Bollywood Music for Dummies

Kanbe

Well, I was sitting on the bus (Im in Australia by the way) at night and fiddling with my MP3 on my mobile. I forgot to bring my ear phones and since there were few people on the bus, I just decided to listen to Nahin Jeena aloud (on low volume). An Indian guy came on the bus and sat near me. After a while, he leaned over and said, " its great to see an Asian girl listening to Panjabi music!".

Okay, so I did not even know I was listening to Panjabi music. I have this CD with Bollywood tracks which I presumbly thought were all Hindi songs. Oops.
So Im confused. Are Bollywood movie soundtracks mainly in Hindi music or Panjabi.

Here is a selection of songs I have on the CD:

Mere Dil Vich Hum Tum
Kaho Na Kaho
Dhoom Machale
O Humdum Suniyo Re

So, which ones are Hindi, which ones are in Punjabi?

Excuse me, if I just asked a blatently stupid question! I really have no clue! I listen to them because their beats are addictive and makes you want to jump to the beat.

Could anyone please enlighten me?
Thanks

spitze_udz

Most of the bollywood songs are hindi and from the songs that you have listed only first one has a punjabi line !

Kanbe

while we are at it, could you also tell me if any of the following are Panjabi,

Nahin Tera Jeha Hor Disda
Dil Cheez
Aaj Mera Jee Kardaa
It's Magic
Mujhi Tumse Mohabbat Hai
Janaabe Ali
Kinna Sohna

much appreciated!

Merchant

Bollywood is Punjabi culture writ large.

crvlvr

I'll give it a shot, although I am not familiar with most of the songs that you have listed. I'll go off the name of the song. :

Mere Dil Vich Hum Tum - Punjabi
Kaho Na Kaho - Hindi
Dhoom Machale - Hindi
O Humdum Suniyo R - Punjabi
Nahin Tera Jeha Hor Disda - Punjabi
Dil Cheez- Hindi
Aaj Mera Jee Kardaa - Punjabi
It's Magic - English?
Mujhi Tumse Mohabbat Hai- Hindi
Janaabe Ali - Urdu?
Kinna Sohna - Punjabi

Merchant

Just to expand--

Bollywood's primary cultural engine is Punjabi culture. Many of the luminaries in the early days of the industry (stars, directors, producers) were refugees from Partition, which split the Punjab region in half. Punjabi culture still dominates the industry in Mumbai. Other regions of the country make their own films (in Tamil, Malayali, Kannada, etc.), but Bollywood is still heavily, though not exclusively, Punjabi.

That infectious, insistent beat come from bhangra, which is a Punjabi pop music with some traditional influences. Those hearty, powerful male voices that appear in soundtracks (like Sukhwinder Singh) are Punjabi (or Sikh) singers.

And that goofy, over-the-top, heart-on-sleeve, parents-and-family-above-all-else, zest-for-life, no-wayward-son-is-past-redemption sensibility that drives the movie plots is, stereotypically of course, Punjabi.

All of India's regions share plenty of cultural similarities, which is why Bollywood appeals to the whole country.

spitze_udz

Some corrections here :
Mere dil vich hum tum has only one punjabi line, O humdum sunio re is hindi,Its magic has only one english line,Jaanabe aali has one urdu word.....