Cut the gaana, yaar!

Six songs over a span of two hours-plus.
That was the usual filmi funda for mainstream Indian cinema. However, in the last two years, film-makers have been experimenting with the way they present their music ��� compiling OSTs, using an end credits song, incorporating item numbers or having no songs at all. And it seems that audiences have got used to that.
Some of the big releases this year like Chandni Chowk to China (CC2C), Dilli-6, Billu, Kambakkht Ishq (KI) and Love Aaj Kal had well-choreographed, appealing numbers that failed to impress audiences. Films like Saawariya, Drona, Salaam-e-Ishq and Love Story 2050 with huge dance troupes were also given a thumbs down by movie buffs.
In a poll conducted by AT, we found that 70 per cent of the younger movie-goers are tired of elaborate and too-long song-and-dance routines in films. ���Edit the songs out of films and the good films will be as good or possibly better,��� says student Nihar Jha. Student Rinky Sen adds, ���Film-makers should use soundtracks in the background or release an audio CD a few weeks before a film���s opening.���
Industrywallahs also acknowledge the changing audience tastes. ���Despite being directed by song-and-dance specialist Sanjay Leela Bhansali, why do you think Saawariya was snubbed?��� asks director Anurag Basu. ���Traditional box office strongholds are losing their grip. The advent of small-to medium-budget films has also changed the landscape of content,��� he adds.
Anurag created songs for his film Life... in a Metro, which featured the musicians and music director on-screen performing as street singers. The music was used largely as background score. He awaits his next release, Kites, which he says won���t have naach-gaana. ���Our western market has gained importance and song-and-dance routines put Hindi films in the quirky, kitschy bracket,��� explains Anurag.
Some music directors say there is no way the industry can get rid of songs. ���But we can experiment with new ways to present them; we can avoid spending big money on shooting song sequences,��� says Salim Merchant of the Salim-Suleiman duo, who scored the music for KI. ���Though songs give a story its essence, we can���t incorporate them in a two-hour movie,��� adds Salim.
Shankar Mahadevan, music director for CC2C, agrees. ���If you include a song for the heck of it or to glamourise your film, it���ll be rejected. But if a song gets a good response before the release, it���s an advantage. Kajra Re became very popular for its music and choreography. People loved it more than Bunty Aur Babli,��� says Shankar.
Composer Vishal Dadlani says songs are important because they go beyond the script. ���Indian films have so much to say and unlike earlier, now songs are used as a narrative device rather than entertainment,��� he says.