At a Glance
Bollywood music today is plagued by lazy remakes, autotuned vocals, and the death of originality. The golden era of soulful compositions has been replaced by corporate playlists that sound like bad copies of each other. Is the industry out of notes, or just out of soul?
🎬 The Nostalgia vs. Now Battle
Back in the day, a single Mohammed Rafi or Lata Mangeshkar track could hold more emotion than an entire album does today. Today’s chartbusters? Mostly remakes with bass drops and a “Yo Yo” somewhere in the background.
| 🎵 Era | 🎶 Features | 😞 Today’s Counterparts |
|---|---|---|
| 1950s–80s | Real orchestration, lyrics with meaning | EDM mashups with hollow hooks |
| 1990s–2000s | AR Rahman, Nadeem-Shravan, soulful vocals | Remake of a remake |
| Post-2010 | Rising indie influence, still some originality | Corporate-driven auto-albums |
💣 What’s Gone Wrong?
Let’s break it down like a bad DJ remix:
1. Remake Obsession Syndrome (ROS)
- Every third song is a “reimagined” version of an old classic.
- “Tip Tip Barsa Pani”, “Aankh Maare”, “Masakali” – all massacred.
- Instead of nostalgia, it triggers nausea.
2. Autotune is the Real Singer Now
- Even talented singers are fed through autotune like it’s a rite of passage.
- Actual vocal ability? Optional.
- Emotional depth? LOL, what’s that?
3. Corporate Music Labels = The Real Villains
- T-Series, Sony Music, and other mega-labels now dictate “viral potential.”
- Songs are made for Instagram Reels, not for art.
- If the hook isn’t 15 seconds long and catchy, it’s trashed.
🎧 The Algorithm Ate the Artist
Remember when artists like Lucky Ali, Shaan, or even Sonu Nigam experimented with their own albums? That was before music was judged by Spotify streaming velocity and YouTube views.
- Artists now have zero control over their own creative output.
- Most tracks are designed by data analytics and “market insights,” not composers.
- It’s not music, it’s content.
🎶 “Lyrical Poetry” Is Now Just “Party Shots”
Compare this:
“Tere bina zindagi se koi shikwa toh nahin…”
vs
“Paani paani ho gayi, garmi bhari body…”
Do we even need to say more?
- Lyricists are no longer celebrated. Most are ghostwriters for marketing agencies.
- Poets like Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, and Anand Bakshi were once cultural icons. Now, “lyricist” often means rhyme anything with ‘baby’.
🎵 The ‘Reel’ Problem
Short-form content platforms like Instagram and TikTok have changed the way songs are produced:
- Chorus is designed to “trend”.
- Verses are filler, often non-existent.
- If it doesn’t “slap” in 15 seconds, it’s discarded.
The music is no longer the product — the virality is.
🎹 Where Are the Composers?
Remember the days of:
- RD Burman
- Laxmikant-Pyarelal
- Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (early days)
- Vishal-Shekhar (before they turned into remix machines)
Now? You get one-man sound machines who produce 6 songs in a week using software presets.
Even Pritam, who gave us classics, is stuck rehashing himself.
📉 Declining Original Albums
Let’s look at some hard numbers:
| Year | No. of Original Bollywood Albums | % Featuring Remakes |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 72 | 9% |
| 2015 | 68 | 21% |
| 2022 | 51 | 57% |
| 2024 | 46 | 69% |
Source: Music Industry Report & Film Companion Analysis
🎵 But Wait… Some Hope Remains
- OTT platforms like Netflix & Amazon Prime are encouraging indie scores (think Mismatched, The Fame Game).
- YouTube creators like Anuv Jain, Prateek Kuhad, and Taba Chake are creating original music with soul.
- Regional industries (Marathi, Bengali, Tamil) are doing better in authentic storytelling through music.
💬 EduInvesting Take
If Bollywood music had a stock chart, we’d call this a multi-year bear market.
- No breakout hits.
- No lyrical genius.
- No original composers taking the lead.
It’s just remakes, reboots, and retching beats.
The only things breaking records? Our ears.
🎤 Can It Bounce Back?
Yes — but not with the current system. Here’s what needs to change:
✅ Bring back composer-led albums
✅ Give lyricists the spotlight (and money!)
✅ Stop designing for algorithms
✅ Trust real musicians, not trend reports
🚫 Risks & Red Flags
- AI music generation might worsen this further. Why hire a composer when ChatGPT can write a viral hook?
- Bollywood is now funded by brands — music is often ad-first, song later.
- Cultural homogenization: Every song sounds like the previous one — just new rapper, same beat.
📌 Tags
Bollywood music, music remakes, T-Series monopoly, why Bollywood songs are bad now, Gulzar songs vs 2025, death of Bollywood music, Indian pop culture, Pritam autotune, song quality decline
🗓️ Published: May 29, 2025
✍️ By: Prashant Marathe
