Time to face the music?
Of all the people I know, I am the least likely to write about this topic, but I want a reality check. Since most of my (few!) readers are Indian, they are quite possibly in a good position to comment. And the topic is Recent Indian (especially Hindi) Film Music.
Is it just me, or has the quality of musical output in fillums improved tremendously these past few years? Or do I just have more patience to listen to more of it and the opportunity to experiment? But from the long dreary dry spell of the '90s (save the occasional DTPH or 1942 type relief), these last 5-6 years with the Veer Zaaras, Bunty aur Bubblys, Lagaans, DCHs etc. are bubbling over with innovativeness, energy, and..gasp...that elusive concept..MELODY!
It's not all remixes and jhankaar beats (which are a wonderful trend too, imho!), it's somehow the revival of classic elements in music. The qawwali has been back for a while, the slow haunting melodies with basic instruments (think Parineeta), the infusion of classical aspects into mainstream music (think Raincoat, Kisna, and in Tamil music, Ivann, Parthiban Kanavu) the readiness to experiment with singers and music directors is evident and has sprung on us the genius of Ismail Darbar, Shreya Ghosal, Shantanu Moitra, etc. instead of same old Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik.So..am I just waking up too late, or do you feel this distinct but welcome change? Or is it all a biased view and will I feel a few years later that that music is fresh and beautiful, and man, what were they thinking in 2005 when they made that sucky music?!
Is it just me, or has the quality of musical output in fillums improved tremendously these past few years? Or do I just have more patience to listen to more of it and the opportunity to experiment? But from the long dreary dry spell of the '90s (save the occasional DTPH or 1942 type relief), these last 5-6 years with the Veer Zaaras, Bunty aur Bubblys, Lagaans, DCHs etc. are bubbling over with innovativeness, energy, and..gasp...that elusive concept..MELODY!
It's not all remixes and jhankaar beats (which are a wonderful trend too, imho!), it's somehow the revival of classic elements in music. The qawwali has been back for a while, the slow haunting melodies with basic instruments (think Parineeta), the infusion of classical aspects into mainstream music (think Raincoat, Kisna, and in Tamil music, Ivann, Parthiban Kanavu) the readiness to experiment with singers and music directors is evident and has sprung on us the genius of Ismail Darbar, Shreya Ghosal, Shantanu Moitra, etc. instead of same old Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik.So..am I just waking up too late, or do you feel this distinct but welcome change? Or is it all a biased view and will I feel a few years later that that music is fresh and beautiful, and man, what were they thinking in 2005 when they made that sucky music?!
posted by RTD2 at 10:45 AM
10 Comments:
Yes and no. Music was in a slump in the 80's and picked up in the late 80s and early 90s with the romantic movie genre springing back (QSQT, Ashiqui etc). But yes, I think there has been quality music practically every year for the past decade. I can come up with a top 20 list for every year without difficulty. However, I agree that more and more mainstream music is changing in terms of singers and music arrangements and that is a good thing. I also don't agree that Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik weren't part of melodious music. Unless you inherently don't like them, music from films like Phir Teri kahaani Yaad Aayee surely qualifies as melody.
To add to Parth's comment - I like the music from 60 and 70s ( in fact even older stuff) and some from 90's and now. The 80's were terrible. BTW - There are many movies in the 90's with good music - Kabhi Haan K N, Jo Jeeta W S, Roja, Bombay...come to mind. Also, I feel now the music recording quality is much better ... ever hrd the old songs and wished they were recorded better! Finally, I do agree that Rehman, Shankar trio and some of the newer guys like Moitra and Darbar are producing excellent music.
ur observation is real apt aarti ... from the stupid govinda no.s like 'aa aa ohhs' to 'piyu bole' ... from the 'sexy sexy' no. to the 'prem ki varsha' no. ... i feel along the way bolly-music's picked up the two main elements it had lost enroute ... meaningful lyrics n the classical touch ... that makes music so much more appealing ...
btw ... age might be a factor too, who knows !! ;-)
I will agree with parth on this one , that in each year no matter what decade at least a bunch of movies have been released which had good music. Some of them might have been pure masala (like Govinda songs) but they were immensely enjoyed (atleast by me) and are still remembered by people.
If only good songs are remembered y do people still remember and yes hum "Sexy sexy.." or "aa e oo o...."
Good lyrics and melody are a must but sometimes all you need is some catchy tunes to start dancing. :-)
Alka yagnik is still around and sings..its her voice that has gotten honed over the yrs .Ofcourse the music directors make tonnes of difference ...for example where are kumar sanu, anuradha paudwal and S.P Balasubramaniyam now ....
Ofcourse Rehman ushered a new age of music ..the age where people experiment with new sounds, instruments and voices..There have been plenty good songs every yr but now there's more variety ...from classical to qawali to disco/pop/techno/rap/remix ..the works ...
plus there are new , unique, more melodious voices ..I think today's directors have some very good talent to choose from : sukhwinder singh, shan , sonu nigam, udit narayan, K.K, Kunal ganjawala etc and then theres shreya goshal,shweta pandit, sunidhi chauhan, jaspinder narula , richa sharma etc etc
so ..I think we are headed towards greener times music wise :-)
Hey Rt,
I'm in full agreement with you - and frankly, I think that some (but not all) of this change can be traced back to Rahman, and "Roja" from 1994. He broke the path for others to follow, like Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and others...At least that's what I think.
I ditto your thoughts on hindi film music here. Personally i feel, the 80s and early 90s (that almost stretched the whole of 90s) were atrocious where hindi film music is concerned. Not just film music, even choreography (except for the likes of Jo Jeeta... and 1942... occassionally).
And it wont be biased to say that, while indipop is witnessing a slow demise, the hindi film music scene has never been better in recent times (we are of course not counting 60s and 70s here - that was certainly the golden era).
But yes, like movies, the sensibilities of the people in general has changed, so no more run-of-the-mill trash can be dished out to the general public. I guess they have tasted blood already! So yeah, i love the taste of blood... and hope it gets better! :D
Wow..fabulous responses people! Parth, of course I knew u'd pick on me for the Alka Yagnik-Kumar Sanu comment..I never said they sucked, I said they were ubiquitous that's all! I think SD, Tarun, Meenal..u're right..the industry needed some impetus to change. And yup..love the jhatka Govinda numbers, G, but also love the lyrical melodies that Shradha talks about..And ya, Aparna good point about Indipop losing its crazy momentum!
Hey Aarti! This is Robyn, I don't have a username (not yet, anyway). I finally checked out your blog and I am so impressed...I am seeing a whole new side of you. There you were encouraging ME about writing more, and I didn't know I had such a poetic soul right across the hall from me! And now you're in Oregon! Ore-GONE!! But I'm going to keep reading your blog because I think it is "fabulous" and a bit "zany" also...and I think I just may be inspired to start writing my blog again. Stay tuned. It'll have to wait until I have internet...I'm at the library right now. There is a guy playing the invisible drums right next to me...I am not kidding! He has his headphones on and he's a one-man silent band...gotta love Akron randomness.
The quality of music has gone up as has the quality of lyrics:)
Listen to Kasak, Virudh, Yahaan for some more nice offerings! Try Fuzon: Saagar and Salam Namaste;)
my first post on ur blogs:) I am back from India... expect more in coming daysQ!
Post a Comment
<< Home