Links to the Hindi song collections for the periods covered in this section:
Pre-1940 1940-1944 1945-1948 1949 1940s & Pre-1940 (All) 1940s GEMs
Note: For a YouTube playlist of Hindi song GEMs from the 1940s, please click here.
Commentary:
The 1940s marked a major transition in the history of Hindi film music, culminating in the following trends by the end of the decade:
– Playback singing became the industry standard. There was a major transition from actor-singers to playback singers, and most of the movie stars no longer needed to have singing abilities and instead could focus solely on acting. A great example of this is that Ashok Kumar stopped singing and Kishore Kumar started singing, which was a very good thing for both!
– The nasal style of singing began to phase out. In 1947, the year of India’s independence, the Hindi film industry lost two of its marquee singers: K.L. Saigal (who passed away that year) and Noor Jehan (who immigrated to the newly formed nation of Pakistan). Although some singers (such as Shamshad Begum and Suraiya) continued singing nasally, others (such as Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar) moved away from this style and started establishing their own distinct identity.
– A changing of the guard occurred for the creators of Hindi songs. Composers such as Anil Biswas, Khemchand Prakash and Pankaj Mullick were replaced by a younger cadre of highly talented music directors such as Naushad, S.D. Burman and Shankar Jaikishen.
The above trends came to a head in the pivotal year of 1949, which was truly a watershed in the history of Bollywood and marked the dawn of contemporary Hindi film music:
– Movies with great musical soundtracks such as Andaz, Badi Bahen, Barsaat, Dillagi, Dulari and Mahal were released that year.
– Musical giants such as Shankar Jaikishen, Naushad, S.D. Burman and C. Ramchandra either made their debut or started to establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
– Luminaries such as Rafi, Lata, Mukesh, Geeta Dutt (and yes, even Kishore Kumar!) made their mark and began their reign over playback singing which lasted for several decades.
– Lyricists such as Majrooh Sultanpuri, Shakeel Badayuni, Shailendra, Hasrat Jaipuri and Rajendra Krishan started to rule the roost by bringing a fresh, poetic approach to Hindi songs.