Musicians in the Indian Music Industry can be seen as carriers of influence. It is a well established fact that auditory and visual aids impact human brains the most. Sometimes it’s just a catchphrase from a song people are familiar with, and sometimes it goes to the extent of changing elements prevalent in the society such as fashion, language and individual identity. So we can say that “influence” is a rather risky term to use synonymous to something being popular and well accepted.
The popular choices of music today reflects the culture and in a way we can trace its influence by following the dynamics in our society. We witness the fingerprints of the present youth in the lyrics and music of almost all the “Bollywood party songs”. These songs mainly focus on, partying relentlessly, objectifying women, selfies, promoting drinking and smoking, drug addiction- like they are an integral part of the youth culture in India.
In this current age, society is evolving far more chronically than ever before, thus reflecting various styles of music that are embryonic. The outrageous rap artist Honey Singh mainly sings along these lines and as a result, we see two kinds of audience reacting to it- one section liking what he produces and the other vehemently opposing it. Therefore it is safe to conclude that music brings out the power of rationality in society.
Music too keeps a tab on choices all around society. There was a time the Indian band Kailasa and Indian Ocean were famous for their off-beat music and their experimental genre. It has now been replaced by Coke Studio. We generally see Coke Studio producing music that is folk based and their lyrics give us an insight on the folk culture they belong to. This conveys how society worked way back in that time and with the fusion of fresh music from the modern era, the final music gets a whole new content to itself with respect to society.
If we go back in the 90s we see how Bollywood songs created a ripple throughout the youth culture. One such film was Kuch Kuch Hota Hain and its songs which made the youth society back then identify Sharukh Khan and Kajol as style statements. Even today music plays an important role in shaping the choices of the people in a particular society.
It is not absolutely uncommon for us to see music that fuses with active politics of a country and hence weaving out a completely new genre of music. They started out as mere political ballads and now they have turned into songs that inspire millions to stand up against injustice. Mehengai Daayen Hai was a hit from the movie Peepli Live that put across us through music and words, the plight of the farmers and the increasing number of suicides among them. Even today it is an issue that needs to be dealt with.
The musical figures that influence society till date also conversely influence other musicians thus giving birth to new kind of music and musical genres. Furthermore, society does not only listen to music, but it makes it.
