India

FILM MUSIC

Along with extremely popular stars, commercial Indian cinema attracts its massive audience through prominently featured songs, and elaborate song-sequences, in virtually all popular films. Although early sound films relied on singing actors, like the stars K. L. Saigal (1904–1947), Noorjehan (1926–2000), and Suraiya (1929–2004), the eventual development of "playback" recording technology isolated the voice and body, creating an offscreen star system of "playback singers" who provide the singing voices of onscreen stars. Among these, the sisters Lata Mangeshkar (b. 1929) and Asha Bhosle (b. 1933) have virtually defined the female singing voice in Hindi cinema for decades; male playback singers like Mukesh, Mohammed Rafi (1924–1980), and Kishore Kumar (1929–1987) were often closely associated with the

leading men for whom they regularly voiced songs. Prominent and prolific music directors such as Naushad, S. D. Burman (1906–1975), and the team of Laxmikant–Pyrelal (Laxmikant [1935–1998] and Pyrelal [b. 1940]), as well as lyricists (often prominent poets), are also familiar to fans and frequently more famous than the actors they support.

Although film songs have been criticized for their impure borrowing of styles (especially in the hands of pop maestros like R. D. Burman, famous for his rock and jazz inflections), they often rely on traditional Indian instruments and song forms (such as the Urdu ghazal and Hindu bhajan ), even as instances of prominently featured electric guitars and disco beats have increased. For a while All India Radio banned film songs in favor of classical music, leading millions to tune in Radio Ceylon, which featured film songs until the national service reconsidered its stance. Dance in Indian cinema also draws on classical traditions as well as the latest Western fads in roughly equal measure. Film songs regularly extend their significance well beyond specific films, and the latest hits as well as evergreen favorites can be heard throughout India as the music of everyday life as well as special occasions. Hit film songs also provide a storehouse of references and allusions for later films, which often evoke familiar lyrics in their titles.

Among the principal attractions of Hindi cinema is the song sequence, commonly referred to as "picturization," which crosses the boundaries between genres. Almost all popular Indian films feature a number of picturized songs, but it is misleading to identify such films as "musicals." Songs rather than films are often grouped by style and narrative function: love songs dominate, but devotional, comic, and patriotic songs all have their place in Indian cinema. A number of the most famous dance sequences in Indian cinema are celebrated for their sheer scale or intricate choreography of dance and camerawork. Some directors have expressed resentment at the unofficial requirement to include song sequences in every film, but others are famous for their ability to creatively picturize songs. Guru Dutt is now legendary for his intricate and highly cinematic song and dance sequences, whereas Yash Chopra initiated a popular trend of picturizing songs in exotic, often European, locations despite the Indian settings of his narratives. Other directors, such as Subash Ghai (b. 1943), are known for wildly comic songs (often allowing the otherwise serious Amitabh Bachchan to cut loose), whereas Mani Ratnam has dared to place his dancing stars among the riot-scarred locations of contemporary political violence.