If you have been humming Kabhi Kabhi Aditi from Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na or Pappu Can?t Dance Saala or even Say Meow from the latest romcom Golmaal Returns, you are not alone. With 60% of India under 30, everyone ? music directors and writers and lyricists included, are targeting the GenNext like never before. So, you have eminently hummable ? critics will carp they are too simplistic ? tunes and lyrics emanating from Bollywood. Think Right here right now (Bluffmaster), You?re my love (Partner) and Socha hai (Rock On!!) ? the lyrics are kept simple and you can croon them without putting in much of an effort.
In tune with the lyrics, various styles of music are seeping in too, from hip-hop to reggae. While not everyone welcomes this changing trend in Bollywood, fact is from Rang De onwards with its hugely popular Masti Ki Pathshala number, mainstream Hindi film music has not been the same.
According to the music directors, this is mainly because the new age music-composer-directors are willing to explore new trends. But filmmaker Muzaffar Ali rues the fact that there?s no romance in today?s music. Ali, who infused Umrao Jaan (1981) with the most sensuous songs and poetry, says ?the passion is gone? today?s music may be entertaining and funny, but on one level, it?s mindless.?
?Every era comes out with its own technology,? believes music director-composer-playback singer Anu Malik. ?Earlier there used to be less stress in life ? now everything has become noisy. It?s the age of racy and peppy beats. In the pubs and gyms, people want fast and racy beats to burn calories. Life has become very fast. This affects the psyche of a composer,? he adds.
The changing tone
The language of music has become international, targeting the larger spectrum of the world, say industry veterans. Sivamani Anandan, popularly known as Sivamani, a percussionist, says he is more tuned to the tunes than lyrics, feels that the tone of the music has changed over the years as the directors cater to varied tastes of the audience today. ?As a music composer, it?s necessary to know the pulse of what the society wants to listen to,? he adds.
For Malik, music has gone through a transition. With the influence of internet, the world has shrunk further. ?In the 50s, it was RD Burman?s Teesri Manzil, in the 60s, we had the Beatles mania ? they brought in guitars and different sounds altogether. The 90s saw a tech boom, which changed a lot in the world of music. From say 20 trance tunes, now it?s 200 trance tunes that music composers are working on.?
Experts feel that songs are being mixed just to give it a different feel. More English words have entered Bollymusic. ?I did use English words such as ?Hi sexy, hello sexy? 15 years ago,? says Malik. ?But now there are less Hindi words and more English words in songs. I used rappers in Ruk ruk ruk, are baba ruk 18 years ago,? Malik adds. Both these trends ? lines in English and rap music ? still seem to draw listeners.
Music directors admit that adding a few English words makes the song hip. Says Karunya, a playback singer and Indian Idol 2 runner-up: ?Today?s music composers would prefer a young voice who can sing a verse or two in English as it hugely attracts generation-Y, who is, no doubt the target audience. Thus, it has become a prerequisite for a new age singer. For instance, when I perform at corporate parties, I do a Justin Timberlake, a Michael Jackson or a Smooth Criminal for the foreign audience.?
Adds Ritika Shahni, a composer-singer-performer from Mumbai, best known for the peppy number ?Tumse Mili Nazar? from the film Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon: ?Apart from music, at times singers from abroad bring in the influence of a different culture altogether. The change can also be attributed to the young blood ? the new composers on the block, who are introducing new music.?
Will this new Bollymusic last? For some, it has evolved over the years and unless the musicians and lyricists keep pace with this changing trend, what is considered to be fresh and new, will soon become stale. Vijay Anand, a frequent moviegoer and a television host in Hyderabad, believes, ?Songs in today?s movies lack longevity. To be more specific, they can be heard for two years. But after that period, they sound outdated. These songs have a shelf life of two to three years.?
So, where is Bollymusic heading to! Badrinath Mishra, a moviegoer from Delhi opines, ?Today?s music stands in a transition between the exclusive classicism of Javed-Gulzar and the unconventional words of A K Mishra-Prasoon Joshi.?
?Bolly movies revolve around music only. It carries the theme (though it?s not deliberate), Indians sense a concept better when it is melody,? adds Mishra. For Malik, music catches the mindset of Indians well ? youngsters want groovy songs, not something that is outdated. ?If the music is catchy and it has actors such as Akshay Kumar, Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan or even relative newcomers like Emraan Hashmi and Ranvir Kapoor; if it?s a lovely song and Kareena Kapoor is on screen, then the public will go ga ga over it,? he adds.
Now music is not just songs, it?s been transformed into ringtones too. Rues Malik: ?Technology helps as well as it ruins. This trend has come ? this too shall pass.? Till then, enjoy Kabhi Kabhi Aditi and the rest.
Hummable tunes of today?s generation
1 Say meow ? Golmaal Returns
2 Right here right now, Say na say na, Bure bure ? Bluffmaster
3 Zara zara touch me ? Race
4 Kajra re ? Bunty Aur Babli
5 Meter down ? Taxi no 9211
6 Pathshala ? Rang De Basanti
7 Socha hai, Pichle saat dino me, na-na-na-na-na ? Rock On!!
8 Krazzy 4 ? Krazzy 4
9 You?re my love ? Partner
10 Kabhi kabhi Aditi ? Jaane Tu?Ya Jaane Na