This year thus far has been a challenge in the industry. For, movie makers dared to take unique and unprecedented steps in creating powerful and equally unique films. The outcome may not be as heart warming as one would have hoped at the box office, but for filmgoers and critics it couldn’t be better. From Aks to Lagaan, from the up and coming Chandni Bar to Dil Chahta Hai the subject of the film these days shows that the industry itself is quite wary of the constant theme of “Challenged Love.” So while it appeared that the challenge remained with directors, writers and producers, the real challenge remained with music directors as well. Producers were strong in their belief that the film’s music had to have a just musical score, one that blends with the film and that the songs didn’t pose as a ‘pop out of nowhere’ track. For this, the outcome too may not have been heart warming at the cash registers but it’s clear that 2001 has been a pretty unique year for music, as we know it.

There were winners, and there were losers. Then there was the one with the many attempts, Anu Malik. Anu Malik has had eight soundtracks released this year. This, being somewhat of a record, could have either been a landmark in the composer’s career or a complete disaster. Thankfully, it was not a disaster, but it is not exactly a landmark in his career. Malik has been bashed for his mediocre work in Lajja, Ajnabee, Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi and the much-hyped Yaadein. Where as Lajja’s music was not a “journey through the woman’s soul” as the film’s theme was, the musical composition fit the movie to the mark. The film was clearly made with an appeal to the masses, hence Malik created a soundtrack with the must include “shaadi” tune, the must include dance number “Ah Hi Jaiye”, and the must include chart buster, “Badi Mushkil”, sadly the journey ended there, for Malik and music lovers alike. Winning over fans with the dholak and entrancing vocals in “Meri Zindagi Mein Ajnabee”, Malik won over the masses with Ajnabee which has been on the top of the top ten for over five weeks since its release. So would that mean that Malik would simply churn out average mass appealing soundtracks with no change in his musical base? Thankfully not! It’s now time to celebrate as Malik and the critics both breathed a sigh of relief when the quite soulful and meaningful written musical compositions in Asoka won over everyone. From the chants and carefully composed chorus in “Roshni Se”, to the cleverly soft and evenly paced drummed backdrop in “Raat Ka Nasha”, Asoka remains a unique soundtrack that ten years ago would have been one of the best soundtracks the industry has seen. Quite a feather in his cap, yet, Aks, Anu Malik’s and Ranjit Barot´s “daring to be different” soundtrack was the real risky soundtrack. With the soft and haunting backdrops of “you can hear the voices in your head” from “Hum Bhool Gaye” to the slick and extremely clever lyrics in “Yeh Raat” Aks stood as a path breaker in Indian Cinema. Each of Rakesh Mehra, Amitabh Bachchan and Malik himself showed that they were indifferent towards the nature of music the industry has seen and would make a new wave with theirs.

It’s not as if one hit numbers didn’t work either. Sandeep Chowta has firmly established his name as one of the up and coming with the soft melodious somewhat techno beats in Kambakth Ishq, he set waves in the industry showing them that he can compose a mass appealing soundtrack, with the same time unique tunes. Rhounde from Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya was indeed itself a dark and melancholy track that set itself apart from all the mass appealing songs dished out this year.

A.R. Rahman on the other hand with a mere three-soundtrack release simply showed that, while extremely talented, his quality lies in effort, and meaningful compositions. The exquisite Lagaan is somewhat unprecedented this year, but is backed up with his failing to make impact soundtracks Nayak and Love You Hamesha.” No worries, for the fan fare and industry alike cannot forget the “desh ki dharti” award worthy vocalized tune “Mitwa” for a long, long time.

Then there is the up beat trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, three guys whose talent lies in their ability to create music that flows deep within a film. Their musical compositions are solid songs that are a combination of lyrics, vocals and musical backdrops. From the drums in “Zingoria” from Abhay, the fresh flute based tunes in “Kaise Hai Yeh Rut” from Dil Chahta Hai this duo have shown they could care less about trends, they plan on setting their own!

Who can forget the duo of all duos’ Nadeem Shravan? My personal favorite, the duo may have been moved down on the list of ‘forces to reckon with’ when Nadeem was accused of murder, but they came back with a bang, which may not be the best musical compositions ever, but are definitely setting the cash registers ringing. The stand out in Kasoor indeed comes in its originality and meaningful musical bases. Whether it be the piano in “Zindagi Ban Gaye Ho Tum” or the saxophone in “Kitne Beechain Hoke”, this duo has shown that this ever so complete soundtrack is an accomplishment in the times of today’s run of the film tunes, and while Ek Rishtaa wasn´t the masterpiece that fans and critics expected, the simple and enjoyable tunes proved a notch above the normal fare. Their music, while not for unique films as the previous mentioned, has proven that your normal love songs can indeed be a good listen.

On the same note, the recently released Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar which is composed by a new composer, Daboo Malik, is filled with romance based tunes and an average music composition. Is the outcome run of the mill? Certainly not. That itself is a risk for a newcomer music composer. The trend of “different” and “unique” music may have instilled fear in new music composers whose soft melody and soothing tunes were the basis of their compositions. Take a listen to the soulful “Dil To Kehta Hai” rendered by both Alka and Sanu or the instrumentalism in “Zamane Ko” and you will see that romance tunes can amount to a lot with the right amount of effort and with quality kept in mind.

The soundtracks have not all been perfect. The year seems like a complete loss for the once forces to reckon with Sanjeev-Darshan. Their composition for a “different” and risk taking film, Style, is nothing more than an all out attempt at pleasing fans. It’s yet to be seen what genre of fans they were actually trying to please. Jatin-Lalit have had two soundtracks out and it just so appears that they are banking on the release of their up and coming Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham to actually bring them back with the top notch composers mentioned above.

Since the dawn of the Indian movie industry, music has proven a vital part of the films made. Part of enjoying a film is enjoying its music. The industry may be thirsty for another hit, but its musical compositions are certainly heading in the right direction. It’s been quite a meaningful and soul-searching journey this year. Through the dark tunes in Aks and equally distinguishing and only comparable tunes in Abhay, to the touching chorus in Rahul and meaningful melody, to the sensuous and strong echoes in Asoka, to the perfectly interwoven English in Lagaan to the spunky and upbeat tunes in Dil Chahta Hai, 2001 and has proven a great find in the music world. These mentioned aren´t all this year, too. The music that the industry composers have given us all year since it began, has been quite pleasant, each providing us with distinguishing effects in our search for ear pleasing enjoyable tunes. Let’s all cheer this year’s tunes in hope for equally distinguishable and meaningful tunes in the up coming months and years, for unique years like this don’t come so often! Music is indeed a major player in Bollywood, but this year has proven that it´s quality and distinctness that matters (and will win in the end) not complying with standards, both musically and film wise, that the industry had invincibly set for itself.