ABSTRACT
The enduring presence of songs in Hindi films has received much attention and been given various interpretations. The format of Hindi films has been seen in terms of audience inadequacy. The format of Hindi films can be historically traced to dramatic forms that predated the cinema. Alison Arnold and Peter Manuel are the scholars who have discussed Hindi film songs and Indian popular music most extensively. The relationship of film songs and the cinema in terms of production, musical style and reception is still an area that has been little explored. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book looks at film songs in their cinematic, narrative and visual contexts – in their fictional, 'reel' world context rather than their real world one. With very little existing scholarship on Hindi film songs, it draws extensively on fieldwork.
