The Magic of Playback Part I, History of Playback Music in Hindi Cine Options

[Nimii]

In the beginning there was silence. Then God said, let there be sound. And we had Lata Mangeshkar. But that came later. Much later in the hoary and tapestried history of playback music in Hindi cinema.

"Why playback?" one might well ask. Why not pop, rock, classical, semi-classical or any of the myriad shoots and offshoots of musicianship that have come into being as the years have rocked and rolled by? What accounts for the enduring magic of playback music in India?

Playback music is an amazing cultural phenomenon that began 70 years ago and persists, nay, swamps the Indian music stage even today. If 51 years ago Madhubala became a household name lip-syncing the Nightingale's "Mushqil hai bahut mushqil yaadon ko bhula dena," now we have Aishwarya Rai attaining a new dimension to her beauty and grace as Lata sings "Hum Ko Humhi Se Churaa Lo" for her in Yash Chopra's Mohabbatein. Every song comes with a history, a face, and a wealth of emotions attached to it. Think of Vyjanthimala and you immediately recall Lata Mangeshkar singing "Aaja Re Pardesi" and "Man Dole" for the dancing star in Madhumati and Nagin. Think of Dilip Kumar and the voice of Mohd. Rafi singing "Madhuban mein radhika" and "Toote huey khwabon nein" in Kohinoor and Madhumati floats into the firmament of our minds. Think of Shammi Kapoor and Rafi appears in person to warble "Aaja Aaja" and "Yeh duniya uss ki" in Teesri Manzil and Kashmir Ki Kali. And how can we dissociate Dev Anand and Rajesh Khanna from the voice of Kishore Kumar? The screen images of these two stars are indelibly linked to the crooning genius' virtuosity.

Initially, playback artistes were known only through the actors they sang for. Hence "Aayega aane waala" was billed to Madhubala (or 'Kamini', the character she played in Mahal) rather than to Lata Mangeshkar. It took immense talent and resilience for singers to come into the limelight.