MUMBAI: Romance in songs from tinsel town has come a long way. From soul stirring tracks belonging to yesteryears, to today's peppy numbers, one thing that has achieved permanence in Bollywood is the transformation of its romantic songs. Whether it the music, lyrics or the singers, each element has brought something different to the table.

In accordance to the era, the lyrics of the song depicted the emotions. It was in the year 1941, that the composer Naushad made his debut. The film 'Patanga' in 1949, based on the backdrop of World War II, had a very famous song 'Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon' which is still played on the radio. Crooned by Shamshad Begum and C Ramchandra the lyrics are penned by Rajinder Krishan. The song talks about how a couple is separated as the husband is on national duty to Rangoon during a time of war and the wife is missing him. The same year witnessed the gothic film 'Mahal', which again had a haunting romantic melody 'Ayega Aanewala' by Lata Mangeshkar. The music for the film was composed by Khemchandra Prakash and was penned by Nakhshab Jaaravchi. It was in 1950 that composer Madan Mohan, made his debut with the film 'Aankhein'. He later went on to compose some amazing romantic tracks in the next decade. Renowned composer duo Shankar Jaikishan also made their debut and they later on went on to compose many romantic melodies in the next decade.

Owing to directors and producers experimenting with various genres of films, including romance, gothic and those with a social message, the era of 1950-1960 brought in a breath of fresh air in music. Untouchability and feudalism were amongst the key issues highlighted at the time, especially in the first half of 1950s. The society demanded change and as always romance was once again the key element in music. Who does not remember 'Jalte Hai Jiske Liye', which was sung by a Brahmin young man, Adheer (Sunil Dutt) to his beloved Sujata (Nutan) who played the role of an untouchable woman in the film. Penned by renowned lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri and composed by SD Burman, the soulful song was sung by Talat Mehmood. The line 'Gaye jaunga yahi geet main tere liye' resonates the everlasting love between the protagonists. This was an era that witnessed a number of romantic songs like 'Pyaar Hua Ekraar Hua', 'Ude Jab Jab Zulfein', 'Dil Ki Nazar Se', 'Aja Sanam' and many others. The decade ended with a magnum opus hitting the silver screen, where a small time female dancer- Anarkali was seen challenging the Mughal Emperor Akbar by singing 'Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya' in the film 'Mughal e-Azam'. With films like 'Pyaasa', wherein the protagonist marries the protagonist, lyricists wrote songs which depicted love as a divine emotion that changed the lives of people. The era also witnessed the renowned romantic track 'Chaudhvin Ka Chand' from the film 'Chaudhvin Ka Chand'. Dominating the ear were composers like Naushad, Salil Chowdhury, SD Burman, OP Nayyar and Madan Mohan, who had a long standing partnership with songstress Lata Mangeshkar. The two later teamed up for several projects. Lyricists like Majrooh Sultanpuri and Sahir Ludhianvi penned lyrics for the melodies. Also singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosale, Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi ruled this era. However, to break in the norm entered Mahendra Kapoor.

The decade 1961- 1970 was again an interesting era with numerous films based on social subjects being released, like 'Guide', 'Khandaan' and 'Kanyadaan', to name a few. A lot of these were against the practices of child marriage, a married woman divorcing her husband and achieving stardom and many more. Romance once again played a very instrumental role in this era. It gave rise to famous songs like 'Gaata Rahe Mera Dil', 'Likhe Jo Khaat Tujhe', 'Tere Mere Sapne', Pukarta Chala Hu Main' and 'Kora Kagaz Tha Yeh Man Mera'. This era also witnessed slightly more flamboyant songs like 'Jana Kaho Pyar Hai Tumse' and 'Aa Ja Re Aa Zara Aa', but lyrics maintained a certain respect for love. The lyrics were beautiful and refrained from objectifying women, despite praising beauty in the romantic tracks. This saw an emergence of eminent composers like Shankar Jaikishan, Lakshmikant Pyarelal and more. Bollywood continued to be dominated by Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosale, Kishore Kumar, Mahendra Kapoor and Mohammed Rafi.

