MUMBAI: The melodies and tunes of Bollywood’s yesteryear’s songs may be gone forever but the film music industry has grown and changed for the better filmmaker Sunil Agnihotri has said.
Agnihotri who is a famous Bollywood film and TV producer and director is of the opinion that though there may no longer be a comeback of the immortal melodies of the bygone years that defined Bollywood songs and music, it has been replaced by technology, professionalism and marketing- all which have helped the industry grow exponentially.
“The days of RD Burman, Laxmikant-Pyarelal are gone now. Concepts have changed. I think it is because things are moving so fast- no one has the time to listen to melodies of the previous era,” he said.
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Professionally too, with technology in their hands music directors are doing away with live music and orchestration- a staple of Hindi film soundtrack and music.
“ No one has the time to arrange for live music, everyone wants to make a film in six months. That’s why major stars are working on two projects every year.”
Agnihotri who is currently producing and directing a Mika Singh-Shaan (both singers making their debut in films with full-fledged roles) starrer ‘Balwinder Singh Famous Ho Gaya’ accepts that progress and development comes at a cost.
The hard fact is that audience of today will never experience the joy of listening to a film song that one instantly can recognize as a classic- whose melodious flavour can be savored by future generations.
“Today, one can think of making different kind of films that require different treatment but the longevity will suffer. Take a hit of recent past- ‘Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast’- it was a rage but very few listen to it now,” he pointed out.
The cost of producing a song has also increased astronomically. In 2006, it cost Agnihotri Rs 2 lakhs to make a song compared to Rs 9 lakhs he has to fork out today, in spite of technology at hand.
Progress has also meant a huge increase in piracy and illegal downloads via the Internet which is hurting the film industry- which dominates the market.
The problem with piracy is that the (film’s) music is available on the footpath a day after it is launched. Producers suffer a huge loss as they have to arrange the funds for production, pay people and creditors then suffer loss of revenue. Producers have also lost out regarding the Copyright (Amendment) Act 2012 passed by Parliament. The Act is good for the technicians but our country is not like the US where the infrastructure is in place to collect royalties. The producer loses out as he’s the one who has to pay back the funds acquired for making the film and music, he said.
“Today the cost of making a film has escalated so much that a movie that could be made in Rs 30 lakhs a decade ago would cost Rs 40-50 crores. The problem is the overall cost has gone and it is the producer who has to bear the cost.”
On a more melodious note, Agnihotri said his new film ‘Balwinder Singh…’ due for release mid August is a comedy with Mika and Shaan sharing the background scores. The film will be promoted with a tour across India by Shaan and Mika.
“Our basic target audience is the college crowd and we will depend on word-of-mouth publicity to push our film. Frankly I thought it would be difficult to work with them (as they are new) but they fit into their roles completely. There were no ego hassles they delivered what they were asked to do.”
