Remixed Songs From the Past….Good or Bad!

The conflict between the older generation and the new generation is a never ending process. The old want the younger generation to learn from their knowledge and experience whereas the newer generation wants to experiment everything by themselves.

One such major difference is the choice of music. The Bollywood film industry churns out thousands of songs every year. The comparison between the old and the new songs is inevitable.

The older generation rests their argument that the songs from the past are melodious, meaningful and evergreen vis-a-vis the current noisy compositions. Today’s generation on the other hand is plugged into their music, and finds excitement and enrichment in what is played today. Many, if not all, find the older songs boring and sleep provoking. 

One of the pioneers of the playback singing was Shamshad Begam who was amongst the first women playback singers in the Hindi film industry. She passed away on April 23^rd at the age of 94.She started to sing when she was ten in 1929, but her first assignment came in 1931 from the company xenophone where she recorded 12 songs, mainly popular amongst the rich and niche. She has sung over 6000 songs in different languages. She was at the peak of her career from 1940’s to 1970’s.

Now, would I have been exposed much to her music, if many of her songs were not remixed by the current day musicians? I don’t think so. .’Cos there must be thousands of songs in the past which have been very successful but have got lost in time.

It is my perception, and I am sure I may find some support here, that music grows on you. It is not necessary that when one hears a song for the first time, they come to like it immediately. There are some songs which have to be heard over and over again and that is when you start to appreciate the music composer, the song and the singer.

After she passed away and this became news I was forced to do some research on Shamshad Begum and her work. I was thrilled to find that some of the songs which I have been familiar with and enjoy listening to are her songs. These are the songs from the past which have been remixed. The voice behind the evergreen numbers like Mere piya gaye Rangoon, Kajra mohabbat wala, Saiyan dil mein aana re, Leke Pehla Pehla Pyar is fresh even today because of the remixes.

Whether the remixes are in good taste or not is another never ending debate. Nevertheless, one will agree that remixes revive music from the past and offers the young generation the old wine in a new bottle. Today’s generation would have never been exposed to these old gems. Only a few hard core music patrons or the ones who study it for their career go back in time.  

I would, in fact, applaud the music directors who have dared to remix songs of great maestros from the past like  Naushad Ali, S. D. Burman, C. Ramchandra, O. P. Nayyar, R.D Burman  and the likes. One would need real courage to do so. In my opinion they are actually keeping the past and older generation alive amongst us.

It is because of the remixed songs that Shamshad Begum is alive for me. I can relate to her songs even today.

The older generation always feel that their times were better and the new generation feels they are with the time and the previous generation does not want to change with time.

Shamshad Begum, the voice behind evergreen numbers like Mere piya gaye Rangoon and Kajra mohabbat wala, died here on April 23 2013. She was 94. She got her first break as a playback singer in 1940 for a Punjabi film Yamla Jatt. In a career spanning a little over twenty years, and with some of the most memorable songs to her credit, she has left an indelible mark in the history of Indian cinema that will never be erased - RIP Shamshadji.

Navneeta Khemka