Sakhi Saiyaan to khoob hi….

Heard this delightful song from Aamir Khan’s next film Peepli Live and have been humming it over and over again since the time I heard it. Although I am not an expert on music and can hardly tell one genre from the other but I definitely know when a song sounds good .

Of late, Bollywood music is opening up to new horizons and has been stretching it’s boundaries; music directors and film makers have started experimenting a lot nowadays which is a very welcome change. The music in some of the recent films is both unconventional and refreshing. Films like Oye Lucky Lucky Oye’, ‘Dev D’, ‘Gulaal’ and now ‘Peepli Live’ belong to their own different genre of music determined more by the story, the location and the film instead of the conventional commercial wisdom.

What I like even more is the fact that when situation demands filmmakers are ready to explore folk music and not like the old days when they would just copy a folk tune and completely reinvent the song with filmy lyrics. I am talking about the songs where the folk essence still remains and stays alive – the simple lyrics, ground level issues, problems, happiness, and feelings in the simplest language – a language that is not confined to books or literary circles but a language which thrives in the hearts and the conversations of the common people; a language which is not so pure in literary terms but so pure in its essence and so flavorful. I think purity is over-rated, there is so much emphasis placed on it that it isolates and thus disconnects. Anyways I will leave that topic for some other time.

And right now just stick to Bollywood films and the use of folk music. Who has not liked or hummed ‘Sasural Genda Phool’ from Delhi 6. Rahman, the genius that he is, didn’t kill the essence of the song yet added modern beats to be liked by one and all. Another delightful example would be the music of the film ‘Oye Lucky Lucky Oye’. The song ‘Tu raja ki raaj dulari’ is actually a folk song from Haryana. ‘Jugni’ from the same film is sung by a 70 year old folk singer and he has sung it with so much power that you can hardly make out the age of the singer.

Mohit Chauhan has been including his version of at least one Himachali song in each of his album of late like ‘Morni’, ‘Thanda paani’, ‘Maye ni meriye’. These and a lot more little gems keep coming and leave me smiling…………