MUMBAI: The Indian music space is growing beyond Bollywood with Indian musicians collaborating with the international artiste. But, intentionally or unintentionally, the Indian music industry continues to be dominated by male music composers. The women seem to be restricted to the vocal side of music. So, what is it that’s stopping them from being on the top of this musical hierarchy?
The one-half of the renowned music composer duo Jatin-Lalit, Lalit Pandit went on to throw some light on this subject as he said, “This is an era where we have women composers not more than men, but a few more than ever before. I know only Usha Khanna (female composer) from the earlier days. Now there is Sneha Khanwalkar and a couple of women composers. I have worked with a few female composers over the years, but the phase is changing. I agree it is a male dominated industry when it comes to music.”
He further added, “The reason cannot be a lack of opportunity. This is an industry where, if you know the job, and you can do the job, there is nothing that can take away the credit and work from you. I guess the women are not taking up the composition side of music because it’s an elaborate work. The profile is not only making a song. You must know the orchestration, the range of instruments, the singing, know the language well to guide the singers, be able to sing, so it’s a multi-facet kind of a profession and I think the men are up for it.”
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Recreation of old songs seems to have become an integral part of the Bollywood music industry. 2016 saw an array of musical renditions and this trend seems to have now entered 2017 with many upcoming releases offering a plethora of old songs.
Also read: ‘Badrinath Ki Dulhania’ trailer a mashup of old and new songs
Talking about this growing fade the music composer said, “I am not really happy with the recreations. The old songs that are being recreated now were huge hits in their time, generation and so we see them back. This is a catch for newer films. They re-do the songs in hope of scoring a hit.”
Lalit who has been a part of the music industry for more than two decades predicts 2017 to be a great year for the music industry. “The music trend is changing for good. Much of love songs are happening that are bringing back melody. I think it is a good change from the item song that we have been hearing over a few years now. The item songs went on longer than I thought. I am glad melody is coming back.”
The ‘Aati Kya Khandala’ hit-maker is all set to rock 2017 with his upcoming projects. He has worked on the over-all music for an upcoming film ‘Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi’ and ‘Mohobbat Hai Kya Cheez’. He has also composed songs for a children-oriented film ‘Pampapur Ki Ramleela’.
