Over the last few years, the world has witnessed many improvements in Bollywood: in the quality of films, in the acting, and especially, in the music.

Today, innovation and creativity in Bollywood are best seen through its music industry. Sure, there were mavericks such as A.R. Rahman or Shankar Ehsaan Loy who ventured away from the typical songs. But until 2006, all Bollywood music was monopolized with a handful of singers. Some singers had a heavy voice which automatically designated for the sad songs, some had high pitched voices so they sang mostly love songs, and some singers, such as Asha Bhosle and Sunidhi Chauhan, sang the dance numbers.

In the 90’s, music didn’t compare to the amazing compositions of previous decades. The music industry slowly progressed over time, but it wasn’t until 2006 when things started moving fast.

Bollywood films started featuring Pakistani artists in their  soundtracks. It had never been done before on such a consistent basis, or in mainstream films. (Check out my opinion editorial on the subject.) The effect was amazing. Music directors ventured out of their comfort zone. Even lyrics had much more meaning to them and weren’t predictable as they used to be.

Since then, there has been a huge increase in songs with heavy classical Muslim and Hindu sounds, something that was missing in the 90’s. New singers were given opportunities to sing. South Asian classical elements and Western sounds were combined. Of course, mainstream typical music was created, and were extremely popular. But that didn’t deter music directors from trying something different.

Finally, Filmfare (similar to The Oscars) recognized this difference last year by awarding Best Female Playback Singer to two women who sang in a classical raaga style, but with western influences. Progressive films aren’t getting the same treatment, but hey, music is a great start.

Here are some of the best songs that best exemplify this new wave of music:

Iktara, Wake Up Sid, Composed by Amit Trivedi

Rasiya, Kurbaan, Composed by Salim-Sulaiman

Emosonal Attychar, Dev D., Composed by Amit Trivedi

Raat ke Dhai Baje, Kaminey, Composed by Vishal Bhardwaj

Sasural Genda Phool, Delhi 6, Composed by A.R. Rahman

Aaj Din Chadeya, Love Aaj Kal, Composed by Pritam

Rehna Tu, Delhi 6, Composed by A.R. Rahman

Tu Jaane Na (Unplugged), Ajab Prem ki Ghazab Kahaani, Kailash Kher

Sajda, My Name is Khan, Composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy

Sapnon Se Bhare Naina, Luck By Chance, Composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy

The entire Dev D. soundtrack, Composed by Amit Trivedi