This story is from August 17, 2007

Bollywood's new lingo

Piyali Dasgupta / TNN / Aug 17, 2007, 00:00 IST

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A new film starring Shaahid Kapur and Kareena Kapoor might be called Jab We Meet.. BT finds the language in films has kaafi evolved over the years.

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A new film starring Shaahid Kapur and Kareena Kapoor might be called Jab We Meet.. BT finds the language in films has kaafi evolved over the years.

A new film starring Shaahid Kapur and Kareena Kapoor might be called Jab We Meet.. BT finds the language in films has kaafi evolved over the years.A new film starring Shaahid Kapur and Kareena Kapoor might be called Jab We Meet.. BT finds the language in films has kaafi evolved over the years.A new film starring Shaahid Kapur and Kareena Kapoor might be called Jab We Meet.. BT finds the language in films has kaafi evolved over the years.A new film starring Shaahid Kapur and Kareena Kapoor might be called Jab We Meet.. BT finds the language in films has kaafi evolved over the years.doweshowbellyad=0;

The new Hinglish (TOI Photo)It’s simple and at times colloquial Hindi combined with a liberal sprinkling of English
No shudh Hindi, no bombastic words, no poetic phrases to make you consult a Hindi dictionary. Instead, it’s simple and at times colloquial Hindi combined with a liberal sprinkling of English that defines today’s Bollywood lingo.
Be it Jiah Khan saying Take light in Nishabd or Ash asking Hrithik Are you, like, checking me out? in Dhoom2, these dialogues have become popular thanks to their informal and everyday tone. Besides, these phrases form an important part of the vocabulary of the youth today.
While some dialogues are made popular by the films, others are modelled on lingo that’s commonly used in college campuses or corporate set-ups. So you no longer have the hero using phrases like ‘lehrati zulfein’ and ‘chamkili aankhen’ to woo the lady.

TV presenter Maria Goretti is all for this new trend. She says, Films abroad don’t have actors speaking in flowery language, so why do we need that in India? This trend was set by films like DDLJ and Dil Chahta Hai and has been well-accepted.
The Circuit and Munnabhai dialogues were also loved by all. But I found the way Ash spoke in Dhoom 2 stupid. People here don’t speak that way.
Slang has also become an intrinsic part of the dialogue. The audience doesn’t turn red-faced if the hero mouths the occasional expletive. For instance, Saif Ali Khan’s character in

Salaam Namaste was stuck on the word ‘c**p’, while Rani Mukerji was seen saying ‘s**t’ in Tara Rum Pum.
While it gives the film a yuppy feel, the characters also emerge as more believable. Director of the films, Siddharth Anand, says, I don’t make my actors speak in a way I wouldn’t. If I did, I’d alienate the audience from the character.
Saif’s character in Salaam Namaste was based on Indians abroad, so he had to speak that way. But films like Omkara and Lagaan wouldn’t have dialogues like that. It all boils down to the script’s needs.
Clichéd dialogues like ‘Main tumse nafrat karti hoon’ and ‘Main tumhare bachhe ki ma banne wali hoon’ are also being replaced by less dramatic and more relevant ones. But actor and director Rajat Kapoor, whose directorial venture Mixed Doubles was a Hinglish film says, We’re so caught up in making our films look real that there’s no scope for fancy dialogues in our films. Today, it’s impossible for the hero to say ‘I love you’ since it’s become so clichéd. The dialogues we use are only a slice of life.
But this applies only to multiplex audiences and might not work in the rural sector. Lyricist Javed Akhtar, who wrote dialogues for films like Lakshya, says, Language of the popular media has to be contemporary since it addresses a large segment of society.
Language of the ’50s and ’60s was a bit more cultured. Our vocabulary has become smaller and that’s being reflected everywhere. When Gone with the Wind was made, people were offended by the last line of the film which was, I don’t give a damn. But today it wouldn’t shock anyone.

About the Author

Piyali Dasgupta

Piyali Dasgupta is a Special correspondent at Delhi Times. She covers sports and entertainment, and Bollywood and foreign celebrities. She often does celebrity profiles and breaks sports and entertainment stories. Nightlife is her focus area professionally, but also an area of interest. She loves socializing, partying and music. She is also a trained Bharatanatyam dancer.

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