Dear Fans,
There is one thing which we all have to be very clear about. 'Commercial success'. By adding the qualifier 'commercial' to success, we're acknowldging that its not the success of the album or value of the song that we're talking about, but only if it managed to sell or not. Volumes of sale. And its well known that quality and quantity seldom go together. In a land where the likes of Laloo manage to win public votes and a fanatic fan following, the taste of the public at large lies exposed.
It requires a cultured mind to recognize genius. The public at large has never been diligent enough to separate wheat from chaff, be it any sphere, not only music. Thats the major reason of all the sorry state much of India is in today. Situation is no different in music.
Most MDs play to the gallery, and claim 'commercial' success. And thats what separates ARR from the chaff - he has refused to play to the gallery, letting go many offers for this, but not compromising on his set of principles.
Friends, nobody's going to remember which album topped the charts which month or which year.But the only thig people will remember are the melodies, which come back and haunt you when you least expect them. Do you how many albums RD Burman sold with 'Julie' - for that matter, do you even remember anything else about the film? But the haunting melodies refuse to die. So, the true greatness of music is not judged by current sales of albums - its judged by its ethereal, eternal charm, if it can linger on while everthing else has changed, if it can endure the test of time.
OP Nayyar and RD Burman did it in the 50-60s and 70s-80s respectively. Illayaraja did it in the 80s. ARR is doing it in 90s-2000s.
Just wait another 10 years and see which songs you remember - those which claim 'commercial success' today, or those of ARR which might not be 'commercial' successes, but are a true success - it has not pulled purse strings, but it has pulled a chord in your soul, which, by-the-way, is the rightful place for music, not the purse.
That said, I wont deny that S-E-L have produced certain soul stirring numbers and DCH still remains amongst my all time favourites. In fact, it can very well be passed off as an ARR album - its so good. So its not that no other MD is doing good. S-E-L are definitely on the right track, and if they continue to stick to it, they'll be the inheritors of ARR's brand of music.
And guys, kindly refrain from calling Meenaxi and Swades average. If you dont understand the power of the songs, be humble enough to prefix your statement with 'in my humble opinion', thereby accepting your limited knowledge without pointing a finger at the great creator of music.
Sincerely,
Jitesh
PS- Just for the record, my friend who's at Boston, told me that they'd arranged for a screening of Swades at their local Indian get-together. And most of the audience had tears in their eyes on listening to 'Yeh jo des hain tera'. When, O critisisers of Swades, can you recount such a forceful evokeing of emotions by an 'average' film song?
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