This song “Asha” is one of my favourite songs of all time. It is always played in dance parties in Sri Lanka. Many DJ’s back home choose this song when they feel like the hype of the crowd is reducing. This definitely pumps up everyone’s energy and even those who have stopped dancing want to get back on the dance floor again. I tried looking for this song on youtube but had trouble finding it until one day I randomly came across it while searching for something else. It is interesting that it is an Arabic song because all that time I had thought it was an Indian (Bollywood) song. This song is an example of Arabic popular music. It has many similarities to Indian pop and Sri Lankan pop: a consistent beat, a lead singer with backup singers, an accompaniment.
Now for some comparing and contrasting! This next video is called “Rambari”, a Sri Lankan, Sinhalese pop song which was no.1 on the Sri Lankan charts for quite some time after it was released. I am always reminded of “Asha” when I hear this one. “Rambari” is quite a new song and “Asha” has been playing in Sri Lanka from the 90’s. It is clear that the influence of “Asha” can be heard in “Rambari”. When we listened to traditional Arabic music in class, I was reminded of traditional Sri Lankan music. It was evident that there was a strong influence between the two. This is not surprising since Sri Lanka traded with the Arabs. Talk about geographical proximity!
This song is in Sinhala, one of the main languages spoken in Sri Lanka.
Finally, here is a video from one of my favourite Bollywood films, “Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gam” (literal translation – “sometimes happiness, sometimes sadness”). This type of Indian film music is more on to the side of Indian pop music culture than of the traditional music culture although it has a definite influence of traditional Indian music. It is interesting to see how all these three different styles (Sri Lanka, Arabic and Indian pop) have many similarities.
This is what's happening on this scene : The girl in the yellow outfit is Anjali. It is her sister's wedding. Rahul, a guy belonging to a rich family, attends the wedding. (Anjali's mother works as a house maid for Rahul's family). Rahul is interested in Anjali and turns up for the wedding in traditional Indian attire that is worn by the lower class population. They sing to each other. I found one with English sub-titles! Enjoy. :)
I really like the songs that you chose to use. I hadn't really been exposed to much or heard much about Bollywood until this class, so it's all pretty new to me. That film looks pretty funny, maybe we could watch it at some point.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing, Emma! I have never watched a Bollywood film, but it looks like a very expressive musical. All of the dance moves seem to mean something, and I love Rahul's fluffy hair and cheesy smile.
ReplyDeleteIt is one of the best and most meaningful Bollywood films I have seen. I will get a DVD of it for ya'll and we will watch it together :)
ReplyDeleteNetflix has it! Lol. Be prepared to shed a few tears though. It has a happy ending :)
Thanks for posting a lot of pop music! It's really cool to hear the music that's on the radio and in movies in other countries. We can learn a lot about other cultures that way. :) I especially enjoy the mad eyebrow skills of the man in the Bollywood movie. They're amazing.
ReplyDeleteThat first song is great! I never would have thought it was Arabic either. I also like the fact that it is played at dance parties! I wish music like this was played at dance parties here in America too. :)
ReplyDeleteI really, really like that second song--great beat, and lots of fun. If you show the movie from the third video, be sure and give me a buzz--I might have to come watch it too!
ReplyDelete