not only overwhelms other music, it even cannibalizes itself. There are many Bollywood musical gems that do not reach many people simply because all the parties mentioned above don’t do enough to uncover them from the rubble.

An example of BO. I don’t know if you have listened to FM radio stations lately but the last I timed tuned in, I could almost anticipate the next song. What’s wrong with the RJs and radio stations? Can’t they play anything other than film music? Scratch that. Can’t they play anything other than “hit” film music? The other day a chirpy RJ ran an indipop special. She went on and on about how much she loved indipop, interviewed Dr Palash Sen to prove it and went on to play Bollywood staples! The poor doctor must have been squirming in his seat. Clarification, lady RJ – the “indi” in indipop stands not just for Indian but Independent.

Another example. What’s the point of Bollywood shows? Are our movie stars the best dancers in the country? Or is it their lip-syncing talent that brings in people in droves? I have nothing against people who attend these shows  – I have many dear friends who do. I just wish that they display the same (if not more) enthusiasm for the talent of real dancers and real musicians.

Bollywood produces some very good music. However, I refuse to believe that it represents the entire creative prowess of a country with a billion people. Indian music lovers deserve more choice – more artistes, more genres, more musical styles.