The Nation Demands the Comeback of Its Favourite Indipop Artists

Once upon a time, the music world had songs with lyrics that (often) made sense and artists who were dedicated to their music albums. Music channels did not showcase mindless reality shows and music genres went beyond the Yo-Yo Honey Singh rap variety. The problem with the world we currently live in is that the music industry is solely about Bollywood. All we can do is hope that at least some of these Indipop singers make a comeback soon.

1. Lucky Ali

Remember that dreamy, stardust-sprinkled voice that made one yearn for a warm quilt and a cup of hot cocoa? In the pre-YouTube era, when MTV or Channel V did not play his songs for a long time, evenings would cease to make sense. The man was a legend. The man IS a legend. Sadly the man is no longer producing music albums.

Even his humming is enough to give one goosebumps. Lucky's voice is what they meant when they coined the word 'manna'. Give us another album Mr Ali. Do, do!

2. Colonial Cousins (Leslie Lewis and Hariharan)

This musical duo redefined the term fusion. Leslie and Hariharan had styles as different as the moon and something that is not the moon. Hariharan's dark chocolaty voice gelled so well with Leslie's heavily accented Hindi/English that something in our hearts just cried for joy. And we may never know the reason why. We. May. Never. Know.



3. Raageshwari

The Sunshine Girl of Indipop, Raageshwari Loomba only made happy songs. Before Pharrell Williams, she was the ambassador of all things happy! And let's face it, we could all do with some more happiness in the world. 



4. Suneeta Rao

If you've not heard of Suneeta Rao or heard (and loved) Pari Hoon Main / Kesariya Hai Roop Maaro, ask yourself why you continue to exist. Because how can you not love Suneeta Rao? And more importantly WHY have you not heard Pari Hoon Main? The song was practically sung by every teenaged girl (and secretly enjoyed by almost every teenaged boy) when it first came out. How can one not love that heavy husky voice, those Nile-long legs, and those semi-futurist clothes?



5. Anaida

The original singer of songs with funny lyrics, Anaida is best known for the unforgettable Oova Oova. Her demure songs somehow never matched the racy choreography, and her amazing figure didn't help matters much either. But we loved her nonetheless. Still do.



6. Shweta Shetty

The world of Indipop is divided into the pre-Shweta era and the post-Shweta era. Her almost-harsh-almost-addictive voice, and her highly imaginative videos were the talk of the town back then. In a patriarchy-soaked world, her videos featured several perfectly chiseled men who were all madly in love with her. This queen was ahead of her time, and we loved her for it.



7. Bally Sagoo

Bally Sagoo remixed Aaja Nachle, Noorie, Mera Lawng Gawacha, Gur Naal Ishq Mitha and several other songs and raised their coolness level several notches higher. If it wasn't for him, we would have had nothing to dance to at weddings. Why wouldn't you want him back? WHY?

If you're still in doubt, remember this gem of a collaboration with Amitabh Bachchan and grieve for Bally's disappearance:


8. Bali Brahmbhatt

Bali Brahmbhatt's most famous contribution to mankind is Tere Bin Jeena Nahin which gave many an aspiring lover the opportunity to woo. This lovely number more than makes up for the terrible but hilarious Kook Kook Kooky. We could do with him back as well.



9. Remo Fernandes

This super cool Goan was the first one to illustrate through his music video the perils of being a celebrity with an obsessed teenaged fan. The song is almost an educational film on how not to give in to temptation. What's not to love, right? 



10. Baba Sehgal

You know how amazing Yo Yo's lyrics are? Yeah. Baba Sehgal was the daddy of awful lyrics. But unlike Yo Yo, his lyrics steered clear of the women-are-doormats genre. He sang about everything from thanda thanda paani (really cold water, he means), to love, to girls and thankfully managed to make it all sound like a lot of fun. But he finally 'arrived' when he did a cover of Hakuna Matata from The Lion King and left an indelible mark on our impressionable minds.    



11. Falguni Pathak

This woman is single handedly responsible for revolutionalising garba functions across the globe. Is it possible to play dandiya on a Yo Yo Honey Singh song, you ignoramus? NO. Get the point? Awesomesauce. Let's move on then.  


 
12. Devang Patel

Think Bloody Fool and Kutta kaata. Your argument is invalid. Come back Devang!


 
Bombay Vikings, KK, Alisha Chinai, Palash Sen

Neeraj Sridhar and his heart-rendingly beautiful voice haven't entirely disappeared from our lives thanks to Bollywood, but we need an album with JUST his songs. Just him.

His contemporaries, KK with his beautiful high-pitched tenor, Alisha with her unabashedly cheesy compositions, and Palash Sen with his incredibly popular band Euphoria, gave us several hits to remember them by, but seem to have forgotten us album-lovers. Somebody remind them, do.