Picture Credit: theprint
Bollywood is an industry which is not just limited to a country or a group of people. Bollywood has given a lot of classics be it the films or the songs which are not just iconic for Indians but equally famous in countries outside India as well.
When the audience is not limited, why should content be? Bollywood has an active audience that is not Hindi-speaking. So, Bollywood has included other dialects in its movies and songs a lot of times. Be it Punjabi, Bangla, the stereotype Gujarati, Tamil or Urdu- all have been involved from time to time in a beautiful way in Bollywood.
Well, this article is specifically dedicated to the “Urdu” language. A language which can make any simple sentence poetic, a language which is admired by one and all, a language which can be called the language of love or “Zubaan-e-Ishq”, apologies, if I am wrong.
When Urdu Was Used Extensively in Bollywood
If we talk of the very classic era of Bollywood music, Urdu was used very often in the songs. The main intention was just to use the good words in the right place.
Sometimes, to make the lyrics more effective and rhyme, Urdu words were included in them. Well, whatever the reason be, the usage of those words only used to beautify the lyrics.
Imagine the song “Mere mahboob quayamat hogi, aaj rusva teri galiyon me mohabbat hogi”, without the Urdu words, it may sound so weird no? No rhyme, no intensity, the magic of the song wouldn’t have been same if the pure Hindi words like “premi” instead of “mehboob” or “prem” instead of “mohabbat” has been used.
Movies like “Mughal-e-Azam” and “Pakeezah” would sound senseless, if they had no use of Urdu words.
Popular lyricists like Javed Akhtar and Gulzaar were very prominent during those eras, and it would not be wrong if I give them at least a little credit for introducing Urdu to Indian music.
Some Famous Urdu Words Used in Bollywood Songs
Well, if I have to list down, I will begin my list with the song “Chaudhavi ka Chaand ho ya Aaftaab ho, jo bhi ho Khuda ki Kasam, lajawab ho”. Here the word “Aaftaab” means “Sun”.
“Khwaab ho ya tum ya koi haqeeqat, kaun ho tum batlao” I don’t think, I need to explain what Khwaab and haqeeqat means.
“Dost dost na raha, pyaar pyaar na raha, Zindagi hame tera aitbar na rha” Well, it might be surprising for you that not only aitbar, dost and pyar are also the words from Urdu which are used here.
If we observe, we will find plenty of such words in Hindi songs which are actually brought from Urdu. For example- Zahnaseeb, kasam, qaynat, sifarish, guzarish, bekhudi etc.
Why Urdu is Not That Popular Now in Hindi Cinema?
If I have to answer this I would say, in earlier times, we had Mohd. Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar etc. had a good command of Hindi as well as the Urdu language.
Actors like Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Manoj Kumar etc. could deliver dialogues in both languages effortlessly.
But this is not the same now. The command of the Urdu language has declined among the singers and actors which is the major reason behind the decline in the usage of Urdu in the Hindi film industry now.
Another reason can be the effect of westernisation. The English language and their lifestyle have influenced us so much that not just filmmakers but the audience are more inclined towards them than not just Urdu but any regional language of India.
Ghazals in Bollywood
Ghazals are like only way now, where we can see the use of the Urdu language. But the problem is Ghazals are now not so popular among the audience that’s why we don’t listen to any Ghazal in movies.
But believe me, Ghazals are one of the purest forms of music known to me. I, as a fan of Bollywood music, can certainly suggest you listen to some Ghazals, but cautiously, you will fall in love with them.
Be it Jagjit Singh’s “Hoshwalo ko khabar kya, bekhudi kya cheez hai” or “Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho, kya gham hai jisko chhupa rahhe ho” or Pankaj Udhas’ “Chandi jaisa rang hai tera”, once you will start listening Ghazal, you won’t be able to stop.
Okay, so in the end I am suggesting you some songs which has used Urdu efficiently- “Kun faya kun by A.R. Rahman”, “Tere bina by A.R. Rahman”, “Aye hairathe ashiqui by A.R. rahman” and “Aye naazneen suno na by A.R. Rahman” etc.
Well, it was not intentionally dedicated to A.R. Rahman, but I think all my favourite songs belong to him, so I couldn’t help.
Written By: Nidhi Jha
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