Is Hindi film music, which takes the biggest pie of the music industry in India, getting better or worse over the years?

Music has always been the soul food of the Hindi film industry, often creating hits or flops out of the tunes that marked the story.

The creators of the music - singers, lyricists and composers have however formed only the background score, while the actors and directors hogged much of the credit. Hindi film music has evolved in quantum leaps since the 1950s, experimenting and innovating not just for commercial success, but for art's sake too; creating a genre that currently rules the entire music industry in India. The players within the space

Some argue that the creation of alternative media along with the decimation of traditional Indian film music has produced an interesting business and artistic environment coupled with new-fangled artistes chipping in from far away pockets of the country, while others point to issues like plagiarism and the lack of a sense of poetry that is taking its toll on the music.

The advent of the Internet and the rising popularity of world music (among other things) have led to the shrinking disparity between western and eastern audiences and artists, resulting in a much more homogenized notion of what music actually should sound like.

Lyrically speaking

Many consider the 90s as the decade that spelt doom for the breed called lyricists as there was no lyrical value in music churned out during this time. Many consider the south Indian 'dubbed' music ushered in the industry as a fatal blow. Lyrics, earlier regarded as the essence of film music, started to play second fiddle to the tune. Composer and lyricist Piyush Misra agrees, Poetry is on a downfall and people do not understand the nuances. Urdu writing and understanding seems to be pass?©...   Pointing to the proliferation of Bhojpuri, Hinglish and English words in songs nowadays, yesteryear composer Omi Sonik says, Lyrics today have stooped to mere rhyming words. Earlier, the lyrics of the song were written first and the melody was woven around it. It is vice versa today. The tune is ready even before the lyrics are written and then the words are twisted to fit into the mould of the tune, killing the essence of the track....

Film and music analyst Rajiv Vijaykar explains, Though lots of the older melodies were mediocre, it was excellent singing, brilliant poetry and great visuals that remained in the memory of the masses. But today, diction and language have gone for a toss. This era is more of confusion and compromise....

But there are a few lyricists who talk about the brighter side of Hindi film music today. Says lyricist Neelesh Misra, The music scenario in my opinion has become much better. There is innovation in the style of lyrics. Even veteran lyricists like Gulzaar are reinventing themselves, interspersing English words in his work like �Personal Se Sawaal Karti Hai' in the song �Kajrare'. People are coming from different walks of life and the only requirement for this job is talent....

Also, the audience has so much more choice. It is only talent and no famous surname that will help you survive in the industry. The initial doors may be opened for you if you have a great lineage but you have to carve your own niche to stay in the race for a longer run,... says Neelesh. Even Farhan Akhtar veteran lyricist Javeed Akhter's son had to prove his mettle before the audience accepted his singing prowess. The audience does not accept you arms wide open just because of your famous last name,... he points out.

Add veteran lyricist Sameer, Bollywood is definitely going the better way which explains the reason why its popularity is soaring so high. There is so much new talent that is floating around and unheard of avenues are opening. Also, talent is no longer restricted by geographical boundaries. This generation is more focused and hard working....

Tuned in

If the 70's saw R D Burman leading the music brigade with his ever-hit melodies along with Laxmikant Pyarelal, in the 80's, people were grooving to Bappi Lahiri's disco beats. The 90's saw A R Rahman leading the pack, opening up the audience to a taste of western music sensibilities. Rahman along with Pritam, Vishal-Shekhar and Shankar Ehsaan and Loy is the new gang that is making the major chunk of the music produced.

Composer Shamir Tandon says it is a matter of evolving the tunes to fit the changing generations. But the old songs had their charm. Their recall value is much more than the new ones even for the current generation," he points out. But Raju Singh, who has composed for television as well as cinema, says the experimentation and exposure to world music that has shaped Hindi film music has helped the industry. Amit Trivedi who won accolades for his recent work in films like �Aamir' and �Dev D' says, Music today has become better in terms of the experimentation that is happening. Technology is the extra hand that helps musicians to enhance their creativity. Even the audience is ready to embrace the new genre of music that is more globalised in its appeal. Technology is also allowing easy access to music from across the world. It has given birth to so many genres that were unheard of, opening doors for a mixed bag of musicians....

