Bollywood's monsoon melodies

B’Town doesn’t take a rain check when it comes to a sudden smart shower of rain songs...
Symphony of an overcast sky has always cast a magical spell on 70 mm. From Shree 420’s Pyaar Hua Ikraar Hua Hai and Mohra’s Tip Tip Barsa Paani to Mr India’s Kaate Nahi Katate and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’s Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye, Bollywood was caught in the rain and mesmerised viewers by romancing the rains and over-saturating it.If rain songs were watered down some seasons ago, rain machines dried up and chiffon-clad heroines no longer delightfully drenched professing love, Bollywood now sees a season change. Rain songs are back with a drizzle. The treatment — both in terms of lyrics and filming style — sees a spurt of experimental ideas.
Singer Kavita Seth says that her Iktara, which has become a near-cult hit in recent times, is a rain song with a difference. “I can’t thank Javed Akhtar saab enough for penning such wonderful lyrics for my Wake Up Sid song. Today’s generation is no longer keen on using rains as a prop to express sensuality. Hence, rain songs aren’t about wet saris. Look at the lyrics of Iktara: ‘Jo barse sapne boond boond/ Nainon ko moond moond(Nainon ko moond moond)/ Jo barse sapne boond boond/ Nainon ko moond moond/ Kaise main chaloon, dekh na sakoon’. That’s quintessential rain lyrics for me. To the educated and sensitive audience, romance of the rains lies in unearthing hidden meanings in lyrics that are connected with Nature.”
Another interesting rain song is Zoobie Doobie from 3 Idiots. Yes, it did have a drenched Kareena in an orange chiffon sari kissing Aamir Khan in a dream sequence. “For the last 10/15 years, rains have had a sexual connotation. When private albums started remixing hits, they came up with titillating videos. Then came a time when people started rejecting them. This rejection also meant that it would take some time for the audience to rediscover the beauty of newer rain songs,” says Shantanu Moitra, who composed the ZD number. Moitra says that Raju Hirani was very particular that the lyrics of ZD not be vulgar. “The idea was to capture the essence of a Hindi love story and yet, film it in a contemporary fashion. The old-world feel came from the lyrics. All of us, including Swanand Kirkire, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Raju Hirani, knew it would be a powerful song and could have made it titillating. But we fought against it since we felt that when we have actors of the calibre of Aamir and Kareena, it would be a complete waste if we have to resort to titillation to market the song,” Moitra adds.
That’s precisely why recent rain songs in Bollywood have stayed away from being sensual. Mohit Chauhan’s Tum Se Hi from Jab We Met had a drenched Kareena and Shahid, that was anything but titillating, even though the romance quotient in the song was high. As for the songs in Raavan, Santosh Sivan has shot Abhishek Bachchan dancing to Beera or Ash and Vikram romancing in Kolkata to Khili Re with artistic finesse.
Pritam Chakrabarty says that in all his years as a composer in Bollywood, he has never been asked to compose a rain song. “No director has ever given me such a brief. Even for the Tum Se Hi number, Imtiaz (Ali) used the rains while filming the song. It’s fine if the word ‘barish’ crops while penning the lyrics. But otherwise, there’s no pressure to use the words,” says Chakrabarty.
Moitra says that within a year’s time, Bollywood will see more monsoon songs. “I see a trend of semi-classical based monsoon songs in Bollywood. The new generation of composers might not be knowledgeable about the raagas. But they have eclectic taste and want to use the rain as a metaphor,” Moitra insists.
The visual fatigue that had set in with the traditional way of filming the rains has also given way to a trend of shooting rains metaphorically. Finally, it’s all about soaking up newer ideas to drown the clichés of yesteryears.
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