Old Melodies – They are Evergreen

Though I hate the comparison, but when it comes to few things, I dunno but the mind itself starts with the comparison of Good, Bad and Ugly.  The various things that my mind compares almost as a involuntary reflex are – 

  1. Experiences – Good v/s Bad
  2. Songs and Music – Old v/s New
  3. Behavior – Pleasant v/s Unpleasant
  4. Expressions – Happy v/s Sad
This post however is not about the way or the reasons for which my mind gets into comparison mode, but about the logic on which my mind Compares Old v/s New Hindi Movie Songs.  Now the various attributes on which comparisons happen – 
  1. Lyrics – Old Songs had quite a lyrics that were certainly relevant to various situations.  Somehow that relevance to the situations of life is missing in the Lyrics in modern times and in the New Age Cinema.  
For Instance refer the following 

Song for the Broken Heart – 
हम बेवफा हर्गिज़ ना थे, पर हम वफ़ा कर ना सके 
हमको मिली उसकी सजा, हम जो खता कर ना सके
or
कसमे वादे प्यार वफ़ा, सब बातें हैं बातों का क्या
कोई किसी का नहीं है, झूठे नाते हैं नातों का क्या 
Song for the Betrayal
मेरी भीगी भीगी सी पलकों में रह गए जैसे मेरे सपने बिखर के
जले मन तेरा भी, किसी के मिलन कि अनामिका तू भी तरसे
Song with a Message for Life Long Support – 
कोई जब तुम्हारा ह्रदय तोड़ दे, तडपता हुआ तुम्हें यूँ ही छोड़ दे
तब तुम मेरे पास आना प्रिये, मेरा दर खुला है खुला ही रहेगा तुम्हारे लिए 
Song as Caution –  
इस रंग बदलती दुनिया में इंसान की नियत ठीक नहीं
निकला न करो तुम सज धज के ईमान की नियत ठीक नहीं 
I mean I can go on like this for ever highlighting every situation and create a list of countless songs that are equally melodious.  One can’t certainly compare them from the other songs in that era.  However, when I look at the songs in the modern Indian Cinema, they are more of the songs that represent totally different Genre of Songs and certainly what I find missing in them is the concept of situation based songs.  The songs & music now a days are more of the Revenue stream for the Recording company and the Producers.  They at most of the times are so out of the place from the story-line of the movies that they simply break the continuity.
Earlier on the songs and the music used to gel in the story of the movie and the continuity was hardly broken due to them.  But now, the story does not continue in the songs, rather the songs are more of a commercial break in the movie that one can simply fast forward without any hitch to miss anything important.
Though there ares few exceptions too to my views above, but for majority of the songs and the movies, the situational songs are a history or bookish talk now!!!

Leave a Comment