Shilpa Rao: “Need To Break The Myth, That Bollywood Songs Is Indian Music”

Singer Shilpa Rao, who has sung a single “Saanwariya” for Drishyam Play — an initiative to curate and promote fresh music from different parts of the country — feels the layman associates Bollywood songs with Indian music. She says that’s a myth that needs to be broken.

“As a country that has a major entertainment industry, one of the biggest in the world, our major Bollywood influence comes from every part of India. So when people say Indian music, I always feel it is our Carnatic music, classical music and our folk music. But on a very layman level, Indian music is associated with Bollywood, which is the myth which we need to break,” Shilpa told IANS in a recorded response.

“Our film music is always inspired by all kinds of folk music – be it Rajasthani, Bihu, Bengali or South Indian… Our Indian films have always represented different forms of folk music from all over India,” added the singer, who has sung numbers like “Khuda jaane“, “Anjaana anjaani” and “Malang” in Bollywood.

“I always believe music and cinema is a direct reflection of society which is being shaped and is changing from time to time. And our way of talking, conversing and interacting with people is what our art, cinema and music depict. The point is we should try and enrich our lives with music that already exists in India.”

Shilpa believes Indian music is “really strong” and there should be a collective effort to pass it on to the next generation so that it remains alive.

“I hope our youth connects with it, owns it and feels proud of it,” she said.

Her “Saanwariya”, to be launched via Drishyam Play on Sunday, is composed by Naresh Kamath, member of Kailasa and also the funk/jazz/rock band Hypnotribe. The song talks about romance in one rainy night, and Shilpa found it “simple and beautiful”.

“Indian music is known for making ragas for different seasons and kinds of the year, and we have so many ragas for the monsoon. There’s a very big influence of the seasons on Indian music, and some songs just give you the vibe of the rains and atmosphere that monsoons create. That’s what ‘Saanwariya’ is about.”