Hello friends,

It’s wonderful to connect with all of you through Udayavani blog. This is the first time I’ll be blogging. I'm planning to have a blast doing it, and hope you enjoy it, too. When I was offered an opportunity to pen down my thoughts, I thought – "Why not? There’s always a first time." Your comments and opinion are most welcome. So, write in.

Ok, now. Since my association is with Music and Bollywood (Hindi Film Industry, for whoever may take exception to the Desi nomenclature of Hollywood :-P ) I thought I may as well start off by writing something related to it.

We all know that Western music has various genres like Hip-hop, R&B, classical, pop, rock, jazz, soul, gospel, disco, country, metal, trance, etc.

Our Indian Music, too, has so many genres like Hindustani, Carnatic, Bhaavgeet, Ghazal, Bhajan, Thumri, Qawwali, Bhangda, Lavani, Dandiya, Baul and many many more.

Have you noticed that Bollywood, over the years, has used almost all these styles in it? I find it amazing that there’s always something for everyone. A classical music lover can relish a ‘Madhuban mein Radhika naache re’, while a cool kid of today can groove to ‘Mauja hi Mauja’. A romantic couple can enjoy a cuppa on a rainy day listening to ‘Rimjhim gire saawan’, while the whole family can celebrate with ‘Mehndi lagake rakhna’.

Songless films notwithstanding, I really think that Indian films are incomplete without songs. It’s a part of our Filmi culture, don’t you agree? Can you imagine even a Meaningful, off-beat film like Arth, without ‘Tumko dekha tho yeh khayaal aaya’? Or a Qayamat se Qayamat tak without ‘Papa kehte hain’? Or a Sholay without ‘Mehbooba’? Or even a more recent Dev D without ‘Emosional Atyachar’?

Yes, agreed, you can remove the song, and it might not make much of a difference to the film’s story. But who doesn’t want a little extra, right? As an audience, I would feel cheated if, for example, ‘All eez well’ was edited out of 3 Idiots. Does anyone agree with me here?

Song and dance have been an integral part of Indian culture and hence, Indian cinema. I am proud to be a miniscule part of it. And hope that the marriage between Cinema and Music continues for a long time. Are you with me?

Sowmya Raoh,
29th April 2010,
Mumbai.