Introduction to indi-pop music in India

Indian pop music originated in the late 1990s with the arrival of bands like Usha Utthup, Sharon Prabhakar, Baba Sehgal and others. This gradually led to India’s own dedicated music channels such as MTv and today’s Channel V.

I remember “Bombay Girl” by Alisha Chinoy, which was one of the first Indi-pop albums of the modern era. His success led to the birth of several other Hindi and Punjabi artists.

Many of today’s popular Indian musicians have their roots in Western countries. Bally Sagoo, Malkit Singh, Apache Indian were all artists in the UK, who gained popularity in India through their innovative styles.

There has also been a reverse trend whereby Indian artists have gained popularity in the west, such as the performance of the Indian song “Chamma Chamma” at the Moulin Rouge. Popular American artists of Indian descent include Kim Thayil of Soundgarden, Tony Kanal of No Doubt, and many others, including Norah Jones, daughter of Indian sitar master Pandit Ravi Shankar.

Pakistan, a relative latecomer to pop music, has done very well, with talented young pop and rock groups emerging through various media channels. One thing India hasn’t experienced is Hindi/Urdu rock which is very popular in Pakistan with bands like Aaroh, Junoon, Aakash etc. Indians have had their share of desi rock, but it has always been in English. Bands like Parikrama and Indian Ocean have done very well.

Many Pakistani bands like “Atif Aslam”, “Roxen”, “Strings” have been chosen by Indian directors for movies like “Shootout at Lokhandwala”, “The Train”, “Zeher” and many others. This trend was largely started by the Indian director “Mahesh Bhatt”, who introduced the Pakistani band “Jal” in the movie “Zeher”. The song “Woh Lamhe” was a huge hit and this started a trend of booking Pakistani artists for Indian movies, the latest being the movie “Ek Chalis ki Last Local”.

A relatively new trend in Indian music is the combination of “Hindi-English” in movie songs like “Bluffmaster”. A new pop group, “Arjun Anant”, who have a mixed variety of music ranging from Bhangra to Indo-Western music, have done well in the UK and will soon release their album in India, called Safar.