After the golden era of Hindi film music in the 1950s and 1960s, things began to go down and by the time the 1980s arrived, film music rarely offered anything melodious to the listeners.
The death of the three titans of the industry namely Mukesh, Mohammad Rafi and Kishore Kumar and the changing themes of the films ensured that melody took a backseat and lovers of good music continued to hear the golden oldies, the “gems” that shine brighter with each passing year. There was a dearth of new icons.
However, at the turn of the decade came a long-awaited breath of fresh air with the heartwarming music of Aashiqui in 1990 which took the entire nation by storm and people could just not stop listening to the album or humming its various songs. Each one was a marvel. Melody was back in Bollywood and how! Nadeem-Shravan, the duo who had created this magic, were one of the most successful music directors of the 1990s till mid 2000s. Singers like Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, Abhijeet, Alka Yagnik and Kavita Krishnamurthy emerged as the vibrant voices of this decade of soulful songs. Nadeem–Shravan ruled the industry, creating one musical track after another, all equally haunting and charming, delighting those who had given up hope of ever hearing anything that did not hurt the senses. Following Aashiqui came Saajan, Deewana, Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke, Barsaat, Raja Hindustani, Dhadkan, Kasoor, Raaz, Andaaz and many others. Till 2005, they carried on weaving their spell on music lovers within and outside India.
With the arrival of the new millennium, a revolutionary change took place in the music of the film industry. Its doors opened to all kinds of voices, to innumerable music directors. The emergence of so many new talents changed the definition of Bollywood music. The vivid variety of melodies and lyrics of today are in tandem with the international music scene oozing freshness and zest. And moreover, the new breed of musicians and the audience are open to trying out and hearing new sounds, which has given birth to many new talents such as Vishal-Shekhar, Shankar-Ehsaan-loy, Amit Trivedi and of course the maestro — AR Rahman.
Each new voice and each new style opened newer vistas, catering to every individual’s interests. Adding to the charm of Indian voices, Pakistani singers have contributed a lot towards enriching the music industry. A unique cultural flavour and accent in their singing has lent greatly to the changing scenario of Hindi film music in the new millennium.
The ghazal, however, seems to have almost vanished from Hindi films. The demise of Ghazal King Jagjit Singh is indeed an end of an era, an era of soft, mellow music that brings out the beauty of Urdu poetry and the essence of romance. Tumko dekha toh yeh khayaal aaya from Saath Saath and the lovely compositions in the film Arth (Tum itna kyon muskura rahe hoIJ, Jhuki jhuki si nazar, Tum masarrat ka kaho ya issey gham ka rishta etc) are classic compositions.
But there is consolation in the fact that the Sufi influence in Hindi film music seems to have come in to stay. It has been around now for quite a few years and is still going strong. Songs like Ya ali from Gangster, Khwaja mere khwaja from Jodhaa Akbar, Mitwa from Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna and Noor-e-Khuda from My Name is Khan are shining examples of the success of Sufi melodies. Sukhwinder, Kailash Kher, AR Rahman, Richa Sharma and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan are among the leading voices of Sufi singing.
Mohit Chauhan, Mika, Jaaved Ali, Shilpa Rao, KK, Neeraj Shridhar and many more have gained popularity besides noted singers like Shreya Ghoshal, Shaan, Sonu Nigam and Sunidhi Chauhan. Though things seem to be looking up for various genres of music by being incorporated in film music and the variety of voices is refreshing, there still seems to be something missing. Sweetness, quietness and melody, the three basic qualities which can endear a song to one’s heart, seem to be present in very few songs. Melodies of the recent Aashiqui 2 are indeed like a breath of fresh air for music lovers. There is a lot of variety in the film music of today. But the beautiful and meaningful lyrics and the eternally haunting tunes of the 1960s remain unsurpassed. And it seems they always will remain so.