Often, practitioners and aficionados of Hindustani music are disdainful towards film songs from Hindi and regional cinema. This is evident ...
Often, practitioners and aficionados of Hindustani music are disdainful towards film songs from Hindi and regional cinema. This is evident from their remarks both in private conversation and published interviews. If at all, they temper their criticism with some praise for popular film melodies from the past, particularly those composed between the 1950s and the 1970s which they believe are based on various raags. Indeed, if we were to look at Hindi film songs from this period, we would encounter several that have melodies, which are akin to many raags.
However, we cannot jump to the conclusion that these raags have been portrayed in the manner that is prescribed for art or classical music practice. Neither does the melodic phrasing necessarily follow the rules prescribed for these raags, nor is there any melodic elaboration that one would expect from a raag presentation in a conventional Hindustani performance.
But then, film songs were never meant to be raag presentations. They were and continue to be composed and arranged for cinematic sequences. They do not and were not necessarily meant to represent art or classical music, and therefore, to cite them as illustrations for different raags is misleading.
Besides, why should one form or system of music...
