Filmi (Hindi: फ़िल्मी, Urdu: فلمی) is Indian popular music as written and performed for Indian cinema. There is constant work for pop music composers — or music directors, to use the Indian term. Movie soundtracks are released as tapes and CDs, before the movie is released and account for the bulk of popular music sales in India.
This may be partly due to widespread music piracy in India. Songs released only on CD may be popular, but they will not necessarily make any money for the artists, thanks to illegal copying. A composer makes more money as a music director, due to up-front payments by film-makers, and also gets free publicity. This is also true of singers and musicians. Filmi thus attracts some of the most talented Indian artistes.
Why musicals? Some say that the long tradition of Indian temple spectacles, sacred dramas danced and sung, still shapes Indian tastes. Others point to the linguistic diversity of India. Many languages are spoken and there are a number of regional cinemas. Only films that transcend language barriers have any hope of being all-India hits. Music, not being tied to any one language, expresses the feelings of the characters even to people who can't follow the dialogue.
Indian cinema does not require that its performers act, dance, and sing — they must merely act and dance. They only pretend to sing, lip-synching songs sung by professional playback singers. Playback singers need not be beautiful or photogenic; they need only be supremely good singers. They tend to sing for many films, have long careers and be adored by their fans.
(One might usefully contrast the forthrightness of Indian practice with Hollywood's assumption that musical stars should be actors, dancers, and singers. When Hollywood does use playback singers, the practice is buried in the end-of-film credits and ignored as much as possible by the publicists. Perhaps one reason that Hollywood does not produce as many musicals as India is that it is harder to find performers with the multiple talents required.)
Filmi is often said to have begun in 1931, with the release of Ardeshir M. Irani's Alam Ara and its popular soundtrack. In the earliest years of the Indian cinema, filmi was generally Indian (classical and folk) in inspiration, with some Western elements. Over the years, the Western elements have increased significantly.
How much of current filmi is "Western" or "Indian" in style is a matter of dispute, as is the desirability of the increasing internationalization of a formerly regional style. Some fans prefer the classic music of the past; others see it as old-fashioned and whole-heartedly embrace novelty
