ON Aug 28, an Indian TV channel concluded a 26-part series celebrating songs written, composed and sung in a bygone era when poetry and melody were supreme, no matter how well, or otherwise, they were seen in films. Generations later, they sent millions in the throes of nostalgia.
Being recalled was what is touted as the “Golden Age” of Indian cinema. What is that? Unfair to films made in other languages, though, it zeroes in on Hindi films made anywhere, but mainly Bombay, now Mumbai. It is a musical celebration of the best of Bollywood.
That “age” varies from the late 1930s to 1975. Some time it with the entry of giants among film-makers, like Mehboob Khan and Bimal Roy. Others say it was between 1940 and 1960, when songs, sometimes 10 to a film, were based on Hindustani classical ragas and rhythms. And yet, some others match it with India’s 1947 independence, which invigorated cinema and much else.
Musically, Javed Akhtar, perhaps Bollywood’s best-known bard, who anchored the just-concluded series, puts it at between 1950 and 1975. It was the period “when film-makers found a song more effective than prose to convey certain thoughts, which would have sounded self-indulgent in words”, he says.
Expressing agony or ecstasy of a character in prose would seem crazy. But, a song created a deep impression.
“Old is gold” is not a worn-out cliché. Old film songs carry a deep, meaningful philosophy and social message. In the romanticism of a bygone era, a girl’s blush or flickering of eyelashes, or a crease of a man’s forehead, was meaningful.
If you are a lover of old Bollywood songs, Javed is your man — poet, lyricist, script and dialogue writer, and the president’s nominee for a term in Parliament.
He explains why a particular song was penned, composed, sung and even filmed in a particular manner, say, 50 years ago. It makes you appreciate the song in a totally different light. This is nostalgia, nuanced.
Songs in the era between 1950 and 1975 had the “right balance of orchestration and finesse, and some exceptionally talented singers, writers and composers expressed themselves. Before 1950, songs were a little too slow for today’s ears, and after 1975, the tone became a little too fast”, he tells The Hindu.
That explains why Bollywood, often derided for its song-filled films, has kept alive the musical cinema like none other. It’s not The Sound of Music, but a part of an Indian’s life.
There is a song for each occasion, from birth to death, of a father or brother bidding farewell to the bride, of friendship forged or broken, of a family divided, of a distraught man living/working from home, yearning for his loved ones. No need for a formal prayer — a devotional song will do.
In a nation of festivals and festivities, old songs depict Aidilfitri, Deepavali, Holi, the springtime festival of colours, or Raksha Bandhan, of brother-sister ties. There are songs with the tonga (horse-drawn rickshaw) beat or weaving sounds heard while travelling by train.
For generations, antakshari, a singing “competition” that demands picking up the last alphabet sung and continuing from there, remains a favourite game among travellers and holidaymakers.
Old songs embellished dance, both of the classical genre and routine song-and-dance variety. Today, “Bollywood style” is a popular dance form.
To cater to popular taste, for discerning listeners, there were semi-classical songs, qawalis, thumris and ghazals rendered by some of the most eminent artistes of that era that were part of the old repertoire till, say, the late 1960s.
It is unthinkable today. But, the current craze for Sufi music indicates that good taste remains, if in a different form.
Old Hindi songs please the generations that grew up on them. Hearing them on the radio was the norm once. But, they have returned to FM radio channels.
When state-run All India Radio (AIR) turned prudish in the 1950s, listeners turned to Binaca Geetmala, run by the neighbourhood’s Radio Ceylon station.
Today, gramophone record discs and cassettes are passé. Old music is on CDs, DVDs, Instagram, Cloud and what have you.
One has to see it to believe that people still play the old gramophone or record discs. Or, see the demand for CDs and WCDs of old songs. Or, just go to YouTube to gauge their popularity.
There are takers of soulful, soft music among the young, too, who have an ear for music, even if they may shun the slow-moving, melodramatic, verbose films of the past in which the songs were originally sung.
The impact of cinema is universal, but that of old songs is even more so.
Old songs are a mainstay on the AIR FM channel and have a phenomenal following both in India and abroad, through the Internet. AIR dares not remove the programme, which is beamed daily in the afternoon and late at night.
Doordarshan, with its exclusive black-and-white recordings and private TV channels, play old songs.
Old songs are the antidepressant of present times, when life has become too fast and is constantly so. They are also a soothing balm for nerves frayed by noise and environmental pollution.
They keep research students away from sleep. For others, the constant appeal of old songs satisfies the yearning to be young again. Old songs are the anchor to which the aged recall their times, friends, young company and long-forgotten incidences of first love.
Last, but not least, nostalgia is good business. Bollywood accounts for more than 90 per cent of the revenue of India’s 10.6 billion rupee (RM650 million) pop music industry. The Indian music industry is estimated to be worth more than US$2 billion (RM8 billion).
It is well-nigh impossible to find out how much of it is thanks to old Bollywood songs or old songs in general.
The demand-and-supply principle determines the lilt of music with money.
Mahendra Ved is NST’s New Delhi correspondent, is president of the Commonwealth Journalists Association and a consultant with ‘Power Politics’ monthly magazine. He can be reached via mahendraved07@gmail.com