Filmi – India’s chart filler
In the west, movie soundtracks aren’t exactly massive sellers. Sometimes, a particular movie will tap into the zeitgeist of the time, with a compilation soundtrack featuring songs from a number of popular artists. These soundtracks can shift a lot of copies – Trainspotting and Pulp Fiction are good examples. Even so, most other movie music sells in relatively modest numbers, and has quite a small – if devoted – niche fan base.
However, in India, quite the opposite is true. The country’s movie industry is big business, and musicals are especially popular – particularly in Hindi Cinema, more commonly known as Bollywood. These productions regularly feature large musical numbers, with complex choreographed dance routines and a huge number of extras in brightly-coloured costumes. The amazing popularity of the Bollywood musical has meant that accompanying soundtracks – known as ‘Filmi’ – also sell in huge numbers. In fact, Filmi is so popular in India that it makes up over 70% of music sales in the country, according to recent figures.
Although Filmi tracks are taken from Bollywood movies, they are very rarely sung by the actors themselves. It’s far more common for movies to use ‘playback singers’ – artists who record music for use in the movie, which is lip-synched by the actors. As these singers rarely appear on camera – or in any promotional work – their ability to sing is often far more noteworthy than their charisma as performers.
However, that is not to say that playback singers don’t get any credit for their work. The likes of Mohammed Rafi, Manna Dey and sisters Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle are as famous in India as the actors who mime their songs, and the quality of a movie’s musical numbers will often determine it’s success in the cinema. As such, Filmi soundtracks are usually released in advance of the actual movie, to stoke up interest and gauge the public reaction.
The songs themselves are an interesting mixture of different styles and influences, and are usually the result of the combined efforts of a number of different people. Frequently, the songs on a Filmi soundtrack are worked on by lyricists, composers and singers, all under the control of a central music director. It’s not only the singers and actors who get the limelight – musical directors in particular are also revered and idolised by Bollywood and Filmi fans.
In the early years of Bollywood, Filmi music was authentically Indian. Film soundtracks drew heavily from the classical forms of Carnatic and Hindustani music, as well as various other types of Indian folk. However, in more recent years, a number of Filmi music directors have adopted elements of western movie soundtracks, and will often use orchestration to support more traditional Indian melodies.
With the Indian movie industry continuing to outstrip Hollywood in year-on-year growth, it’s unlikely that Filmi will lose its popularity any time soon. And as more and more people from the region continue to migrate to the western world, Filmi is also becoming increasingly popular overseas as well. If you hadn’t heard of Filmi before you read this article, it’s likely you’ll be hearing about it again before too long!
