THE BAND CALLED BOLLYWOOD!!

Could you do a simple exercise for me?  Recall all the movie (Bollywood or any 'wood') songs that you have heard till date.  List them one after another and write the name of the vocalist, composer, lyricist, guitarist, drummer and people who played the other accompaniments.  

One sample listing would look like:

Song: XYZ

Movie: Name of the movie correctly written

Actor: Name of the actor correctly written

Composer: Bollywood/ABCwood

Lyricist: Bollywood/ABCwood

Leads: Bollywood/ABCwood

Bass: Bollywood/ABCwood

Drums: Bollywood/ABCwood

Tabla: Bollywood/ABCwood

Flute: Bollywood/ABCwood

Keyboard: Bollywood/ABCwood.

This is the case not just with you and me, but with every other individual.  Why are we unable to acknowledge these artists (famed or otherwise) for their good work, for the good music that they have composed? 

Some, of course, believe that this is futile.  They defend their position by these very common arguments, 'It's not necessary', 'I enjoy the music, that's enough', 'It's not possible to remember the artist and the composer for each and every song', 'See, I do not know the intricacies of music. So, I don't know the artist' and many many other countless arguments.  

I believe that these are just arguments for the sake of it.  The actual reason is indifference.  To a small extent, the whole system, which categorizes songs based on the actors in the film, is also to be blamed. 

The Indian music tradition accorded equal respect for the artist, composer and the percussionists.  But, somehow this practice got lost in thin air with the advent of film music.  May be that, every other day, there are uncountable number of music releases that it is actually not possible to take a note of the craftsmen.  

If not for all, we can actually pause to delve into the details of the songs we cherish, as an individual.  The taste may be different.  But, that's fine. 

This is where western music is markedly different from Indian music (or Indian film music as it has become the face of the latter).  Even though all the music forms are infinitesimal subsets of the rich Indian music, the 'band culture' is still alive in Western Music.  Film music, except for the background score, contributes little to the 'quantum' of music in the west.  

Of course, the pure form of Indian music, the Indian Classical music, lives on with the tradition of respecting the artists and the percussionists.  The entire process of imparting this knowledge is such that it not possible to ignore the composers.  And, normally, the audience of Classical music, pays due credit to the individual members of the 'band'. 

Interestingly, a guy who takes the artists and the composers seriously is shunned or mocked upon by the 'i-just-love-music' kind of listeners.  

Film music has made lot of contributions to the field of music.  It has given the platform for many a talented artists, who otherwise would never have got a chance to entertain an audience.  It has produced a lot of world famous artists.  Even though, today, a large majority of film music is plain crap and unworthy of listening, the good part of it cannot be ignored.  

Every individual has his or her own taste.  Everyone may not enjoy the classical form.  But yes, there would be few who do not enjoy any form of music.  So, the next time we hear a piece of music, a few minutes can be spared to 'google' the makers of it.  On the part of the music media, it should learn to respect the artists and brand a song based on the artists rather than based on the actor.  The actor should be respected for his acting rather than for 'singing'.

PS: Even though the title emphasizes 'bollywood', the story applies to the entire film industry.