Music in Bollywood from 1971 to 1980 witnessed a paradigm shift, with the emergence of the “angry young man”- Amitabh Bachchan who went around romancing his heroines in fields, boats in Venice and various other locations. Despite living in a society marred with all kinds of problems, the central point of this era remained romance. Musicians like Rajesh Roshan and RD Burman chipped in with their compositions during this time. Romance on screen, in these songs became more flamboyant and shooting in dream locations became more common. The era also marked the debut of one of the greatest lyricist, Gulzar, who later went on to write some of the most romantic hits. Singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosale, Kishore Kumar, Mahendra Kapoor and Mohammed Rafi made their presence felt. Unfortunately, in the mid 1980s, a tragedy befell when Mohammed Rafi passed away, far too early for the Indian music industry.

A number of artistes from the yesteryears faded away between 1981 and 1990, making way for new entrants. Music composer duo Shiv Hari, Nadeem Shravan, Anand Milan and Anu Malik found their way to Bollywood. While one group in Bollywood was still catering to audience which preferred music influenced by the 1970s, the newcomers offered a sort of western influence that gripped the attention of the youth. The era also marked the debut of Javed Akhtar, who later composed many romantic melodies. Singers like Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik and Anuradha Pudwal paved their way to tinsel town. The first half of the 1990s had soulful melodies like 'Dekha Ek Khawab', 'Yeh aha Agaye Hum' and others. The second was all about new faces and new music. By the end of the era, the music industry lost another golden voice- Kishore Kumar.

From 1991 to 2000, most songs featured slightly more vulgar and double meaning lyrics. Take for example 'Sarki Lyo Khatiya', which starred Govinda and Karishma Kapoor. The song became the benchmark for most Bollywood romantic songs at the time. That is not to say there were no “traditional” romantic tracks. The era still had songs like 'Pehla Nasha', composed by Jatin Lalit. 1993 saw one of the era's most romantic numbers- 'Jaddo Teri Nazar' from the film 'Darr', while 1995 witnessed the release of one of Indian cinema's biggest blockbuster tracks- 'Tujhe Dekha' from 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', which featured Shahrukh Khan and Kajol. The film changed Indian cinema forever, and the song is still an epitome of romance today for many people. The musical blockbuster 'Dil Toh Pagal Hai' came soon after, also changing the idea of romance. On one hand the market had songs with crass, double meaning lyrics, while on the other- it maintained a certain standard of music. Nevertheless the portrayal of love on screen became bold. The era marked the entrance of one of the greatest music composers in the country- AR Rahman. Ismail Darbar was another name that rose to fame with 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', but vanished just as quickly. Singers like Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan and Kumar Sanu ruled the market. Breaking the clutter singers like Sonu Nigam, Shaan, Mahlakshmi Iyer and many more.

2001- 2014 was an epoch that had fewer crass numbers. Composers like AR Rahman, Shankar Ehsaan Loy and Shantanu Moitra became prominent names. The era had some soulful songs like 'Saathiya', 'Pal Pal', 'Tu Bin Bataye', 'Jiya Jale', 'Chand Sirarish', 'Bheege Hont' and many more. Despite having a number of 'item numbers' like 'Kajrare', 'Beedi Jalile' and others, it still produced a number of soulful, romantic numbers. During the period, singers like Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan and Kumar Sanu sang fewer songs, and were eventually replaced by singers like Shaan, Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal and Sunidhi Chauhan. Music composer duo Jatin Lalit parted ways which eventually put an end to the type of music they represented.

Then came Lalit Pandit, who started the trend of tracks like 'Munni Badnam'. The track became a benchmark for musicians like Sajid-Wajid to promote appealing, but unfortunately, vulgar lyrics. There also has to be a special mention of artiste like Yo Yo Honey Singh, who may have not composed tracks like 'Brown Rang' and 'Blue Eyes' for films, but did have an impact on the quality of lyrics penned for romantic tracks. However, songs that did captivate the minds of music lovers are tracks like 'Tum Hi Ho', 'Hum Mar Jayenge' and 'Tera Rasta Choodu Na' rescued the industry from falling into a trap.

Today, Bollywood music is more about beautiful romantic tracks with meaningful lyrics. Hopefully, after a decade when music lovers look back at the music of today's time, they will still consider it beautiful and romantic, and more suited for Valentine's Day rather than for grinding in a club.