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Catchy scores, memorable lines
V. GANGADHAR
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The Hindi movies of 2007 threw up hummable tunes with great words.
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Foot-tapping score: Om Shanti Om.
Movies reflect the changing trends in society. Since Hindi cinema relies heavily on its music score, movie buffs carefully and critically follow the trends, and the ones composed in 2007 more than passed muster. Those who feared that the film sc
ene would be influenced by the nasal twang of Himesh Reshammiya’s kind of music can breathe a sigh of relief.
The 2007 music scene was far better and more challenging. Even films which did not do all that well at the box office had hummable numbers and catchy scores. The lyrics satisfied the soul, and there were not many ‘cheap’ numbers.
The fare offered a wide choice.
As for rhythmic and foot-tapping scores, there were plenty of it in films such as ‘Om Shanti Om’, ‘Partner’ and ‘Hey Babyy’ in keeping with the modern kind of storyline. Audiences appreciated the fact that the music of such films blended smoothly with the narrative, thereby enhancing the impact.
New songwriters
The industry finally realised the importance of good lyrics and bade goodbye to ones such as ‘Tu hi meri coca cola, mein hun tera Pepsi Cola.’ The new crop of sensitive lyricists who emerged, added a new dimension to film music.
Take the case of Sayeed Qadri and Amitabh Varma whose lyrics in ‘Life in Metro’ reflected the nuances of the changing times in our cities. Theirs was not an easy job. They did not write traditional love themes, but their lines reflected feelings of ambition, sexual exploitation, corruption in corporate life and the decline of moral standards among the urban middle classes. The lyrics effortlessly rose to the occasion.
Prasoon Joshi and Amol Gupta did full justice to the moving storyline of Aamir Khan’s challenging new film, ‘Taare Zameen Par’, about a kid suffering from dyslexia. His parents and most of the teachers were unable to understand his problems.
Lyrics of such songs as ‘Ma’ beautifully mirror the child’s fears and tears. In the surprise hit of the year, ‘Jab We Met,’ the theme revolves round a frustrated young man fleeing from rejection and a highly-strung Mumbai girl, who has strong views on arranged marriages and is yet being forced into one.
Their meeting during a long and much-interrupted train journey raised interesting possibilities.
Fortunately, the film was not burdened with too many songs, but again Irshad Kamal’s lyrics were first rate and underlined the strong attraction between the couple caught in a strange environment.
The music scene proved that in the hands of a genius, even a mediocre, hackneyed theme could yield golden lyrics. Listen to the ‘new poetry’ of Gulzar saab in ‘No Smoking’ where the imagery revolved round the experiences of a smoker! It was like De Quincy’s peep into the world of drug addicts!
Even the best lyrics could become useless in the hands of second rate composers. But that did not happen in 2007. . Be it Pritam (‘Metro’), Monty (‘Saawariya’), Shantanu Moitra (‘Khoya Khoya Chand’), Vishal Bharadwaj (‘No Smoking’) or Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (‘Taare Zameen Par’), they really got into the mood of the movie and produced memorable tunes, like the title songs of ‘Chak De India’ or ‘Saawariya.’
More than adequate support came from a fresh crop of singers, breathing new life into the songs. Shahil Honda in ‘Saawariya’, Soham Chakroborty in ‘Metro,’ among others, are sure to challenge the established singers of the Hindi screen.
For those, who were lamenting about the deteriorating quality of film music, 2007 should have come as a welcome and pleasant surprise.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
