SubscribeOut with the Old, in with the New (Music)
As Bollywood is making innovative strides in music, the people who are most affected by the changes are the ones who benefited from mass producing repetitive songs without a hint of creativity in the 1990’s and 2000’s.
Nadeem-Shravan, a popular music duo who were popular in the 90’s to mid 2000’s did produce some music in the past few years, but each soundtrack failed miserably. Their cliche tunes and inability to create music that may sway from songs that were once guaranteed hits have made them incapable of competing with Bollywood’s new string of musicians who have abandoned the old rules and have morphed India’s music scene.
Earlier this week, Shravan (of Nadeem-Shravan) complained that Bollywood music has left behind local sounds, and that Hollywood has been the Hindi movie industry’s biggest influence. Shravan may not have been listening to any Bollywood music these days. In fact, classical sounds, both Muslim and Hindu, have reemerged in Bollywood like never before.
But that may be a part of Shravan’s problem. Along with more classical influences, Pakistan has begun to make a powerful presence in India. He said:
“If a Pakistani artist releases an album or a song with a video, it gets heavy rotation, at the expense of talented Indian artists. We respect artists from every country, but we need to promote our own Hindustani musicians as well.”
First of all, Indian artists are hugely popular in Pakistan, so why not vice-versa? Also, it is sad that Shravan is speaking of competition, rather than unison, especially when speaking from a platform of music, where artists should promote cultural exchange. In a previous post, I wrote that Pakistani artists have stated that they believe their popularity grows when they make it big in Bollywood. Sadly, Shravan frowns on this ground breaking change in Indo-Pak relations.
Shravan, like Nadeem-Shravan’s music, clearly represents sentiments of the past that have evaporated in Bollywood. Not only has Bollywood’s music progressed, but so has the industry’s ideals.
Here’s a song with local flavor that Shravan probably didn’t catch (even though it was one of the most popular songs last year):
Waiting for Mani’s Magic
Mani Ratnam is one director who was able to make films that not only gained box office success, had musical blockbusters, but were also applauded by critics.
His second Bollywood film Roja (he was primarily making Tamil films before) made it to the 10 best soundtracks of all time list by Time Magazine, and his Tamil film Nayagan made it to the All-Time 100 Best Movies.
Here’s a song from the film Roja:
Ratnam’s film Dil Se, which released in 1998, dove into the terror-stricken region of Northeast India. The female lead in the film (SPOILER) was raped by soldiers as a child and witnessed the death of her family. She was also a terrorist– hard to find in Bollywood. The movie also produced one of India’s most famous songs: Chaiya Chaiya. (All of Ratnam’s Bollywood films have music composed by A.R. Rahman.)
Ratnam was able to eloquently address and convey major issues in India that were mostly ignored by the rest of the film industry, But, unlike the more independent film makers, he used Bollywood’s techniques to convey the message, which made his otherwise independent films mainstream. His films had dances, songs, famous actors, and love stories. But, the songs were interwoven in the plot, the scripts made sense and lacked major holes, and the acting was usually impressive.
He didn’t shy away from controversial issues, but embraced them. His stories represented a greater complex situation that were often extremely relevant and real in India. His film Bombay portrayed communal riots in the city through the eyes of a Muslim-Hindu couple. Yuva showed the different facets of India’s youth- some were itching to leave India for the promise of America, and some were ready to change the system by entering politics. The lessons Bollywood must remember from Ratnam’s films are:
1. An original story is a good thing.
2. Producers should learn that serious issues don’t repel audiences.
3. A director’s job is only to think of the artistic merit of the film, not box office potential.
4. Music made for a film is even better when it blends beautifully with the script.
Ratnam’s last Bollywood film, Guru, was a biopic of Dhirubhai Ambani, who was amongst the most powerful and richest men in the world. Although his story is appealing and touching, the film lacked the darkness that his other films usually had. It wasn’t a complete disappointment, but compared to his prior work, was less than stellar. Ratnam wasn’t quite able to find the voice that touched on the chord that connected to the greater issue in India. It was more a rags-to-riches fable and played up Ambani’s story.
His next film, Raavan, is all set to release. But going forward, Ratnam should remember that:
1. Famous actors aren’t necessary for a film’s success.
2. Not every movie needs six songs
3. Be careful not to fall in love with The Bachchans. We know it’s hard, but try and resist. A little.
4. Maybe the films can be a little shorter. Yes, we understand that your films already break many Bollywood norms, but a movie with a length less than two hours would be our favorite new Ratnam standard.
Ratnam’s latest film is an interpretation of the The Ramayana, an ancient epic originally written in Sanskrit. In a major part of the story, the demon, Raavan, kidnaps Lord Ram’s wife, Sita. But in this version, Raavan isn’t so bad, and Sita isn’t so savitry (pure). Here’s the promo:
To be honest: the promo worries me a little. But just a little. I have faith that Ratnam will return to his former glory and teach Bollywood that mainstream films are allowed to have some intellect and originality.
And even if he fails, don’t worry: the music will probably be worth waiting for.
Thank God for Emosonal Attyachaar
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
Where The UN meets Indian Idol
What do The United Nations, A.R. Rahman (the best composer in Bollywood, maybe India), a former Miss Universe, and a Hindi entertainment channel have in common?
A musical reality show, of course! The show is called “Mission Ustaad: Jaago India” (wake up India), which showcases big names in the Bollywood music scene, and has AR Rahman, Javed Akhtar (a lyricist) and Lara Dutta, former Miss Universe and now a Bollywood actress, as judges.
The show’s goal is to unite and enlighten India through music. There will be four teams, and each will be competing to see which team will be able to bring to light many of India’s problems.
The UN has a set of goals, titled The UN Millennium Development Goals, in which India has to complete certain promises by 2015. According to The Tribune, UN Millennium Campaign Director Salil Shetty said:
“If India does not achieve the MDGs by 2015, the world will not achieve them. For the marginalised people of India like the Dalits, tribals and minorities, the Goals offer a real hope to achieve better education, health and livelihood. Mission Ustaad will act as a reminder that time is running out.”
I don’t know if it will work, but it definitely is a noble cause. The kind of outreach these stars have through television is incredible, and if something good can come out of these reality shows (there is a new one almost every month), then I’m definitely for it.
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