A RETROSPECTIVE INTO THE WORLD OF INDI-POP

Baba Sehgal 

A retrospect into the world of Indi Pop

Indi pop refers to the parallel world of private music albums, that become most popular in India during the early 90s. This crossover journey has seen many twists and turns in India and after three decades, it is still looking in good shape. In this article, we are going to have a quick look at how it all began and comment on the present Indi Pop trends as well.

Baba Sehgal

One of the pioneers of Indi Pop wave, Baba Sehgal might remind oldies about the classical singer KL Sehgal but the comparison ends there! Baba Sehgal bought the zest of experiment and creativity that was missing in the music industry. Acclaimed as the first rapper and pop star of India, he struck the right cords among youth with the much-needed dose of fun, entertainment, and energy in this music and lyrics.
One of these early albums ‘Thanda Thanda Pani’ sold millions of copies, which marked the emergence of the world of Pop Albums, and made the producers believe in this genre and put their money in it.

Alisha Chinai’s Made in India

One of the most popular pop albums of the mid-90s was Made in India. Its singer was an actor and model as well and the video perfectly blended music with style and elegance, which was missing till date in the world of Indi Pop. Made in India is considered as a milestone album in the world of Indi Pop and further strengthened the belief of the music industry in Indi Pop culture.

Shaan and Sagarika Disco Deewane

This was a rare combination of bro-sis siblings that was very well accepted by the music lovers. The song ‘Disco Deewane’ became a huge rage and their album ‘Naujawaan’ became an instant hit. The little brother Shaan, moved on to become one of the most popular singers of India as well.

Daler Mehndi

Though the 90s were doing well with Indi Pop with one album or the other making waves every now and then, but it still lacked a Pop Super Star.

This search ended with Daler Menhdi. The energetic Punjabi Sardaar became an overnight sensation with his album ‘Bolo Ta Ra Ra Ra’, which sold multi-millions of copies. More importantly, Daler Paaji did not stop there. He kept on delivering hit albums one after the other and within a short span of time, he emerged as the undisputed King of Pop. Indi Pop now undisputedly had a market and it meant fast songs and danceable tunes with a lot of fun and energy element in it.

Lucky Ali

The mid-90s took a gentle turn with the emergence of some unorthodox singers and musicians, Lucky Ali being one of them. His song ‘O Sanam..!’ became an instant hit overnight and went on to become an all-time classic Pop Song. His debut album ‘Sunoh’ marked the entry of melody in the world of Indi Pop and for the first time, the youth was actually sitting calmly and listing to the song and not watching it! Lucky Ali went on to become one of the most reputable and popular starts of Indi Pop and unlike short sensations, his niche fan following is royal and loyal to him!

Silk route

As Lucky Ali’s Sunoh was making everyone listen to the music, parallel came a new band that matched his standard and class of music. With the ‘Dooba Dooba’ song from their debut album ‘Boondein’ , Silk Route band stole the heart of millions of music lovers and Indi Pop fan. Indi Pop now not only had a market but also the much-needed respect! Its lead singer Mohit Chauhan went to become a popular Bollywood singer and Prasoon Joshi, the lyricist of the band is one of the best known and respected lyricists of Bollywood as well.

Euphoria

As Ali and Silk Route were leading the melody numbers, Euphoria band revived the stereotype Pop culture, with its fast and energetic songs, which blended perfectly with melody and meaningful lyrics. The band became popular overnight with their debut album and song ‘Dhoom’ and went on to deliver hit albums one after the other.

The end of the 90s - Hariharan and Leslie Lewis, Shubha Mudgal and AR Rehman’s Vande Matram

By the end of 90s, classical and another renowned singer has started showing interested in private covers, which all was still collectively known as Pop Music. If you still ask an Indian to define Pop, the most probable answer would be – anything that is popular or becomes popular is Pop! It is as simple as that!

Nevertheless, renowned classical singers like Hariharan, Shubha Mudgal, etc. have entered the world of Indi Pop by the end of the 90s and with AR Rehnman’s Vande Matram, Pop world put an end to the debate between the so-called real film music and parallel pop music and whole hardly accepted Pop as an integral part of the music industry.

The contemporary world of Indi Pop - Honey Singh, Badshaah and Co…

Past few years have witnessed a different kind of pop world, which is mainly ruled by rap and hip hop music (they all are still classified under pop!). Some of the singers and bands that are doing well these days are Honey Sing, Badshaah and Meet Brothers.

Their music is all about pub, party, playing UK casino games, finding a girl somewhere around and then making every possible effort to impress that girl.

Final Words

The present trend is back to pace and the melody and lyrics have yet again taken a back seat. However, like Fashion, music too keeps on reviving itself every now and then and so let’s hope that after a certain period of time, we will once again start getting the kind of music that can also make us rest and be at peace with ourselves. However, for that you first need to get tired and the present Pop world is serving that purpose just fine! So, let’s hope that the change in the direction of winds is about to happen soon!