?De de Khuda ke naam pe? sang Wazir Mohammed Khan in Alam Ara (1931), giving birth to a phenomenon?the Hindi film song. Over the years, the Hindi film song has travelled a long way, influencing and being influenced by popular taste. Considered downmarket not so long ago, it is undoubtedly the most popular musical genre in India today, pervading almost all aspects of Indian life?weddings, funerals, religious festivals, get-togethers and political conventions?and emerging as a medium to articulate every shade of joy and sorrow, love and longing, hope and despair.