ADITI SARAWAGI
Original Music IN WEB SHOWS
Web shows are a relatively new phenomenon and there is a lot of growth potential . They offer a lot of space to experiment . With the shift of focus of the entertainment industry to OTT platforms and shows , a lot of music is being created specifically for these shows instead of using Bollywood tracks . Title tracks of television shows have always been in demand but there were no dedicated cassettes or CD ’ s to tracks from TV shows . The digital medium has solved the problem of supply completely and has given rise to a whole new platform .
With original programming , users have complete control as to what , when and how much they want to watch of a particular show . Music has always been an integral part of movies and television in India and with the transition to the web , that has not changed . OTT platforms like Netflix , Amazon Prime , Hotstar , Zee5 , MX Player , Sony Liv and Alt Balaji are creating original content with excellent storylines and are creating exclusive original soundtracks to go with the shows whose budgets are no less than any Bollywood movie . At the same time , buying the rights to Bollywood music would cost around 20-30 crores , whereas with original music , the costs are 1 % of the same , so not only is an original OST a means to garner a larger audience , but is also more financially viable .
Web shows have in a way also reinstated the lost Indi-pop culture and audiences are loving the return of music videos and singles by their favourite singers . ALTBalaji ’ s original Broken But Beautiful garnered immense praise for its music by Amaal and Armaan Malik along with Anusha Mani-already popular amongst the country ’ s youth-these young artists further attract new audiences , so it is a win-win for the music as well as for the shows . Another immensely popular young singer-Darshan Rawal , has taken all the charts by storm with ‘ Yaara Teri Yaari ’ from Four More Shots Please on Amazon Prime Video . Prateek Kuhad , another online star , has created the theme song for Netflix ’ s Little Things , and is part of innumerable top charts . Harshdeep Kaur and Akhil Sachdeva have scored the music for a track ‘ Dua Ban Ja ’ in It Happened in Calcutta , and it has gone on to become a very popular song . Kaam 25 , a song from Sacred Games , written and sung by Divine has close to 19 million hits on YouTube .
New and upcoming musical talent has also been given a boost with web shows providing a wider berth for audiences as well as producers willing to experiment more . Fittrat on Zee5 , had some amazing songs by Altamash Faridi , Jonita Gandhi , Sharvi Yadav and Sandman . Anurag Saikia , Raghav Chaitanya and Nikita Gandhi have also sung a beautiful track ‘ Aise Kyun ’ for Mismatched on Netflix .
Along with newbies , the Indian music industry stalwarts are also seen working for web shows . Shankar Ehsaan Loy composed twelve tracks for the OST of Amazon Prime Video ’ s Bandish Bandits- a mix of Hindustani classical with pop-and which has taken the nation by storm-both the show and the soundtrack . Netflix ’ s Ludo has a fun track ‘ Aabaad Barbaad ’ composed by Pritam and sung by Arijit Singh . Shreya Ghoshal has also lent her voice to a number in Alt Balaji ’ s Broken but Beautiful . The music for another show on the same platform , Cold Lassi aur Chicken Masala has been composed by Anu Malik , and the singers include Bollywood favourites Papon and Anmol Malik .
Music is an integral part of a storyline and it conveys emotions like simply words never could . OTT platforms have recognised this , especially in terms of the Indian market , and along with producing stellar shows , they are giving equal focus to original music content too .
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