The veterans however are not so happy. Music, in terms of commercialisation, has scaled the peaks of success, but somewhere has failed to retain the sobriety and sanctity of the golden era, they say. No longer are silver, golden or platinum jubilees of the music celebrated, today, a grand music release greets the release of big-budget films whose recall value does not exceed a month. Songs are churned out for immediate gratification.

Rues Sonik, Music today is to be seen and not to be heard. It is impregnated with west- influenced stunts which hardly survive for a week. The sense of music was suppose to be God-gifted but today it is technologically driven....

Adds Vijaykar, Songs today are not even connected to the story line. The story of the movie may revolve around a rural family but a song shot in Switzerland with western influenced music is a must. Songs today are a post production gimmick. From sound quality to the vocals, everything can be modified....

Piyush Misra agrees, Bollywood music is definitely seeing a downfall. Once in a while, there is a Sneha Khanwalkar who scores an �Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye' or a Vishal Bhardwaj who impresses with the music score of his films. But otherwise, the music has become superficial and has lost its soul. Noise is being sold in the name of music....

Playing it back

The Mangeshkar sisters monopolised the era of 60's-70's along with Mohamad Rafi and Kishore Kumar. The 80's heralded a herd of new singers into the industry. Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan and Kumar Sanu dominated the scenario with their vocals. The 90's saw Sonu Nigaam, Kay Kay and Shaan coming into their own. No longer the preserve of the classical singing elite, voices as diverse as Kailash Kher, Rekha Bharadwaj and Javed Ali are today getting opportunities to flaunt their talent.

Earlier, it was difficult to break through the monopoly of the established singers. It is only after their era passed, that the  newcomers got their chance  The problem however is with consistency. Most of them are one song wonders and slip into oblivion,... quips Neelesh Mishra.

Alka Yagnik who has been in the industry since the early 80's and has seen it evolving says,Today, there is a complete change in the scenario, there are reality shows and singers are made stars even before they deliver. It is instant stardom which goes as quickly as it comes, and every month we have a new singing star where the previous ones fade away. New voices are accepted wholeheartedly to the extent that even sub standard ones get recognition that they don't deserve. Due to technical advancements, singers' voices are worked on and the tonal quality is technically enhanced. Earlier, what we sang was the final output but today the voice is worked on after being recorded and although the singer has no knowledge of sur and taal, the final output sounds great....

She adds, There is too much of music in the market and much of it is sub standard. The music is very beat oriented and has stayed on because it sells. The actual melody or music of substance has taken a back seat, where melodious and traditional music is not considered �in' and termed as boring. There are too much of western influences where the lyrics are barely audible because there is too much of sound. Once in a while, there are some melodious numbers. However, the ratio of melodious songs has come down drastically. But I believe this is a temporary phase which will change and the strength of melody will come back....

Singer Richa Sharma adds, There are just too many singers around, some of whom are really talented but some are just flukes. They don't have the experience or knowledge and even before they prove their mettle, they act big. Also there are very few singers who refuse to compromise and wait for good music to come their way....

Singer Abhijeet Bhatacharya, who has been in the industry since the 80s, is also not very happy with the current scenario. He adds, There's a revolution on in the music scenario now. It can be termed as 'revolution', but there is no music in it. Everything is done by the machines, it's no more about creative composing. The latest music has too much of techno sounds and less of music. For me, it's no longer music, it' just sound. And, the exposure this music gives is so much, that there is hardly any difference between a flop song and a hit song. It is all about pumping in a song and turning it into a hit by playing it 100 times on a radio station or on TV.

Revolution in the industry was brought about by R D Burman, A R Rahman. But after Rahman's sound experiments with machines, everyone started working on sound. That's why everything we hear today sounds very similar to our ears....

The creators of the music - singers, lyricists and composers et al - also rue the fact that while the money is better than earlier years, they are being deprived of their rightful share of revenues that accrue from the diverse platforms that are emerging. Still an unorganised sector, the fields are driven by individual initiatives, with very few artistes coming together to form a collected opinion.

The creativity meanwhile continues to prosper undeterred. For better or for verse, Hindi film music continues to bloom.

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