Many beloved Bollywood and Hindi film songs are based on classical raags – sometimes strictly, sometimes loosely. This makes film music a great gateway into the world of raags.
How film songs use raags
Composers may:
- Use a raag very faithfully for a song’s melody.
- Capture the flavor of a raag but add outside notes for effect.
- Use raag-like phrases in just parts of a song (a mukhda or antara).
The rhythm and arrangement may be modern – drums, guitars, synths – but the core tune might be something a classical musician would instantly recognize as “Ah, that’s Yaman” or “That’s Bhimpalasi-ish”.
Why this is useful for learners
If you are new to classical music:
- Identifying raags behind familiar songs makes the abstract concept feel concrete.
- You can hear how the same raag works in both strict classical and popular contexts.
Many classical artists themselves grew up inspired by film songs and then later explored the pure raags those songs were based on.
As a project, you could build a playlist of: “Film songs inspired by Yaman”, “Songs in Bhairavi flavor”, and so on. Your ear will grow without you even noticing.