Sufi music seems to have got bollywood into a whirl, if one were to go only by some of the recent hits dominating the airwaves. Take ‘Malua-Mere’ from ‘Anwar’ or A R Rehman’s ‘Tere Bina’ from the movie ‘Guru’ or ‘Ya Ali’ from the movie ‘Gangster’. These are songs that have touched us with their different rhythms. Trade analysts may observe cynically that any song with the word ‘Maula, Rabba or Ali’ finds favor with audiences because it connects them instantly with God.

The Hindi film industry has been credited with popularizing this genre of music. Abida Parveen and the late Nustrat Fateh Ali Khan are responsible for taking Sufi and qawwali to new heights. Both made the rich religious poetry of the Sufi tradition even more magical, bringing words and music together in an ecstatic celebration of the divine.

What is Sufi music? It’s a combination of melody and lyric that is believed to make God accessible to the devotee, transcending all religious barriers. It is a genre so mystical that it makes materialism of any kind irrelevant. However, it has become the formula for a box office hit and its elements find their way into every sound track. It is coming out of car stereos and mobile phones. Its melodious and weaving its magic.

What makes the Sufi strain so sought-after in Bollywood? Its music that is able to cut across all age groups and classes. The lyrics seem to play a strong role too in it being so popular. There’s certain optimism, a go-out-there-and-change-the-world approach that makes the song reach out to audiences. The packaging of Sufi music has thus had many composers and singers sing all the way to the bank. Music director Anu malik, the man behind ‘Rabbi’ in ‘Zindaggi Rocks’ used his ‘Mehboob Mere’ track in the film, Fiza in 2000, to experiment with Sufi music.

Packaging and purity: Not everybody applauds what seems to pass off as Sufi music today. This is music that should reach out to God. It can’t be aggressive or out of key. Take a group like Junoon, they sang these songs off-key and packaged it as Sufi music.

But there should be a balance between the purest and commercial approaches. No art form can remain static, and therefore, change is always necessary. But to brand a piece of music as Sufi because it’s a good marketing strategy is wrong. The jury maybe out on that one, but the music is still winning everybody over.