|
Good
Times Roll for Bollywood Music Industry
|
The good times seem to be rolling for the
music industry, with five new film albums expected
to do very well, surpassing in all likelihood the
sales notched up by last year's best albums. The
first five months have been witness to exceedingly
good sales, and the industry expects the momentum to
continue.
 The
tone has been set by Aamir Khan's 'Lagaan', the
music of which is set to break all records, having
notched up sales of one million in the first month
of release. The music, released by Sony Music, and
composed by veteran AR Rehman, has become immensely
popular, although it was not promoted aggressively
before release. The only match to this in recent
times has been Sony's 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', which
sold five million copies.
Rehman has provided refreshingly new music this
time, using the voices of Asha, Lata, and Udit and
Javed Akhtar's lyrics. In the coming months, 'Lagaan'
is expected to remain at the top of the charts, with
'Radha Kaise Na Jale' and 'Sun Mitwa' already being
top hits.
Against this trend, last year's situation was
dismal, with only four film albums having done well
- 'Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai', 'Mohabbatein', 'Dhadkan' and
'Mission Kashmir'.
On the popularity charts, after Lagaan comes
Venus' 'Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya', with music by Sandeep
Chowta. The title song, aired on MTV, has seen a
good response and sales have started rising. The
other track 'Kambakht Ishq' has also become an
instant hit and the album has notched up sales
figures of 20 lakh so far. It is expected that it
will continue to sell well in the coming months.
 Although
the film 'Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai' has not done too
well, producer Vashu Bhagnani says that the music
has more or less made up for the shortcomings of the
film. He claims that the music has sold between 17
and19 lakh copies, and is likely to sell more with
the help of television promos. The film, at best,
has been a moderate-to-good success.
The films that are to be released shortly and
whose music will soon be in the market are 'Yaadein',
'Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham' and 'Gadar'. All three are
expected to do well. Anu Malik has already proved
lucky, with 'Yaadein' gaining popularity
immediately. It is being said that Anu has made his
pitch with some 'emotional music'. The tracks are
conventional, but pleasing.
 So
upbeat is producer Subhash Ghai about the music of 'Yaadein'
that he spent money lavishly on the release function
at Hyatt Regency in New Delhi last week. Similarly,
Aadesh Srivastava's 'Kahbhi Khushi Kabhi Gham' and
Uttam Singh's 'Gadar' are expected to provide good
music and everybody is waiting with bated breath.
Some of the albums which have done well in the
last couple of years are HMV's 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le
Jayenge' and 'Dil To Pagal Hai', both having clocked
sales figures of more than 50 lakh each. 'Roja',
Rehman's magnum opus, had logged 30 lakh copies,
whereas Sony Music's 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' had
surpassed five million tapes.
|
