|
|
|
| Free E-magazine |
| Subscribe to our Free E-Magazine on Films. |
| Learn More |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Home > Articles > Songs & Dances in Hindi Films
| |
| | Songs & Dances in Hindi Films
| |
| |
 Bollywood without its distinctive trademark of song and dance is inconceivable. Music, songs and dance are the very life line of the Indian film industry. It is this which adds character to the industry in recognising its unique selling point. Most Bollywood films would be classified as musicals. Few movies are made without at least one song-and-dance number. However, they do not fit easily in the "musical" category as defined by Hollywood movies; they usually contain a great deal more in the way of plot and action than is found in the typical Hollywood musical.
Indian audiences expect full value for their money, with a good entertainer generally referred to as paisa vasool. Songs and dances, love triangles, comedy and dare-devil thrills-all are mixed up in a three-hour-long extravaganza with an intermission. Such movies are called masala movies, after the Hindi word for a spice mixture, masala. Songs in Bollywood are sung by professional playback singers, rather than actors, who lip-sync the lyrics.
 Songs from Bollywood movies are generally pre-recorded by professional playback singers, with the actors then lip synching the words to the song on-screen, often while dancing. While most actors, especially today, are excellent dancers, few are also singers. One notable exception was Kishore Kumar, who starred in several major films in the 1950s while also having a stellar career as a playback singer. K. L. Saigal, Suraiyya and Noor Jehan were also known as both singers and actors. Of late, a few actors have again tried singing for themselves:
Amitabh Bachchan, sang "Mere Angane Mein" in "Lawaaris" in the mid-80`s, and has also sung in "Silsila", "Mahaan" "Toofan", Baghban, and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, as well as doing a duet with Adnan Sami in the song Kabhi Nahin.
Shah Rukh Khan sang Apun Bola in Josh, (Year 2000)
Sanjay Dutt then also sang " Aye Shivani" in Khoobsurat and in Munnabhai MBBS and the recent Lage Raho Munnabhai as well.
 Aamir Khan took a turn singing "Aati Kya Khandala" in Ghulam but only because "the character had attitude that only Aamir could do justice to", according to director Vikram Bhatt.
In 2005, Abhishek Bachchan sang a popular rap song in Rohan Sippy`s film Bluffmaster.
Playback singers are prominently featured in the opening credits and have their own fans who will go to an otherwise lackluster movie just to hear their favourites.  One of the most recorded of these playback singers is Lata Mangeshkar who, through the course of a career spanning over six decades, has recorded thousands of songs for Indian movies. Most of the female songs in films from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s were sung by Lata. The composers of film music, known as music directors, are also well-known. Their songs can make or break a film and usually do. Remixing of filmi songs with modern beats and rhythms is a common occurrence today, and producers may even release remixed versions of some of their films` songs along with the films` regular soundtrack albums.
 The dancing in Bollywood films, especially older ones, is primarily modeled on Indian dance: classical dance styles, dances of historic northern Indian courtesans (tawaif), or folk dances. In modern films, Indian dance elements often blend with Western dance styles, though it is not unusual to see Western pop and pure classical dance numbers side by side in the same film. If the hero and heroine dance and sing a dance and ballet, it is often staged in beautiful natural surroundings or architecturally grand settings. This staging is referred to as a "picturization." Switzerland has become a popular setting for these picturizations, largely because its Alpine valleys are reminiscent of Kashmir. Songs typically comment on the action taking place in the movie, in several ways. Sometimes, a song is worked into the plot, so that a character has a reason to sing; other times, a song is an externalization of a character`s thoughts, or presages an event that has not occurred yet in the plot of the movie. In this case, the event is almost always two characters` falling in love.
 Bollywood films have always used what are now called "item numbers". A physically attractive female character (the "item girl"), often completely unrelated to the main cast and plot of the film, performs a catchy song and dance number in the film. In older films, the "item number" may be performed by a courtesan (tawaif) dancing for a rich client or as part of a cabaret show. The dancer Helen was famous for her cabaret numbers. In modern films, item numbers may be inserted as discotheque sequences, dancing at celebrations, or as stage shows.
Hindi songs from movies
The filmi songs are heard far beyond the borders of India. The lines of Bollywood songs are some of the most memorized and repeated expressions in India. Yet, since Bollywood has not been considered formal literature, the lyrics of the Bollywood songs have not been studied in an academic setting. The language of the filmi songs can be complex. It is termed Hindi in India and Urdu in Pakistan. The lyrics are both modern and traditional. Segments of some representative songs are given here. Most of them are among the most popular ones, even the older ones would be immediately recognized by song lovers. The translations given are approximate. Many of the expressions used cannot be translated into English exactly, some of the translations are chosen to be literal.
 jaane kyaa tuune kahii from Pyaasa (1957), by Sahir Ludhianvi:
This classic song describes the onset of love.
ai mere pyaare vatan from Kabuliwala (1961), by Prem Dhawan:
The song expresses the yearning for the homeland by someone who has been away for a long time.
 ab ke baras bhej bhaiya ko baabul from Bandini (1963), by Shailendra:
This is popular song for the raksha-bandhan festival which falls in the month of Savan (Shravana). It is common for a married girl to visit her parent`s family on this occasion, or at least send a rakhi for her brother.
chandan saa badan, chanchal chitavan from Saraswati Chandra (1968), by Indeevar:
The song follows the classic milan theme of the shringar rasa.
 phuulon ke rang se from Prem Pujari (1970), by Neeraj:
A classic love song. A lover just cannot forget his beloved.
O khaike paan banaras wala from Don (1978), by Anjaan:
This playful boisterous song sung by Kishore Kumar was one of his greatest hits and was played often by the paan shops. The song refers to a young man from the shores of Ganga, perhaps eastern Uttar Pradesh or Bihar, where people love to eat paan and tend to dance.
 Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya from Dil Se (1998), by Gulzar:
The Chaiyya Chaiyya song serves as the opening and close of the recent Hollywood movie Inside Man. The song is known for the A.R. Rahman`s music, the words are somewhat mysterious.
| |
| |
|
