Re-embodying the “Classical”

Abstract

The 1950s is considered to be a golden era for Hindi film music. Interestingly, it was this period in which film music came under severe attack from the state in the guise of the then Minister of Information and Broadcasting, B.V. Keskar. Film music was banished from All India Radio (AIR) for a few years, forcing music lovers to tune in to Radio Ceylon to catch their favorite film songs. This article interrogates the debate around film music in the wake of Keskar’s policies, focusing on the response of the film industry. Through the circulation of interviews, editorials, and articles in film journals, the film industry fought back against the “highbrow” attitude of the state, foregrounding its role in giving music to the common man, as a self-conscious cultural project. These contestations brought under its rubric, the cleavages between the constructed notions of “classical” and the “popular.” Films like Baiju Bawra, Basant Bahar, and Shabab, based on the lives of classical musicians were central in shaping this debate, articulating an aesthetic that privileged the “affective” registers of the film song over the technical virtuosity of the classical/court musician.

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