Who is the offender responsible for the decline in music in Bollywood?
The big question is – who is the offender responsible for the decline in Bollywood music. Dada Kondke popularized double entendres in Marathi cinema and later applied the same formula to his Hindi film “Tere Mere Beech Mein,” featuring hit songs like “Tere Le Loon” and “Ganga Tere Ghat Pe.” Looking at the success of these songs, the Hindi film industry, known for its rat race, began to follow suit.
Melody to Mediocrity: The Shift in Bollywood’s Music Landscape
The first in the race being the showman – Subhash Ghai, with Saat Saheliyan Khadi Khadi Fariyaad Sunaye Ghadi Ghadi… (-1982). The stupendous success of the song encouraged him. In his next film, Khalnayak, he went a step ahead by breaking all norms of decency as he incorporated a stupid double-meaning song Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai…, the meaning of which was not hidden from even a nursery-going kid!!
The mind-blowing success of these 2 songs literally opened the floodgates for such lewd lyrics and soon the audio market was flooded with such songs like
- Jumma Chumma De De…
- Chad Gaya Upar Re…
- Khada Hai, Khada Hai, Kabse Khada Hai…
- Meri Pant Bhi Sexy….
- Goli Maar Bheje Mein…
- Khalaas…
And of course the tapoori number by Aamir Khan that drew the nation crazy
From Timeless Classics to Forgettable Tunes
Actor-cum-politician Shatrughan Sinha, however, raised eyebrows on the trend of vulgarity in films. He said, “Earlier we used to make black and white films, then we graduated to making color films, but, now, I think our film-maker are only making blue films!” Mr. Shatrughan Sinha further continues his anger as he roped in Subhash Ghai, too, and lambastes him by adding, “Mr. Subhash Ghai considers the masses fools. That’s the reason he defends his song, Choli Ke Peeche Kya…, by saying, ‘The song is not vulgar because the heroine says Choli Ke Peeche Dil Hai Mera… thus if we believe him. Tomorrow he will make his heroine say, Ghagre Ke Neeche Kya Hai…? And after creating suspense she will answer, ‘Ghagre Ke Neeche Pet Hain Mera!’ It’s high time film-maker stop taking masses for a ride, blasts, Shot- Gun, aka Shatrughan Sinha.
Prasoon Joshi, the most respected and popular poet of today’s generation, holds ‘entertainment’ as the prime reason behind the decline of music. He says, “Nowadays the mantra of making films is just entertainment, entertainment, and entertainment!! Hence the songs are written and composed solely for ‘Dance and Entertainment.’ The songs are mostly made to promote a movie, and that is why the inherent poetry is lost. Thus it is obvious that the quality of lyrics will deteriorate, and it has declined over the years.”
Leave a Comment