SHUBHAM DASGUPTA
Bhonsle, respectively, in the“ Caravan” classic,“ Piya Tu Ab to Aaja” in 1971. Breath was used as a rhythmic filler between verse portions that stunned music composers. As if Asha’ s sultry voice was not enough, R. D. Burman’ s thick, gravelly, frenzying“ Monica, oh my darling” changed the definition of music overnight. Silence makes room for sound to conquer, which was clear from the low crooning of“ Piya tu...” taken over by powerful drums. R. D. Burman’ s mannerism from this song returned in songs like“ Mehbooba Mehbooba” from the film,“ Sholay”. The fact that it remains an ageless masterpiece, is proven by Pritam’ s take on the R. D. Burman smash hit, on the track“ Parda” from the film, Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai in 2010.
Synthesizers, discotheques and Bappi Lahiri were the uncontested rulers of the 1980s. A lanky Bengali fellow named Mithun Chakraborty made girls mad with his pelvis-thrusting performance in the song,“ I am a Disco
Dancer”, from the film“ Disco Dancer” in 1982. Every time the song ended, Mithun fans made the video tapes rewind just to get the feel of the groovy bassline, a rolling Djembe collaboration and, not to forget, the wowing footwork.
Bappi Lahiri brought disco to India and the first of the sophisticated digital sound effects were heard in the song. Playback singer Vijay Benedict garnered international fame due to this song. Mithun became a known name in erstwhile Soviet Union and China awarded the soundtrack.
Lyrics became hugely objective, with poetic elements degrading to simple man-woman affair from the mid-80s and the early 90s. Judging from the raunchy compositions that were neither futuristic, nor having a whit of the lustre of the Golden era of music, it was a dream to expect returns from a film that launched debutante actors, actresses, playback singers, film directors and even music composers. But“ Aashiqui” deserved the miraculous success. Nadeem- Shravan’ s“ Saanson ki zarurat hai jaise” sung by Kumar Sanu in the 1990 film revolutionised the music scene that was dimming behind the calibre of Kishore Kumar and Md. Rafi of the bygone era. The Kumar Sanu- Anuradha Padwal duo became an instant hit. Sanu still lives on the history of Aashiqui becoming the bestselling album of all time in India with about 15 million copies sold. Naushad had once praised the composer duo as he said,“ They are popular because their tunes are good.” Indeed, Nadeem- Shravan brought back the melody of the 60s and combined it with the candid approach of the 90s to create a new style.
Asha Bhonsle, in her interactions with the audience on many occasions, had shared her experience of working with a young guy with long hair playing a keyboard, beside a drummer. Judging from the minimalist arrangement for a studio accommodating a legend like Bhonsle, the singer was demoralized, but a young A. R. Rahman told her,“ Amma, sing!” Asha sang, somehow, and the moment she listened to the mastered version of“ Rangeela Re”, she was dumbstruck, wondering what this“ computer kid” can do with music. A. R. Rahman’ s first Hindi film,“ Rangeela” in 1995 won him widespread acceptance.“ Rangeela Re” catches attention as Asha hums on till the sound of a lightning striking( used as a beat), compels listeners to sit up and take notice. The song even has a rap sequence by child artist Aditya Narayan, featuring in the film alongside Urmila Matondkar. Rahman introduced the quintessential touch of digital audio workstations. The history thus created, has crossed international borders and now, in an exclusive interview to NDTV, The Black Eyed Peas front man Will. i. am has mentioned Rahman’ s influence on his work, adding that Asha Bhonsle is his“ hero”.
The millennium came and the Roshan family presented the greatest actor-cum-dancer of Bollywood, Hrithik Roshan, through the film“ Kaho Na Pyar Hai”, and particularly through the song,“ Ek Pal Ka Jeena”. A singer with a husky voice was never considered appropriate for playback singing until music composer Rajesh Roshan decided to tap into Lucky Ali’ s talent. Before Hrithik starts doing his wavy moves, the drum-kicks lead to an addictive, bohemian environment similar in feeling to that of the famous“ Dum Maro Dum” featuring Zeenat Aman. Dance pop was rejuvenated through this song. Although Lucky distanced himself from similar offers, the legacy of“ Ek Pal Ka Jeena” continued with Hrithik stealing hearts through his dance, both in India and abroad.
What is so special about the song“ Sajna aa bhi jaa” from the film“ Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II”? An off-beat film that bombed at the box office in 2003 had Indi-pop singer-cum-composer Shibani Kashyap, crooning the song in an unusually edgy tone that moved over notes in a smooth, glassy fashion. Yes, this is how listeners went on explaining the beauty of the song, until they came across autotune, a technology that pitch-perfects the singer’ s voice, giving a mechanical effect where the notes change suddenly. The semiclassical song, coupled with distortion guitar gave a rebellious mood to new-age romantic songs. Shibani’ s composition appeals as well as haunts the regretful lover. Thanks to her, countless composers have repeatedly used this technology later, and that too successfully, for instance the“ Ek main aur ekk tu” title track, composed by Amit Trivedi in 2012.
That Amit Trivedi has been experimenting with sounds, was evident from his composition in Dev D. But one had to look for dubstep in Skrillex, Flux Pavillion, Datsik and the likes for that unearthly wobbling sound as Bollywood could still not brave the attempt.“ Ishaqzaade” broke the myth in 2012 with the song“ Aafaton ke Parindey”. Suraj Jagnan, with his grunge-rock avatar, commands control of the song, while Divya Kumar ornamentalises the lyrics with classical harkats. This is a song on which one can easily imagine a robotic dancer, swaying his neck to the full orbit. Trivedi is definitely one of the proponents who exhaust all combinations with technology to give a greater impact to one particular song, keeping melody forever existent, in a time where technology is unfortunately encroaching into melody, lyrics and rhythm, thereby diluting the whole experience of making and listening to music into a grave misnomer. Time flies but legacies remain, and as I get through with my Bollywood jukebox, I wonder what differences with respect to voice, instruments and technology await us in the coming years!
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