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| MUSICAL CONNECT |
| Household voices |
Srabanti Chakrabarti tracks singers and composers behind the popular music of daily soaps, whose soulful renditions echo in every living room across the nation. |
| A few years back, right at 10 pm, every other house in my neighbourhood heard the strains of Rishton ke bhi roop badalte hain, naye naye saanche mein dhalte hain, ek pedhi aati hain ek jaati hain, banti kahani nayi, kyonki saans bhi kabhi bahu thi... This title song of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.. had achieved a cult status. So did title tracks of Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii (Rishton ki pooja jaha ho, aadar badon ka waha ho...), Kasautii Zindagii Kay (chahat ke safar mein, dilon ke faasalen dekho, yeh aksar toot jaate hain...) and Kahin To Hoga (meri aankhon mein kya raaz gehra hain, hain kashish meethi yaadon ka pehra hain...). In fact, some of the title tracks of shows from the 80s like Subaah (composed by R D Burman), Hum Log and Tamas are still fresh in our memory. Sadly, there are hardly any serials today, which can boast of original scores. Also, situational songs or background scores are now purely Bollywood numbers. What happened? Rupali Guha, producer of Uttaran says, "There is no scope for a title montage now. Today, the title credits start when the viewers are shown a recap of the show. So, when will the title track run? But the final call lies with the channel authorities." She adds further, "But that does not mean that title songs are not successful. Shows like Uttaran, Yahaaan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli, Dil Se Diya... Vachan and Tere Liye do have popular title tracks." Priya Bhattacharya is the voice behind the title tracks of all the K serials such as Kyunki.., Kasauti.. and Kahani... She started her career with Koshish - Ek Aashaa and later, went on to lend her voice for shows like Ghar Ek Mandir, Kkusum, Karam Apnaa Apnaa and Kkavyanjali. She says, "This trend of creating title songs for soaps was introduced by Ekta Kapoor. She was very passionate about all her title songs and their lyrics. In fact, she used to be present during the recordings. Ekta believed that a title song can create a strong impact on the audiences. But title songs today hardly connect to people, which is why I have stopped singing for television." The lack of melody is not just limited to title songs in soaps. Situational songs in serials are now popular Bollywood numbers instead of original scores — quite a contrast from the days when a lot of time and effort was invested into making a music track for television serials. Pamela Jain, the voice behind title songs of soaps like Kumkum, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Bidaai, Sindoor, Kulvadhu, Bairi Piya and Ganga Ki Dheej, has a slightly different point of view. "Budget is a big factor when it comes to choosing between creating situational songs for a serial or just using Bollywood tracks. But there are a few producers who think differently and make it a point to use original scores. For instance, I sang all the situational songs made for Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai and Bidaai. The mehendi song of Yeh Rishta... was a big hit," she explains. Rajan Shahi, producer of hit serials like Yeh Rishta.. and Bidaai stresses on the need to create exclusive tracks and background scores for his shows. "For Chand Chupa Badal Mein, I record one song every week. I strongly feel that you can connect with your audience when you use original tracks in daily soaps, especially the title song." Pamela Jain says, "It is sad that we use film songs in TV shows when we have so many talented composers and singers in the industry. I feel production houses need to create exclusive songs for soaps. This is how television will create its niche in the music industry." What do composers feel? Naveen-Manish, who has been working with Rajan Shahi on most of his shows adds, "Rajan Shahi has a great sense of music and gets the best out of his music directors. We have also worked with the Barjatyas of Rajshri Productions on shows like Main Teri Parchhain Hoon, Pyar Ke Do Naam Ek Radhaa, Ek Shyaam and Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki. They too give a lot of importance to music. It's just a matter of time when television producers realise the importance of title songs for daily soaps." Let us hope that, in the future, television offers us some more original scores to enjoy. |
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