For the longest period of time, Bollywood has been the poster boy of Indian cinema. While it primarily made Hindi and Urdu films, the influence was exported from all the artistically active regions of India. For instance, the filmmaking style was very much influenced by Bangla films, that’s why we got movies like Do Bigha Zameen.
The dancing style was very influenced by Tamil actresses. If we leave Padmini and Jaya Prada then most of the great South Indian actresses came from Tamil Nadu who were highly trained in Bharatnatyam.
The influence of Lucknow along with Northern UP was crystal clear in the lyrics of Bollywood music. Khadi Hindi and Urdu became the language of Bollywood. There are thousands of examples and quoting one of them would be injustice.
Thus, with a wide influence Bollywood music started shaping. The standard Bollywood music started with Barsaat and Mahal in the voice of Lata Mangeshkar in 1949. It peaked in the 60s and the rest is history.
But, the influence of Punjabi was never as strong as it has been during the last 10-12 years. Even in a film like Veer Zaara which is set in Punjab, you find truly Hindi songs in the same tradition.
When Honey Singh became a rage with his Punjabi songs then Bollywood started importing the Punjabi school of music. The popular commercial music of Punjab is essentially hook-based. It will usually not have profound lyrics and will talk about cast, cars, girls and violence. The objectification of women is impossible to miss.
There is nothing wrong with Punjabi songs. We all love what Shiv Batalvi wrote but the modern commercial Punjabi music is indeed pathetic on so many levels. It is almost equivalent to the modern Bhojpuri music industry which is essentially crap.
But, Bollywood didn’t import songs like Heer (Jab Tak Hai Jaan), Chitthiye (Henna) or Ikk Kudi (Udta Punjab) in abundance.
Rather, most of them are hook-based crap like Saturday Saturday, Patola, Naah Goriye, Hor Nachdi, Wakhra Swag and more.
Bollywood definitely needs party tracks but that is all we are getting.
This is one of the reasons people are critical of songs like Tauba Tauba (Bad Newz) even though it is getting extremely popular on Instagram Reels.
Just after the Punjabi influence (starting in 2013), we suddenly got a drought of good albums with exceptional sprinkles like Amar Singh Chamkila, Laila Majnu and more.
If you see the era of the 2000s then albums like Dil Chahta Hai, Saathiya, Meenaxi, Bunty Aur Babli, and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2012) were almost regular.
The question remains, why is Bollywood importing something that is as short-lived as an Instagram trend? Will the children born after 2010 be able to boast about albums like Pakeezah and Rockstar to their children?
Bollywood and the people who are making such songs are responsible for answering these questions.
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