The Middle Child of Music…the 1980s! by Abhinav Prakash
The 1980s have always been treated as sort of a lost decade. Sandwiched between the anger & rage of the 70s and the niceness of the 90s, you could say the 80s were relegated to being the middle child which as some of you (who are the middle child in families) would agree is neither here nor there.
Nostalgia is quite biased. We tend to think of the past in rainbow colors where everything was possibly perfect. If you don’t believe me, you just need to check out the comments section of any old movie song on YouTube where you will have people waxing eloquent about all that was fair and lovely (no pun intended) with the world and their lives in the era gone by.
So, I’m expecting to be accused of the same charge here. And at the onset, let me confess to being guilty as charged.
Keeping aside the political, economic and social changes sweeping the nation, the 1980s was the one decade when music was refashioned, remixed, remodeled and reincarnated.
The decade began with a bang. Nazia Hassan, the fresh and extremely talented teenager from Pakistan burst onto the scene with “Aap Jaisa Koi” in the 1980 hit, Qurbani. The beats, the slightly nasal vocal sound and the disco lights together with a shimmering Zeenat Aman swaying to the tune…we hadn’t seen something like that before. The song became a rage and Nazia a star. Even to this day, almost forty-four years later, you find couples dancing when the song comes up (usually at the fag end of the house parties) and crooning the number seductively.
The song was the precursor to what came to be later known as the “Disco Decade”. The glittering disco balls, flashy outfits, pulsating beats and an Afro musical element became the hallmark of such songs and of course who can forget the golden (pun intended) king of disco, Bappi Lahiri, who in his inimitable style captured the mood of an entire generation. It is interesting to note that the disco songs, costumes and the period itself is now considered now by some as crass and lacking in class but arguably, to this day, the songs remain the guilty pleasure of the very same people who decry them in public and dance to them in private with abandon.
You would have thought this would have been quite enough of a change to handle in a single decade. But we had a second major musical storm brewing simultaneously. In 1981, came Umrao Jaan, a film based on the trials and tribulations of a Lucknow courtesan. You might be forgiven for thinking that this seemed like a typical arty project that intellectuals in Delhi and Mumbai might have been keen on watching and appreciating, but the movie turned out to be a classic masterpiece that cut across classes and cities. A lot of credit, of course, will have to be given to Muzaffar Ali, the film’s director and Rekha who illuminated its every frame, bringing out the pain and anguish of the main protagonist. At the same time, it would be criminal not to give credit to the music of the film, composed by Khayyam which popularized a style of poetry and music ( existing in the Indian subcontinent for ages) that became the rage…Ghazals. When Asha Bhonsle gave voice for Rekha in “Dil Cheez Kya Hai, Aap Meri Jaan Lijiye” in a dimly lit Lucknow mehfil adorned by chandeliers, interspersed with hookahs and paan chewing nawabs in finery, we all wanted to agree with her instantly.
Ghazals became the rage and mehfils came into in vogue. You had the elite, of course, but specifically the middle class now hosting and arranging musical soirees at home over biryani, kebabs and phirni, inviting neighbors and friends. Poetry had a revival of sorts and listening to ghazals now made you aristocratic. The star (or rather the superstar) of this period has to be Jagjit Singh though. He brought ghazal to the homes of common people through simple lyrics and melody and his songs became top of the charts. The purists fumed over this blasphemy. The people fell in love. A lot of these ghazals, set to lilting tunes, became love anthems for college sweethearts. When Jagjit Singh sang “Tum Ko Dekha Toh Yeh Khayal Aaya”, in his deep baritone voice, there wasn’t a single young man who didn’t sing that number to his beloved (wife or wife to be) on campuses and universities.
The third and final musical milestone during the 1980s was the southern musical kitsch that entered Bollywood. A lot of remakes started to happen with actors like Jeetendra, Jaya Prada and Sridevi ruling the roost in these potboilers. Southern actors such as Kamal Hassan and Rajnikanth also dipped their toes in Hindi movies.
Musically, a new sound came into being because of this North- South infusion in films, signified by over-the-top sets, flashy, creative costumes (apsara like for the heroines) and dance steps that now seem weird but at that time worked. The song that epitomizes this phase is “Naino Mein Sapna..” picturized on Jeetendra and Sridevi. The song and the film were a runaway hit. And songs like that became staple diet of the masses. It was a cultural phenomenon that people living in the cities didn’t quite understand, but the hinterland loved the unabashed and unapologetic nature of this music. We might be dismissive of these songs now, but we cannot deny the huge impact they had on the psyche of the cinema goers and in making a star of these actors during that time.
The 1980s eventually gave way to the liberalized times of the 1990s when we started to find love and longing on the Swiss Alps. A time when we were rooted in our family structures (Hum Aapke Hain Kaun) and yet did give love a second chance (Kuch Kuch Hota Hain). Our music also reflected this sweet balance of family and love.
Time is cyclical, they say, so it’s no surprise that we still hear of disco redux via mashups and remixes in clubs across the country. No party can be complete without a disco song even in 2024. The ghazals have found a new lease of life through platforms such as Coke Studio that have seen “Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo” revisited by the legendary Farida Khanum herself. And the southern flavors still resonate through Naatu Naatu…internationally this time. Who said the 1980s are gone?
Abhinav Prakash was born & raised in India and currently resides in Singapore. A business focused HR leader, Abhinav has had crucible experiences. Outside of his professional endeavours, he is also passionate about volunteering with youth and elderly through mentoring programs and art therapy workshops. He has started writing recently and this is his first published writing piece. He writes on anything under the sun but is a sucker for nostalgia. He attributes his love for stories & storytelling to his grandfather.
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