Lyricists share their views on the evolution of Hindi in Bollywood music over the years

Anjaan adds, “In the ’50s, language used to be folkish. In the ’70s, khadi bhasha ne apni jagah banai. In the ’80s, Urdu and other languages were used. Toh maine bhi usi trend ko dhyaan mein rakhte hue Saajan (1999) aur Aashiqui (1990) ke gaane likhe. In the late ’90s, Hinglish became popular. But, I don’t have the words to find a right label for the kind of language that’s used in films today. The songs have become so Punjabi-laden that Hindi is struggling to retain its identity.”

Sharing his views on whether the use of Punjabi and other languages, or genres like rap have adulterated the use of Hindi in Bollywood songs, lyricist Irshad Kamil, known for songs in Jab We Met (2007), Love Aaj Kal (2009) and Kabir Singh (2019), etc, says it’s the demand of the current times. “In some areas, our regional cinema is stronger than Hindi cinema. To counter that, filmmakers sometimes use accented Hindi or sprinkles of regional language. Sometimes the characters dictate the language. Also, the youth hardly speaks Hindi; they are more comfortable either with English or their regional language,” he says.

Muntashir adds that Hindi has always been inclusive and tolerant in nature, and it can never lose its essence. He says, “When Gulzar saab writes, ‘Aankhein Bhi Kamaal Karti Hain, Personal Se Sawaal Karti Hain’, one gets dazzled by his inclusiveness.”

Instead, he feels it is the writing that leaves room for improvement. He continues, “Writing lyrics has turned more into a quick fix than a serious art. Rap songs have specially added to the amateurish and paralytic writing.”

Soumya Vajpayee

Sameer Anjaan