In the last decade Bollywood has really begun to experiment with the stories they tell and how they tell them. While some of these films have attempted something new and a lot of attention has been focused on that there is another area that some real interesting experimentation is taking place – MUSIC.
VISHAL BHARDWAJ
He is at the forefront of a new style of film-making in India but he is also responsible for a sound that is uniquely his. Whether it’s the pulsating music and risqué lyrics of Beedi from Omkara, the beautiful Dil Toh Bacha Hai Ji from Ishqiya or the Tarintino inspired Dhan Te Nan from Kaminey, Vishal is always trying something new.
Beedi:
Ishqiya:
Dhan Te Nan :
DEV D
A bold and brash film that truly challenged what a mainstream Bollywood Film was and the soundtrack was no different. Instead of the normal 7-10 songs which usually included remixes that most films Amit Trivedi created an eighteen song soundtrack that had bits and pieces of everything. Whether is be a brass band song such as Emosanal Attyachar which also had a rock version or the traditional sounding Dhol Yaara Dhol the soundtrack had a multitude of experimental and interesting tracks.
Emosanal Attyachar
Dhol Yaara Dhol
AMIT TRIVEDI & AAMIR SOUNDTRACK
Personally I think he’s a new and exciting talent in the Indian music scene. While he was responsible for the soundtrack for the aforementioned Dev D, he was also responsible for the soundtrack for Aamir (an AMAZING film in and of itself and one that you need to see.
Like Dev D he took differing sounds and influences and made them sound in a unique way cohesive. They were part of the story and not just random songs. That is what I think is his special talent. In Aamir he has a modern, almost western sounding song along with a Qawalli track. He has a beautiful and simple song with minimal instrumentation to a song that is electronic to its heart that constantly has new sounds. The other really interesting thing he did was within the film he included some songs from a Pakistani film called Khuda Kay Liye (another film that should be seen), a film whose soundtrack may not have been heard otherwise.
Ha Raham (Mehfuz)
Phas Gaya
Bandeya from Khuda Kay Liye
AMIT TRIVEDI & WAKE UP SID
Another fresh and interesting film made by a new talent in the Indian film industry. While most of the songs were done by Shankar-Eshaan-Loy there was one song created by the same person who did the background score and that was Amit Trivedi. He was responsible for Iktara a quiet and beautiful song on the soundtrack. Besides the picturization the song itself has a quiet sexiness to it which is not something you would automatically equate with Bollywood films. And by using new singers he has also created a new voice available to other filmmakers and musicians.
Iktara
ROCK ON!!!
Rock music and Bollywood? That’s the reaction of most people but the 2008 Hindi film proves that it can be done. By citing influences from Brit pop and local South Asian rock the soundtrack has tracks that prove you can combine rock music with Hindi films and be successful at it. The other interesting thing about the soundtrack for this film is that lead actor Farhan Akhtar sang all of his own vocals instead of having someone else dub in.Whether it’s the soft rock stylings of Tum Ho Toh or the funky take on rock of Rock On!! it’s a soundtrack that challenges what a Bollywood film soundtrack should be.
Tum Ho Toh
Rock On!!
Soundtracks will always play an important part in the Indian film industry. For me it’s the thing that makes Hindi films extra special. What I have liked about recent years is that people are experimenting and that it’s not stopping anytime soon. A new film coming out Lamhaa has songs with rock and Kashmiri sounds, a recent release called Karthik Calling Karthik was full of electronic sounds and many others have shown that the mainstream idea of what Bollywood soundtracks are supposed to be has changed and personally I feel that’s all for the better.
🙂
Karen
Bollywood Geek 