I imagine, it is hard for people to understand the role that music plays in Indian movies. (While our movies are made in almost as many Indian languages as there are Indian states, I speak really of Hindi cinema.) This music does not come as the signature background score we might hear in Western movies or by way of Hollywood-style musicals such as Moana or La La land!
Playback singing has always been an important part of Hindi movies, which typically have six or seven pre-recorded songs that the actors lip-sync for the cameras. The lyrics of these songs are thoughtfully constructed and frequently poetic. They advance the narrative and are set to carefully composed music. I think this music is part and parcel of one’s DNA, if one grew up in India or even if one’s parents grew up in India!
Filmi music permeates the subcontinent. It can be heard wafting from open windows on warm summer mornings and playing in bustling bazaars on balmy evenings. It runs as a common thread across the nation, connecting small town India with the busy metropolis. The housewife hums a popular tune as she goes about her chores, the delivery boy croons a favorite song as he pedals along on his bicycle and the paan (betel leaf) shop owner sings with the newest release playing on his transistor radio. My earliest memories include Hindi film melodies wafting through the house, from a boxy radio set to my mother’s favorite station. When television first entered our lives, the favorite show was Chitrahaar, featuring a half-hour of popular movie songs picturized in black and white!
Today, this music makes me nostalgic and I am drawn to it more than ever. Here, in distant America, Bollywood music is a touch of home. My ears love the words and the tunes and the sound of the Hindi language. A wonderful App allows me to listen and download and share the songs that strike a chord. This is more than just music and it is so pleasing that I can carry it with me; in my phone and in my heart and in my head.
