Filmi

Filmi (Hindi: फ़ल्मी, Urdu: فلمی) is Indian p

Filmi (Hindi: फ़ल्मी, Urdu: فلمی) is Indian popular music as written and performed for Indian cinema. The various Indian cinema industries produce thousands of films a year, most of which are musicals and feature elaborate song and dance numbers. 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. They dominate pop music.

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.