The industry will never see another Lata, who will fight for the rights of female vocalists or the entire playback industry as a whole. Plots are written to accommodate more male solos than female; female tracks are in fact being dished out to male playback singers. Sunday MiD DAY does a trend soundcheck

The women just lost their voice.

A quick scan of the songlist printed at the back of flashy CD covers at city music stores can be a lesson in skewed sex ratio that would put Haryana's foeticide brigade to shame. Male tracks and duets outnumber female solos, and that's if the soundtrack includes a female solo at all.


Anushka Manchanda, Rekha Bhardwaj, Sunidhi Chauhan and
Shreya Ghoshal

The latest feminist flavour of the season, Prakash Jha's political saga Raajneeti that has a female character played by Katrina Kaif at its epicentre, has no time to devote to a full-fledged female number although there is one on the music album. Kavita Seth's Mora piya mose bolat naahi appears in a blink-and-miss special appearance on screen.

Rajneeti comes hot on the heels of big budget now-bombed Hrithik Roshan starrer Kites, which has two male solos but nothing for Spanish protagonist Barbara Mori to lip sync to. And Housefull, the all-out commercial money spinner with not one but three hot heroines to boast of, failed to accommodate a single female solo.u00a0

An earlier, although unsuccessful 2010 film, Badmaash Company isu00a0 a classic case in point. Its score stands thus: five male solos. Female solos -- none. And if you though hazel-eyed power punch Kajol was filmmaker Karan Johar's eternal favourite, we are here to tell you, he loves Shah Rukh more. Two male solos, no female solo vocal in My Name Is Khan.

Some of the biggest hits of last year -- 3 Idiots, Wanted and Kaminey -- had more than six songs listed on their albums, none of them -- yes, you guessed it right -- was a female solo.

As the all-female rock band 4 Non Blondes would say: What's going on?u00a0

The music directors are far from ignorant of the change. And singer Shankar Mahadevan of composer trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is far from happy. "Our films have always been male-centric. It's unfortunate, but it's the hero that matters." The newer lot in the industry is trying to make a change, he says. "We'd love it if more films had female solos because the Hindi playback industry has some great female voices." Agreed Shekhar Ravjiani in an earlier interview, "Plots today make room for more male solos."

Lyricist Sameer who's been at the job of scripting lines that some of the industry's biggest stars have mouthed to music, for over two decades, attributes the trend to the gradual death of women-centric scripts. "Songs are driven by characters, and characters are driven by scripts. But I am hopeful about female solo numbers returning. I for one, enjoy writing them," says the man behind hit numbers like Jab Se Tere Naina from Saawariya.

The community of writers he is pointing a finger at hardly agrees. Niranjan Iyengar who is part of the Dharma Production camp, and has recently authored the dialogues and lyrics for My Name Is Khan, says, "Most of the songs today are not set to sync. They play in the background while the actors go about their scenes. So, I don't believe the trend is an outcome of a bias against the female character."

Those at the helm of the music industry, like chairman and managing director T-Series Bhushan Kumar, admit to modern scripts offering spare scope for women protagonists to bag a three-minute number to themselves. But he has a marketing gem to skirt the problem. "We can hardly ignore the large female audience that loves romantic tracks in female voices. What we are introducing are female versions of male songs, that we will release only for radio and ringtones."u00a0

We wonder what veteran Meena Kumari would say to that one. Pakeezah (1972), the story of tawaif Sahibjaan, saw her bag five female solos, all sung by Lata Mangeshkar, with no male number in the film. Historical magnum opus Mughal-E-Azam (1960) once again had five female solos and just one male single. Nagin (1976) had eight female, and two male solos.

Today, even a Jab We Met, considered by many as a female-oriented film, has one solo song picturised on Kareena Kapoor. In fact, a song picturised on her pining for love (Aaoge Tum Jab O Sajna) has been sung by a male vocalist.

Sunidhi Chauhan, one of the two most-sought-after female singers in the industry says the last three years prove a dismal female solo track record. "Even the item numbers, if you call them that, have been taken over by the boys. But it's a phase; people like change. We will be back to normal."

Hema Sardesai, the famous voice behind the Awaara Bhawre number from Sapnay (1997) that shot her to fame believes the trend is a direct reflection of the female protagonist's status in the industry. "Where are the female superstars who can put a foot down and demand a song?" New singer on the block, Antara Mitra who has been in the news for singing Bheegi si, bhaagi si from Raajneeti, says they have to make do with singing duets. "I'm a newcomer. I cannot afford to be too choosy," she admits.u00a0

Husky voiced Rekha Bhardwaj of Namak ishq ka fame takes an optimistic stance: "There is work for everyone. I have sung a thumri solo in Veer, and two for Ishqiya. I have solos in Saat Khoon Maaf too."

How many remember the Veer thumri, thanks to dismal promotion, is the question. Love Aaj Kal's male solos Twist and Ajj din chaddhiya are what come to mind, not Thoda thoda pyar aa gaya sung by Sunidhi.

Veteran composer Anandji, one part of composer duo Kalyanji-Anandji known for music of 1970s action potboilers like Don, might be pragmatic enough to say "we should move with the times", but he quickly deconstructs the reasons behind the fading female solo. "Older films included bhajans, romantic songs, and club numbers, so there was scope for women. We had hero-centric films then too, but the story encompassed a home, and female characters like the wife, mother, sister, giving the female solo a fair chance. Women have feelings too, and they must be expressed through a song's music," he says.