Behind the Curtain: Making Music in Mumbai's Film Studios
Gregory D. Booth
Oct 2008 · Oxford University Press
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Beginning in the 1930s, men and a handful of women came from India's many communities-Marathi, Parsi, Goan, North Indian, and many others--to Mumbai to work in an industry that constituted in the words of some, "the original fusion music." They worked as composers, arrangers, assistants, and studio performers in one of the most distinctive popular music and popular film cultures on the planet. Today, the songs played by Mumbai's studio musicians are known throughout India and the Indian diaspora under the popular name "Bollywood," but the musicians themselves remain, in their own words, "behind the curtain"--the anonymous and unseen performers of one of the world's most celebrated popular music genres. Now, Gregory D. Booth offers a compelling account of the Bollywood film music industry from the perspective of the musicians who both experienced and shaped its history. In a rare insider's look at the process of musical production from the late 1940s to the mid 1990s, before the advent of digital recording technologies, Booth explains who these unknown musicians were and how they came to join the film music industry. On the basis of a fascinating set of first-hand accounts from the musicians themselves, he reveals how the day-to-day circumstances of technology and finance shaped both the songs and the careers of their creator and performers. Booth also unfolds the technological, cultural, and industrial developments that led to the enormous studio orchestras of the 1960s-90s as well as the factors which ultimately led to their demise in contemporary India. Featuring an extensive companion website with video interviews with the musicians themselves, Behind the Curtain is a powerful, ground-level view of this globally important music industry.
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A Google user
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I have been a researcher in Hindi Film Music since years. I have written a musical biography of Music Director Shanker-Jaikishan in Gujarati (300 pages)and music articles in magazines. I have met quite a few music directors as well as their arrangers to study the Hindi Film Music, especially, Mr Sebastian D'Souza, who was my great friend and I had long discussions with him about this subject.
The book Behind the Curtain throws considerable light on the role of Arrangers/assistants of Music Directors. It is perhaps the first ever book which reveals the experiences of a number of arrangers as well as musicians. There has been a misunderstanding about their role in Film Music-making but in this book, the author has genuinely discussed the intricasies of the music composing of the songs as well as the background music. I very well appreciate the author's attempt in highlighting the film music composing. I strongly recommend the film music lovers to go through this valuable volume.
A Google user
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May 10, 2010
I am a 3rd generation musician & also the grandnephew of Late Mrs Lucila Pacheco pianist reffered to in this book. Was really glad to know that although gone, she is not forgotten.
Cheers
Jurgen Pacheco
Goa.
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March 15, 2010
Great work of research genuinely done in this book.The author has painstakingly conducted numerous interviews to bring a true picture of the music industry.Very nicely written.Must for all music lovers of india.The styling is good and the chapters are very thoughtfully arranged.The introduction of western music and western instrument influences on indian music are very elaborately written.Since music is a universal industry and india being a great market amust read for all .
About the author
After early training in western classical music, Gregory D. Booth began the study of North Indian tabla drumming with Ustad Zakir Hussain in 1977. He has published widely on South Asian classical music pedagogy, processional music, and Hindi film music. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Auckland.
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