Music has always been one of the ‘must haves’ in my life. Even as I was growing up, music had a big influence in my life. Be it choir lessons [its not the 'choir' people come to think of in Indian schools is it? 
] at school….strong influences of Indian and Western classical music at home, Pop, Rap, Hip Hop and what not on the telly; blaring radios [cars or otherwise]..Music was omnipresent. I think at times, it was so intrusive that you learned to turn a ‘deaf ear’ to it. Of course it also brought with it strong likes and dislikes.
Cut to my life in Australia…I have always had a MP3 player/iPod/iPhone in my pocket..and am always hooked on to Music whenever and wherever possible. Actually I always like it most when traveling/commuting. Recently, after a couple of years, there is some real good Hindi [Movie OST] music on show.
Gone are the days….
…with Music Directors ‘acting’ on the sets of a singing bee …
…with AR Rahman’s music being the best,
…with Sonu Nigam/Hari Haran/Udit Narayan/Shaan bagging all [vocally] ‘backing-up’ the honours…[the female scene is still dominated by Sunidhi & Shreya]
…with barely “one” song being the stand out….
…of fall…
Please welcome spring time in Hindi Music .
This sudden change is a result of multiple factors…lesser movies made in first quarter of 2009 [owing to IPL and other factors], immense competition in the Music Direction Industry in Bollywood…and all and all… better circulation of creative juices and talent on show .
In these times of change, one name definitely seems to have created a niche…Mohit Chauhan [Band: Silk Route]. I remember the time when Lucky Ali first burst on the to movie scene. A fairly limited singer, who used audio enhancements and gave a few hits. Mohit Chauhan, packs a better punch. But the rustic yet silken simplicity of his voice is what sets him apart. Over the last couple of years he has given many hit numbers…He deserves mention as he has fast become the ‘it’ singer and he sings at least one song for almost every movie [definitely the big banner music movies].
This artist definitely deserves the popularity and acclaim. To be honest, I also feel a sort of kinship with this singer, as I used to kid myself that I could [almost] perfectly mimic his voice and sing ‘Dooba Dooba’ exactly like him
The (attractive) Mohit Chauhan playlist:
- Dooba dooba, Boondein, Silk Route, 1997
- Khoon Chala, Rang De Basanti, AR Rahman, 2004
- Guncha Koi, Main Meri Patni Aur Woh, Sanjay Jaipurwale, 2005
- Tum Se Hi, Jab We Met, Pritam, 2007
- Is This Love (Kahin Na Laage), Kismat Konnection, Pritam, 2008
- Ek meetha marz de ne, Welcome To Sajjanpur,Shantanu Moitra, 2008
- Kuch khaas, Fashion, Salim Suleiman, 2008
- Aankhon hi aankhon mein, EMI, Chirantan Bhatt, 2008
- Masakali, Delhi 6, AR Rahman, 2009
- Gulon Mein, Sikandar, Shankar Ehsan Loy, 2009
- Haafiz Khuda, 8 X 10 Tasveer, Salim-Suleiman, 2009
- Kuchh Is Tarah, 8 X 10 Tasveer, Salim-Suleiman, 2009
- Jaana Hai, Let’s Dance, Vipin Mishra & Tarali Sharma, 2009
- Tune Jo Na Kaha, New York, Pritam – Pankaj Awasthi – Julius Packiam, 2009
- Ye Dooriyan, Love Aaj Kal, Pritam, 2009
- Pehli Baar Mohabbat, Kaminey, Vishal Bharadwaj, 2009
Ref: Mohit means ‘attractive/mesmerizing’
August 2, 2009 at 5:24 am |
I agree with you mate.. the music in the movies so far this year has been really noteworthy..
I think every good singer (and music director too for that matter) has a phase in which his/her songs are present in almost all the movies released during that particular period.. and as you said Kumar Shaanu and Shaan are prime examples of that..
The industry always seems to move on to someone new after a few days.. not that the quality of the singer goes down or something.. but as film situations and stories change.. directors seek newer voices.. long gone are the days when greats like Lata Mangeshkar and Mohd. Rafi and Kishore Kumar mesmerized movie-goers for decades in a row..
That said.. the way Mohit Chauhan has rendered his voice over the years has been really nice.. that too after working with different music directors and their varying styles. I remember ‘Dooba Dooba’ came out when I was in school.. and was an instant hit! He surely has come a long way.. that list which you have put up contains a few of my favorites too!
August 15, 2009 at 7:04 pm |
Yeah I agree, Mohit Chauhan is the next big thing. Lets hope the audiences dont get bored of his unconventional voice very soon !!
2009 and the past couple of years have actually been quite sad for Bollywood music though. Somehow I think, there were better songs in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
BTW: i have started blogging again !