After a year of slump, the music industry seems set for revival. Sales of film music have shown an upward swing, thanks to A R Rahman's Saathiya, which released in December.

Last year, Nadeem-Shravan's Raaz was the only hit, followed by a series of failures, including the magnum opus Devdas. Sanjay Leela Bhansali admits the music of Devdas (by Ismail Darbar) did not sell as well as his previous film, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, due to poor marketing. "I expected songs like Sheeshay se sheesha takraaye to be a rage," he says. "But the music did not reach an optimum level."

Nadeem Saifi was upset about the music of Devdas getting precedence over Raaz at popular awards when the latter's sales figures are much better.

Saathiya's success triggered off a revival in the slumping fortunes of film music. 2003 started with the success of the music of producer Boney Kapoor's Khushi.

A source at Tips Music, which has marketed the soundtrack of Khushi, says, "We have sold a quarter of a million tapes and 40,000 CDs of Khushi so far. This may be a small figure compared with last year's sales of Raaz. But compared to the sales of other movie soundtracks after Raaz, it is a boon. We are very proud of the Khushi sales. Except for Saathiya, no recent soundtrack has done so well. With the release of Khushi round the corner, the music is bound to sell even better in coming weeks."

The success of Khushi is also good news for composer Anu Maliik, whose career slumped in 2002. "Now I have gone from cloud to clout!" he exults. "The music of Khushi is a craze among youngsters. This year, I have two more outstanding scores in Sooraj Barjatya's Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon and J P Dutta's LoC. They will also do their bit to bring film music back to the top. It is no coincidence that all my three big compositions for 2003 star Kareena Kapoor."

Uncannily, all of Maliik's most successful work in the last two years have been Kareena starrers. "I feel we are bonded in a strange creative way," he says. "Some of my best work in recent years -- from Refugee, Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai, Ajnabee to Khushi -- are her starrers. She brings out the best in me."

Kareena cannot stop raving about the response she received in Lucknow recently when she danced to Khushi's tunes at the Sahara Parivar fete. "Anu saves his best for my films," she smiles.

As the music industry turns a corner, composers and producers are relieved. Crescendo has bought soundtracks like Raju Singh's Satta, Anil Mohile's Om and Vishal-Shekhar's Jhankar Beats while Virgin has acquired soundtracks like Stumped. Sa Re Ga Ma aka HMV will release two prestigious films -- Sooraj Barjatya's Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon and Rakesh Roshan's Koi Mil Gaya.

Interestingly, producer-director Suneel Darshan has launched his own music company. Says he, "I have been toying with the idea for over a year. There is no choice, what with music companies twisting filmmakers' arms, making us part with music rights for a pittance."

Darshan's company will initially market the scores of films directed by him and brother Dharmesh. "Between us, we have a number of soundtracks every year. Besides, we have a reputation for quality music," he adds.

The first release on Darshan's label will be Andaz, the Akshay Kumar-Priyanka Chopra-Lara Datta love triangle with a peppy score by Nadeem-Shravan. "I think it's a good way to start my company. Hopefully, other filmmakers will follow suit," he says.

Last heard, Yash Chopra may also launch his own music company.