ELLEMUSIC
THE BIG five Bollywood’s power lyricists
AMITABH BHATTACHARYA Bhattacharya has an unerring ear for colloquialisms, which results in effortlessly funny songs that lodge themselves in the brain. Think ‘Emotional Atyachaar’, ‘Pungi’, ‘Ainvayi mass media Ainvayi’ and ‘Bhaag DK Bose’. Alternative artistes have finally made inroads into SWANAND KIRKIRE He’s won National Awards for Bollywood, turning film music on its head his work on ‘Bande Me Tha Dum... Vande Mataram’, and ‘Behti It is a truth universally acknowledged composers.” Dadlani thinks they’re in Hawaa Sa Tha Woh’. More that the ’90s were Bollywood music’s a win-win situation: “You’re not just recently, Kirkire has created Dark Ages, with the kind of fare you doing it for the money here; the sheer earworms for Kai Po Che and can look back fondly on only from the recognition that Bollywood offers is an Bombay Talkies. His ace is his safe distance of two decades. The songs incentive. And as long as you’re not incredible simplicity and ability to sounded identically awful and the lyrics, losing your identity, why not?” lightly layer mainstream songs with at their best, often only skimmed logic. (H)indie singer and lyricist Ankur regional dialects. The turning point came in the Tewari (who’s worked on films like ANVITA DUTT early aughts – 2001, to be precise – David, Quick Gun Murugun, Ek Chalis Ki This lyricist and dialogue/ when Farhan Akhtar debuted a new Last Local) agrees: “In the movies, the screenplay writer has kind of Hindi film – slick, cool, yet music director usually wants you to stick worked on hit songs for films inordinately relatable. The film’s music, to his brief. But as long as you can still like Dostana, Kambakkth Ishq, by Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy, followed own the song, it’s a great opportunity.” and Tees Maar Khan. Her shining suit. Bollywood music could be more, Singer-songwriter Nikhil D’Souza moment came in 2012 with the song we were reminded – it could speak considers himself lucky as all the music ‘Ishq Waala Love’. Dutt is radical, your language, it could fit in with your he’s been asked to create so far has been relevant and happily illogical when friends and it could keep step with in recognition of his forte. “Directors required – and it works. ‘serious music’. like Pritam [Chakraborty] have brought A decade later, the movement has me on board to for the more intense IRSHAD KAMIL picked up momentum. A new breed of rock or ballad genres. His strong suit is his flair for Urdu film directors (with Anurag Kashyap as Wait for the credits to roll, and you’ll and poetry. Punjabi-born Kamil is their patron saint) is tackling all sorts of see a whole range of artistes on the list known to infuse his writing with the genres and themes and exhorting music – multi-lingual folk artist Raghu Dixit, hearty candour and mischief of his directors and lyricists to do the same. metal band Bhayanak Maut, indie native place. Jab We Met, Love Aaj Cases in point: Piyush Mishra’s blackly veterans Indian Ocean and Agnee, Kal, Rockstar, Aashiqui 2 and the comic lyrics for Gangs of Wasseypur and alt/punk act The Lightyears Explode, recent Phata Poster Nikhla Hero Amit Trivedi’s zeitgeisty ‘Dilli’, which electro fusion artistes Midival Punditz feature his work. opened No One Killed Jessica. and Karsh Kale. Through the movies, PRASOON JOSHI According to music director these artistes are able to reach a much, This National Award winner’s Vishal Dadlani of Vishal-Shekhar, any much wider audience, in corners of the command over Hindi, and his ability remaining distinction between indie and country where their live performances to mine situations in daily life enable mainstream is only in your head. He would never have otherwise taken them. him to write simple lyrics that evoke explains, “Everyone’s doing everything Like Dadlani puts it, “It’s nice when profound emotion. Refer to his work and that’s great, music should be like a billion people know your name.” for Taare Zameen Par and lately, that. Artistes are expressing themselves ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’ with their own projects, and they’re RAVINA RAWAL from the film Satyagraha. also happy to collaborate with major
ELLEOCTOBER 2013