Bollywood soundtracks

Where are most movies made? In Hollywood? No way! For many years now India has been the world’s leading movie producing country. Every year a few hundred movies see the light of day in India. This may be a very interesting fact, but it gets even more interesting when one realizes that nearly every commercial movie from India is a musical. It's therefore not surprising that the record industry in India is inseparably linked to the motion-picture industry: practically all records in the Indian charts are in one way or another connected with movies. Furthermore, it is common practice that the music from a movie is released well in advance of the movie itself.

Almost every Indian movie contains elaborate singing and dancing scenes, which throughout the years have resulted in thousands of magnificent soundtracks. Composers with such wonderful names as Rahul Dev Burman, the two brothers Kalyanji and Anandji, Shankar Jaikishan and Bappi Lahiri enjoy great fame in their home country, and female singer Lata Mangeshkar, who has literally recorded thousands of songs, has by now become a sort of national institution. She is mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records as the most frequently recorded voice of all times. Of the male singers, Kishore Kumar is one of the greatest. Many actors in Indian movies have mimed songs that were originally recorded by Kumar.

In our spoilt Western eyes, these Indian movies (and oriental movies in general) seem rather amateurish: lighting is not always optimal, editing (of images as well sound) is often simply bizarre, and don’t expect sophisticated acting! The music scenes, however, are always worth looking at. Dancing scenes of ten minutes or longer are no exception, and the music accompanying these scenes is often absolutely fascinating.

In the thirties and forties, most Indian soundtracks contained mainly traditional oriental music. Gradually, however, more and more Western influences became apparent. Throughout the years this has resulted in a fascinating mixture of styles. Don’t be surprised when you hear a disco beat combined with fuzz guitars, Herb Alpert-style trumpets and authentic Indian percussion, all in one song! In the course of such a song, you may also come across some sugary violins and furious synthesizers. Also, don‘t be shocked when suddenly the disco beat changes to a polka or a Latin American rhythm. Furthermore, quotations from well-known Western songs may turn up in the strangest places. One song from the movie Dance dance (with music by Bappi Lahiri), for example, suddenly changes into Tequila, once a hit for The Champs. Still the music, especially the vocal songs, remains unmistakably oriental.

In India many old soundtracks have by now been re-issued on CD, yet the magnificent, colourful covers show up best in LP format. You won’t find many of these records at your local car boot sale. Specialised shops in larger cities may have some in stock however. It’s certainly worth searching for!
 

Bollywood links

 ◦ More columns/articles/reviews
 ◦ Rahul Dev Burman
 ◦ Showbiz legends: Rahul Dev Burman
 ◦ Bappi Lahiri @ IMDB.com
 ◦ Bollywoodmusic.com
 ◦ The Bollywood Movie Database
 ◦ Bollywhat.com
 ◦ Bollywood @ Wikipedia
 ◦ Bombay Connection