The Marathi film, film music, music appreciation. it's in the air around her. In every nook and corner of her home. In the ethos of her family. Given this atmosphere, it's only natural that Aruna Damle decided to put down on paper just what it all means to her.The outcome of her endeavour? An exhaustive book on the history and development of Marathi film music and playback singing, titled Marathi Chitrapat Sangeetachi Vatchal. A research work, it was submitted to the National Film Archive of India for review in 1997, and having received its stamp of approval, the 220-odd page book was released on February 6. Also ready is a video cassette by the same name, which includes glimpses of her research as well as clippings of the mentioned songs and sequences.``Belonging to the Damle family (of the Prabhat Studio fame), my interest in films is natural. Even more so after my husband acquired the rights of Prabhat's films in the 1970s. I'd also been reading about the history and development of our cinema, but not much came to hand about Marathi film music. That was when the idea of the book took root. Having been trained in classical vocal, with a degree in vocal music from the University of Pune, I decided to approach the subject with a scholastic attitude,'' says Damle.The book is divided into three sections. The prologue enlists the author's objective, traces a brief history of the subject. The next section is devoted to a decade-wise classification from 1932 to 1994, with detailed study of sample films, representative of certain styles. The last section includes special stories on features of Marathi playback, landmark episodes in its development, lists of important musicians, singers, award-winning Marathi films and in-depth interviews with experts.``Music has always been the hallmark of our films; often it is responsible for the film's popularity. Even though there was a time when cinema was not accorded respect, its music had a strong impact,'' observes Damle. That is why she has dwelt on how music and film came together, earlier in the silent era (1913-1931) when live music would often accompany the film screening, and later during the talkies when some films were known by their music.``I've emphasised the films during the first decade from 1932, taking a specimen of each kind of movie - social, patriotic, family drama, comedy.'' Some of the epoch films included are Sant Sakhubai, Sant Tukaram (1932), Brahmachari (1938), Lagna Pahava Karoon (1940), Pedgavche Shahane (1952) amongst others. ``The chapters proceed to dissect their music - who were the people behind its creation, who presented it on screen, how was it produced, what effect it had, how folk music got integrated into films and how that proved to be just another way of protecting it,'' explains the author.Talking to veterans provided her with the insightful nuances that make the book colourful, resulting in not just a cut-and-dry chronology, but a work that could effectively capture the essence of this important ingredient of Marathi films. ``To cite an example, Ram Gabale gave me some valuable information about the songs of Vande Matram, how the censor board took certain objections to lyrics such as "mala nahin padrachey dhyan". To know how a particular song was recorded makes you appreciate the song more the next time you watch it.'' Like the chapter on the film Kunkoo - not many know that the background score used only recorded natural sounds, there were no musical instruments!For those who appreciate such sidelights, the last section is particularly interesting, with interviews with the late Kamalabai Gokhale, Jyotsna Bhole, M.G. Rangnekar, Saraswathi Rane, Master Avinash, Datta Davjekar. ``One name I must mention is Vishram Bedekar, who gave me snippets like the fact that they'd wet the screen for a clearer picture''.All these nitty-gritties packed in, the tale is there for all to read - from Ayodhyacha Raja to Varsa Laxmicha.
