The right blend of commercial music and an appealing film results in a powerful synergy even now, says Vinod Mirani, editor, Box-Office. Aal izz well from 3 Idiots was a case in point. “The song was a super-hit even before the film released,” notes Mehra. “After the film came, its other songs also connected.”
On the other hand, box-office calamities like Blue, Kurbaan and London Dreams would have been salvaged in part had the music been up to the mark. The audience is also especially unforgiving with movies that are supposed to be music-centric but lack good music, like London Dreams and Jashnn.
Mukesh Bhatt, producer of Jashnn, is himself best known for so many films where the star-cast did not matter - come Aashiqui, Ghulam, Raaz, Murder or Gangster, they all took great openings and did good to bumper business. Recent cases of terrific synergy between films and music also include Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, and going back a bit, Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na, Jab We Met, Om Shanti Om, Partner and Aap Kaa Surroor.
Eventually, even flop films with good music still retain respectability and enduring qualities, and Delhi-6, Saawariya and Tum Mile are examples. Notes trade analyst N.P.Yadav, “Veer has done well in single-screens in particular up North. Even in other regions, it did okay though the pricing went against it, and the good music being appreciated helped.” Mehra, however, feels that the music of Veer was “very classy and not the regular commercial kind. So it did not help the film as much as a really commercial score could have.”
Speaking of commercial scores, that is those with mass appeal, the music of Radio and Karzzzz, like so many Himesh Reshammiya scores in earlier years, also helped bring in big revenues even if the films flopped.
While Mehra feels that music was, is and will always be important in the scheme of things, Mirani opines that today it is perhaps more important than ever before. “Today films are promoted audiovisually on television,” explains Mirani. “But the makers are misinterpreting the medium. Songs need quality even to appeal on TV and support a film - dazzling colours, locations and a hundred dancers alone cannot do that. And if a promo song is not present in the film, the audience feels cheated.”
Mehra points out the surprising fact that almost all composers have upped their fees despite a 95 per cent slump in audio sales! “That proves how important music is even today. But technology-driven new revenue sources are strangely not exploited here as yet,” he says. “On the other hand, everyone’s music sounds the same, unlike a Laxmikant-Pyarelal and R.D.Burman.” Vinod concurs on this point and says that one standout melody in recent times was Teri ore from Singh Is Kinng. “It had all the qualities of a classic film melody, was visually appealing and yet was ring-tone friendly! And it helped the film!”
Mirani laments that today very few music scores support a film’s prospects. “Since most songs are not a part of the story, there is no connect. In most cases, the songs work only if a film is a hit.” While this defeats the concept of a Hindi film song, adding salt to the wound is the fact that the lip-synched song is getting rarer, but for (and despite) standout examples like Wanted, 3 Idiots, Ajab Prem... and Veer.
While Gulzar recently lamented on how Ibn-e-batuta (Ishqiya) would have benefitted had Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi lip-synched it (“They would have done wonders to it!”), lyricist-writer Jaideep Sahni points out that the lip-synched song is an art unique to Indian cinema and “should be preserved at all costs”. He even admitted that most filmmakers of today did not know how to integrate such songs skilfully and took the easier way out by having background songs. Mehra feels that such songs are “acceptable” provided they are intrinsically good. “Today the hero and heroine are making love in a scene rather than expressing emotions through lyrics! Films are tending to be more natural!” he says.
But even as a Karan Johar defends his lack of lip-sync in his serious issue-based film My Name Is Khan on the grounds of “realism” and global appeal, Mehra points out that MNIK would have been helped by better music. “But how can Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy get inspired if they know that their song is not going to be enacted by top stars?” he asks. And Mirani seconds that with, “Then what is the difference between a film score and a private album?”
The writing is on the wall. While an Abhay Deol may foresee an end to song-and-dance in Indian cinema, the truth is there for all to see: stars come and go, so do films, but songs remain.
