In the 1950′ through the 60’s, many Muslim actors would often change or hide their names to conceal their religion. Ironically, this is also when “Muslim” films surged, and were amongst the most popular and memorable films of the era. These films didn’t just have Muslim protagonists, but were rich with Islamic culture and the Urdu language.

Dil hi to Hai was one of the biggest hits in the early 1960’s. The film starred two of the most popular actors of that generation– Nutan and Raj Kapoor,  who played Muslim characters on-screen, although they were Hindu in real life. Their religious background had no role in the story. It was a comedy with a heavy emphasis on music.

The film was an example of the fact that Muslims were a part of Indian society as much as Hindus were. The film did amazingly well, and the music is still amongst the most memorable from that era.

The films Umrao Jaan and Pakeezeh were about tawaifs, or courtesans, who performed traditional dances for their male audience, called mujras. The mujras originated from Mughal courts, where they were performed for Mughal leaders. Mujras were not only a major part of Muslim heritage, but of the history of India. These two films, and many with similar themes, were rich with Urdu poetry. The female leads in these two films are remembered as two of the best roles portrayed by women in Bollywood.

Here is one of the most famous songs from the 1981 film, Umrao Jaan, where actress Rekha is performing a Mujra:

Films like Bahu Begham and Chaudhvin ka Chand similarly displayed clothing, language, and other cultural aspects of Muslims in India.

After the heavy usage of Muslim culture in films in the 1950’s through 80’s, there was a slow decline in any diversity in films. By the 1990’s and early 2000’s, the once flourishing Islamic culture in Bollywood films had all but vanished. Eloquent Urdu was replaced by everyday Hindustani (a combination of Hindi and Urdu), and character names were chosen from the most typical of Hindu names.

1990’s to mid 2000’s were some of Bollywood’s darkest times, when creativity was scarce and risks were rarely taken. Artistic merit was lost in films, and so was any hint of diversity of religions. Ironically, this is also the period where the most famous stars were Muslim, but rarely played their religion.

In 2000, there was some glimmer of hope. There was a growth of films centered around Islam, but sadly, the films would often be about terrorism or communal riots. Take Dev, for instance. Fardeen Khan and Kareena Kapoor both followed the Islamic faith, but the film was about communal riots in Mumbai. In Fanaa, the characters again were Muslim, but the main actor, Aamir Khan, was a terrorist.

After the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai in 2008, a slew of films with Muslim protagonists released, such as New York, Kurbaan, and My Name is Khan. But again, all these films had a subject matter revolving around terrorism. Before the attacks, there were many like Veer Zaara and Refugee, which had the backdrop of India-Pakistan tensions.

It’s great that Bollywood no longer ignores political and social issues, but the message that is sent is troubling as well. Much of the Hindustani music, language, and culture has Muslim roots, so why not bring back the beauty of the films of bygone eras and make films with families by acknowledging this fact without tying the culture to terrorism?

What’s important to keep in mind is that Bollywood films are hugely popular in the Middle East, including Afghanistan and Pakistan. Although Muslim culture varies in different regions, it’s still a pity that these regions no longer see the eloquence of Islamic culture in Bollywood films, without the usual terrorism or violent undertones.

Of course, there are some filmmakers who dare to venture away from commercial Bollywood. Vishal Bhardwaj is one of Bollywood’s best and most sought after filmmakers. His  critically acclaimed film Maqbool took place amongst the underworld in Mumbai. The film is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and is dark, beautiful, and bold, and ripe with Islamic culture. In an interview with Filmfare, Bhardwaj, who is Hindu, told the magazine that “I love the Urdu language. I love the tehzeeb and the rishton ki nazakat (delicacy of relationships) which is a part of Muslim culture.”

The one place where Muslim heritage has revived is in Bollywood’s music. This aspect is comforting, but avoiding films with Muslim characters is not only detrimental to society, but also to filmmakers who are losing out on the artist merit of the culture.

As Bollywood moves into a new progressive era, it needs to take a few lessons from the movie industry’s roots.

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):

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