Bollywood Music In H'Wood | RS Unplugged

Well, how many of you have watched ‘Inside Man’? ... Yes, the movie featuring Denzel Washington, Clive Owen and Jodie Foster. If you have watched it, then you can certainly guess what I am going to speak to you about, today. And, for all those who haven’t watched it, I am not breaking the suspense now but I will just give you a hint… it starts and ends with a filmi blockbuster song! (Do let me know if you liked it or hated it or found it bizarre!J)

I have already spoken a lot about filmi music, its growing scope and its growing popularity. Today, let’s focus on one of the outcome of its popularity.

You must be knowing about ‘Moulin Rouge’ (By Baz Luhrmann) and the song ‘chamma chamma’(by Anu Malik, from the movie China Gate) being showcased in it as OST. It was the first case when I heard a Hindi song being featured in an English movie as OST, and the way it blended into it was simply fantastic! Luhrmann was inspired by Bollywood musicals when he made it. And this is not the only case; there are a lot many instances where the Hollywood filmmakers preferred Bollywood (or Indian) music instead of English tracks, as their OST. The movie ‘Lord of War’ also featured some Tamil songs as OST, my favorite in it being the theme music of BOMBAY (by A.R. Rahman). The movie ‘Ghost World’ featured the song ‘Jaan Pehechan ho’ from Gumnaam (1965). Similar was the scene with ‘The Accidental Husbands’, in which many Indian songs were featured, one of which was ‘Rang de’ from Thakshak (by A.R. Rahman).

Bombay Dreams was a musical that was well acclaimed by the international audience. It was fabricated entirely from Bollywood music. But, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ can be considered as the best example of the growing popularity of Bollywood music in Hollywood and a perfect example of how filmi music is taking a place in the world of OSTs, in Hollywood films. And by grabbing Oscars, it just certified this.

Such measures purely showcase the internationalization of music. Music should never be compacted in geographical boundaries. Pakistani music has been inspiring Bollywood music since years, but in this case the cultural difference is quite less. Indian music entering into English movies is certainly a bigger step towards the internationalization of music. Language, in this case, matters less than the meaning and the melody. In the end it doesn’t matter whether Indian films feature western tracks or the vice-versa. All that matters is that the music is getting its due recognition, which is, in fact, of prime importance. RS hopes and wishes that this trend continues.

Written By: Rishabh Shukla