The filmi-ghazal is a genre of

filmi Filmi ("of films") music soundtracks are music produced for India's mainstream motion picture industry and written and performed for Indian cinema. In cinema, music directors make up the main body of composers; the songs are performed by playb ...

music based on

ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

poetry in

Hindustani Hindustani may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Hindustan (another name of India) * Hindustani language, an Indo-Aryan language, whose two official norms are Hindi and Urdu * Fiji Hindi, a variety of Eastern Hindi spoken in Fiji, and ...

(

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

), used in

Indian film The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, K ...

s, especially the

music of Bollywood Hindi film songs, more formally known as Hindi Geet or filmi songs and informally known as Bollywood music, are songs featured in Hindi films. Derived from the song-and-dance routines common in Indian films, Bollywood songs, along with danc ...

(

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

). The filmi-ghazals retain the couplet format and rhyme scheme similar to that in ghazals. However, instead of vocal or instrumental passages as interludes, the filmi-ghazal usually uses precomposed musical pieces.

History

The

tradition of

Urdu poetry Urdu poetry ( ur, ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the cultures of South Asia. According to Naseer Turabi there are five major poets of Urdu which are Mir Taqi Mir (d.1810), Mirza Ghali ...

was the basis for early

Bollywood music Hindi film songs, more formally known as Hindi Geet or filmi songs and informally known as Bollywood music, are songs featured in Hindi films. Derived from the song-and-dance routines common in Indian films, Bollywood songs, along with danc ...

, ever since the first Indian

talkie A sound film is a motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decad ...

film, ''

Alam Ara ''Alam Ara'' () is a 1931 Indian Hindustani-language historical fantasy film directed and produced by Ardeshir Irani. It revolves on a king and his two wives, Navbahaar and Dilbahaar, who are childless; soon, a ''fakir'' (Muhammad Wazir Khan) ...

'' (1931). In turn,

ghazals had roots in earlier Urdu

Parsi theatre Parsi theatre is a generic term for an influential theatre tradition, staged by Parsis, and theatre companies largely-owned by the Parsi business community, which flourished between 1850 and 1930s. Plays were primarily in the Hindustani language ( ...

during the 19th to early 20th centuries. The ghazal was the dominant style of

music since the 1930s up until the 1960s. By the 1980s, however, ghazals had become marginalized in film music. Reasons for the decline include Urdu ghazal poetry being gradually phased out from the Indian education system, lyricists targeting urban middle-class audiences, and the influence of Western and

Latin American music The music of Latin America refers to music originating from Latin America, namely the Romance language, Romance-speaking regions of the Americas south of the United States. Latin American music also incorporates African music from enslaved Afric ...

. Music directors like Madan Mohan composed notable filmi-ghazals extensively for

Muslim social The Muslim social is a film genre in Bollywood that portrays Islamic culture in India. It flourished in the 1950s and 1960s and lasted till the early 1980s. Muslim socials are divided into two categories: "classic Muslim socials" that explore na ...

s in the 1960s and the 1970s. The filmi-ghazal style experienced a revival in the early 1990s, sparked by the success of Nadeem–Shravan's ''

Aashiqui Aashiqui () is a 1990 Indian Hindi musical romantic drama film and first installment of Aashiqui series directed by Mahesh Bhatt, starring Rahul Roy, Anu Aggarwal and Deepak Tijori in pivotal roles. The film was known for its music, by compos ...

'' (1990). It had a big impact on Bollywood music, ushering in ghazal-type romantic music that dominated the early 1990s, with soundtracks such as '' Dil'' (1990), ''

Saajan ''Saajan'' () is a 1991 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Lawrence D'Souza and produced by Sudhakar Bokade. It stars Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan in lead roles, with Kader Khan, Reema Lagoo and Laxmikant Ber ...

'' (1991), ''

Phool Aur Kaante ''Phool Aur Kaante'' () is a 1991 Indian Hindi-language action-romance film directed by Kuku Kohli. It stars Ajay Devgan, Madhoo, Aruna Irani, Jagdeep and Amrish Puri among others. The film marked the debut of Devgan, son of late stunt and ac ...

'' (1991) and '' Deewana'' (1992). However, the filmi ghazal style was once again marginalized by the early 21st century, as filmi songs became faster-paced along with greater Western and Latin influences. However, there have been a number of well-received filmi ghazal songs composed into the 2010s. A popular ghazal song from ''Aashiqui'' was " Dheere Dheere", a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

of which was later recorded by

Yo Yo Honey Singh Hirdesh Singh (born 15 March 1983), known professionally as Yo Yo Honey Singh or simply Honey Singh, is an Indian music producer, rapper, singer, songwriter and an actor. He started out in 2003 as a session and recording artist, and became a b ...

and released by T-Series in 2015.

References

Filmi Ghazal Hindi cinema Indian music history Hindi film songs {{film-term-stub

History

See also

References