This thesis explores the relationship of Hindi film songs with Hindi cinema from the 1950s, especially emphasizing the present day. It is based on fieldwork completed in Bombay from 1998-2000 and the analysis of film songs and their picturizations. The main question addressed is: 'How far can film songs be seen as an independent tradition of popular music and how far are they a part of their parent films and Indian cinema?' Chapter 1 surveys previous scholarship on film songs and introduces their cinematic study. Chapter 2 deals with the production process of film songs, identifying the role of various personnel in their creation including the music director (composer), lyricist and singer(s). Chapter 3 addresses the musical style of film songs and its development in the light of both their cinematic and popular music roles. Chapter 4 turns to the use of Western music in film song from the perspective of meaning. Is Western music used in the same way in Hindi films as in Hollywood films, and if so, how, if music is not a universal language? Is the presence of Western music in film songs just due to hegemony? Song and background score material is analysed in its dramatic context, and Indian and Western music theory and interview material drawn on to answer these questions. Chapter 5 looks at the commercial life of film songs, addressing the question of whether songs sell films or films sell songs through an examination of the marketing and profitability of film songs in various eras. Chapter 6 discusses the reception of film songs, their popularity, how audiences come into contact with them, and their appropriation by audiences. Adorno's profile of mass music as alienating is revisited with reference to film song.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:268674 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Morcom, Anne Frances |
| Publisher | SOAS, University of London |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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