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Business News/ Opinion / Online Views/  The anonymous heroes of Hindi film music
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The anonymous heroes of Hindi film music

Rudradeep Bhattacharjee’s film tells the story of the Lords who gave us our most beloved tunes, yet remained anonymous and without credit

Technology did put many musicians out of a job and also took away ‘the human factor’ from Bollywood music. Photo: Indranil Bhoumik/Mint (Indranil Bhoumik/Mint )Premium
Technology did put many musicians out of a job and also took away ‘the human factor’ from Bollywood music. Photo: Indranil Bhoumik/Mint
(Indranil Bhoumik/Mint )

If you are a fan of Bollywood music from the pre-Shah Rukh Khan/Salman Khan era, then it’s likely that you grew up more on radio rather than on television and Internet, and that the soundtrack of your childhood and youth will necessarily include R.D. Burman songs along with those your parents listened to in their youth mainly from black and white movies.

Musicologist Gregory Booth’s book, Behind the Curtain: Making Music in Mumbai’s Film Studios, deals with the evolution of the Hindi film music industry from the 1930s. I have yet to pick up the book. But then a book about music only takes you so far whereas the film, The Human Factor, inspired by the book touches all the right chords and takes you down memory lane with the sounds of music that remain evergreen.

Rudradeep Bhattacharjee knew he had to make a film after reading the book but he was not sure how to tell the story until a meeting with Kersi Lord, son of Cawas Lord was cancelled. When the meeting was re-scheduled, Bujji Lord, Kersi’s brother, was also in Mumbai. Bujji is not mentioned in Booth’s book but he was an outstanding drummer and musician and also worked with his brother and father. That’s when Bhattacharjee felt the film take shape as the two brothers are a study in contrast.

Bhattacharjee’s film tells the story of the Lords who along with scores of other musicians gave us our most beloved tunes and yet remained anonymous and without credit. Cawas Lord could be termed the Godfather of Bollywood orchestral music having spent a good part of his life making music and mentoring musicians. If you have ever wondered about how some of the older Bollywood sound songs have amazing Latin beats and how these Latin beats made their way into Indian film music, the answer is Cawas Lord. The story is that a Latin band, The Gagimbas, did a show at the Taj. Cawas bought all their instruments before they left. Amazing how one man did so much for the sound of music we all love.

What is interesting is that for most of the musicians of that time, it seemed to be just a job and more so for Bujji than others. Kersi comes across as larger than life and animated while Bujji, who is now a builder, is a man of few words with an air of bitterness about the past. The bitterness is justified as the musicians were pretty much relegated to the status of daily wage workers.

There is something magical about the sounds of an orchestra. A slew of musicians under the guidance of a conductor coming together to make music that electronic music just doesn’t match. Synthesizers brought about the doom of orchestral music in Bollywood. Technology did put many musicians out of a job and also took away “the human factor" from Bollywood music.

It’s interesting to note that India’s most famous conductor, Zubin Mehta, is also a Parsi like the Lords. And it’s sad that he is facing criticism and opposition for the upcoming concert in Kashmir this weekend. Kashmiris should welcome the chance to enjoy a performance of a lifetime and focus on the music and opportunity to experience “the human factor" instead of politicizing the event.

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Published: 06 Sep 2013, 12:00 PM IST
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