Evolution of Bollywood Music Through the Years Part 1

Madhuri Dixit in Dola Re Dola, Raveena Tandon in Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast, Hrithik Roshan in a disco in Ek Pal Ka Jeena, Shahrukh Khan in Tujhe Dekha To and on top of a train in Chaiyya Chaiyya, Deepika Padukone dancing garba in Nagada Sang Dhol, Katrina Kaif in Kala Chashma and Sheila Ki Jawaani, what’s Bollywood without music? From its inception, the Bollywood industry has heavily relied on music as a mode of communication, plot development, and sometimes the selling point of the whole movie. Whether it is to create new relationships among characters or to just bring in attractive actresses in “item songs,” Bollywood movies use music on each and every turn of the plot. Today, let’s take a journey through how Bollywood music began and evolved through each and every turn of history starting with the old Golden Age of music.

Starting the journey through the realm of music in Bollywood, we begin with the 1950s. Movies were still in black and white with the Kapoor family still present at the forefront of the industry. Singers such as Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Mukesh, and Mohammed Rafi were making waves and dominated the music scene. With hits in Raj Kapoor movies such as Awara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955), Mukesh came into his own during this time. Lata Mangeshkar was getting offers from almost every music director and became a household name. Asha Bhosle, her younger sister, also began making a name for herself during this time. In the latter half of the decade, Kishore Kumar began singing chartbusters after chartbusters and was the first “actor-singer” as well as producer. Think Himesh Reshammiya, but someone who could actually act and sing. His style of singing became distinctly different from the older slower music. It was also distinct due to his lack of classical training, being one of the only singers from the time without that kind of background, symbolizing the shift from classically inspired songs to more upbeat westernish songs. Primarily, the music was melodious, embodied classical Indian music, and focused on developing stories and characters as a supplement to the film rather than an independent entity. There was no real dancing, no partying. Most songs were focused on simple facial expressions and just pure emotion.

This pattern continued in the 1960s with some exceptions with large choreographed sets. Muhal-e-Azam was released in 1960 with one of the largest choreographed sets in Bollywood history in “Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya.” The music video was the most expensive music video in Indian history for decades, and after adjusting for inflation, is still the most expensive music video in Indian history at $3 million. Regarding top singers, we still had Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, and Asha Bhosle at the top of the charts. However, Kishore Kumar began moving up the ranks and released hits such as “Mere Sapnon ki Rani” and “Roop Tera Mastana” from Aradhana (1969) and “Mere Samnewaali Khidki Mein” from Padosan (1968) near the end of the decade. The first two songs established a partnership between Kumar and Rajesh Khanna that became extremely popular over the next decade.

In the 1970s, Kumar had made a move to the #1 spot. His combination with Khanna and music director R.D. Burman led to songs such as “O Mere Dil ke Chain” from Mere Jeevan Sathi (1972), “Yeh Sham Mastaani” and “Pyaar Diwaana Hota Hai” from Kati Patang (1970). Asha Bhosle started superseding Mangeshkar in popularity with some more upbeat numbers such as “Piya Tu Ab to Aaja” from Caravan (1971) and “Dum Maaro Dum” from Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971). The former was symbolic of the new style of cabaret dancing famous in the 1970s, mainly portrayed by Helen. Of course, Bhosle also released “Chura Liya Hai Tumne” from Yaadon Ki Baarat (1973), a song that has particularly stood the test of time. From more melodious numbers, music began to shift to more upbeat, dance-like numbers, a trend that was exemplified heavily by the latter half of the 70s and later. However, due to the irrational need for every song to shift away from melodious music to more western influences, Bollywood music began to decline. There was an unmet need for the melody of the past and the Golden Age of music had passed.

The 80s were particularly unspectacular, especially compared to the previous three decades. Western influences pervaded Bollywood and disco became the new thing. Bappi Lahri came out with music for Disco Dancer (1982) with some of the most popular disco songs in Bollywood, especially “I am a Disco Dancer.” That song made him an overnight success all over Asia. However, this was one of only a few bright spots in the 80s and otherwise, music as a whole was mostly unremarkable. Just like how disco died rather quickly in the west, it died in Bollywood within a few years with nothing left to replace it. The decade was made even worse with the passing of Rafi and Kumar, the legendary singers of the past few decades.

This concludes the beginning of our journey through Bollywood music from the black and white era of the 1950s to possibly the lowest point in musical history with the 80s. We started with the beginning of Rafi, Mukesh, Mangeshkar, Bhosle, and Kumar’s rise with melodious and slow songs in the 1950s. Then, we entered the 60s, which gave us large choreographed sets, but otherwise continued the pattern of melodious songs with Kumar and Khanna forming a partnership that gave us some of the best music of the next decade. However, this age of music soon passed with the latter half of the 70s and the 80s with a momentary spark of disco in the 80s. My favorite singer of this time has to be Kishore Kumar; his songs fit a more upbeat tempo with some great rhythms. The melody and overall just the feeling of his songs with Rajesh Khanna from the late 60s - 70s were by far my favorite songs of this era with some of Mukesh’s songs with Raj Kapoor coming as a second. Along with them, I liked Asha Bhosle’s songs, similar to Kishore Kumar’s upbeat songs compared to her sister Mangeshkar’s slower songs. To see the revival of Bollywood music in the 90s and onward to present day, stay tuned for my next post!