Now Reading: Javed Akhtar calls Western influence on Indian music an ’embarrassment’
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Javed Akhtar calls Western influence on Indian music an ’embarrassment’
Javed Akhtar calls Western influence on Indian music an ’embarrassment’
Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar has said that exposure to Western cinema and music has created an 'embarrassment' among younger audiences towards songs in Indian films. In an exclusive interview as his 1994…
Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar has said that exposure to Western cinema and music has created an 'embarrassment' among younger audiences towards songs in Indian films. In an exclusive interview as his 1994 film 1942: A Love Story returns to theatres, Akhtar said the new generation questions why songs appear in movies, calling the discomfort a shift from Indian storytelling traditions.
Akhtar defended songs as an artistic device, arguing that art is not obligated to be realistic. He said a song's value lies in being interesting, seductive, or giving a sense of beauty. He criticised contemporary film music as divided between double-meaning lyrics and songs with no meaning at all, adding that the issue is not with writers or composers but how songs are conceived within films.
He noted that music and narrative have long been linked in Indian traditions, and that songs work best when they participate in the story and represent characters.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Javed Akhtar's critique joins a long-running debate in Hindi cinema about the role of song-and-dance sequences in an era shaped by OTT content and global streaming. For decades, songs were integral to storytelling, but younger filmmakers increasingly treat them as background filler or promotional assets. The shift has real commercial stakes: music rights and streaming royalties are a major revenue stream for the film industry. Akhtar's defence of songs as narrative devices echoes older masters like Gulzar and Shankar-Jaikishan, who insisted music carry plot and emotion. The question now is whether producers, facing shorter attention spans, will bet on that tradition again. Watch if upcoming films like the re-release of 1942: A Love Story draw younger audiences to theatres.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
