ABSTRACT
In no other country in the world does music find so wide and extensive a pasture in cinema as it does in India. It is also a fact that film music in India is much more popular than anywhere else. Film songs are an integral part of all social, cultural, religious and political functions of India. Their appeal is irresistible to the masses, irrespective of caste, creed and profession. A lengthy history of music shows the traditional legacy behind this popularity of film songs. Rigveda (17001100 BC) stands out as the earliest illustrious source of songs. Sanskrit poetic drama began to evolve and flourish during the period of the Maurya Empire (322-185 BC) and the Gupta Empire (AD 320-600). The plays of Kalidasa were written during AD 370-450. The ancient Sanskrit epic the Ramayana, written by Valmiki probably during 500-100 BC, contained twenty-four thousand verses. Another major Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, written by Vyasa during the Gupta period, contained about one hundred thousand verses. All these unequivocally establish the predominance of rhymed verse and rhythmic melody enriching a musical stream of unforgettable beauty. According to the definition of Sanskrit classical literature, the songs of Indian mainstream cinema reflect nine rasa-i.e. nine states of emotions, which are: 1 shringar (romance); 2 raudra (fury); 3 hasya (humor); 4 beebhatsa (disgust); 5 veera (heroic); 6 karuna (pathos); 7 bhayanak (fearsome); 8 adbhuta (wondering); and 9 shanta (contemplating). Within shringar (romance) there are two sub-divisions: viraha (separation) and milana (unification). Most of the popular songs of Indian mainstream cinema, especially of Bollywood, idealize this concept.
