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In tune with the times
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How can we have soulful songs in films when crudeness defines both our college campuses and politics? BHUMIKA K. listens to the songwriter's lyrical outpourings on songs and society
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Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy
Javed Akhtar who was in the city for the book's release talked at length on the changing scene of Hindi film songs.
Who are you waiting for
I'm here aren't I?
Look my way, just once
I'm here aren't I?
Why are you silent
Say what you will...
RECOGNISE THIS? Uh uh. That's the hit title song "Kiska hai ye tumko... " from the Shah Rukh starrer Main Hoon Na. Translated for the international audience.
That integral, inseparable and intimate part and parcel of Hindi cinema - the song — has given much scope for enjoyment, antakshari, dancing at weddings, discussion, banter, and argument over the years.
So lyricist Javed Akhtar and documentary film-maker, author Nasreen Munni Kabir decided to sit down and "do" a book Talking Songs, a conversation on songs in Hindi films, that comes with 60 selected songs of Akhtar's. The songs have been translated by Kabir. The two had earlier done a book Talking Films: Conversations on Hindi Cinema with Javed Akhtar.
Brilliant handbook
A leaflet from memory: A photograph from the book Talking Songs captures ghazal maestro Mehdi Hasan, Javed Akhtar and lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri at a party at Javed's home in 1978
What's turned up is a brilliant handbook that discusses various aspects of the creative process of song-writing, discussions on the nuances of poetry, the ever-changing vocabulary of the Hindi film song, symbolism, fusion music, to minute details such as the oft-repeated image of chaand and how often Javed changes words at the last minute in his lyrics. Javed has also spoken at length on phenomenal lyricists such as Majrooh Sultanpuri, Shailendra, Sahir Ludhianvi and Kaifi Azmi. The book, which makes for very interesting reading for a lover of old songs, was released by danseuse Vani Ganapathi at Crossword in Bangalore, with actress Mallika Prasad doing a reading of the excerpts.
The man who stole the evening, yet again in Bangalore, was of course Javed himself with his great sense of humour, one-liners and passionate talk on poetry. "We realised recently how Hindi cinema is not untouchable anymore. It is being analysed. But till today there has been no serious study on that integral part of our cinema — songs," Akhtar explained. "This book tries to trace the origin and history of our songs, why words of the '40s like balma and sajanwa are never used now, why we don't have songs like `Who subah kabhi to aayegi' anymore and how society influences cinema and film songs and their future." The song lyrics transliterated in English and headed for film libraries of the world will give foreign audiences a glimpse of Hindi cinema lyrics, said Akhtar. "We shouldn't be embarrassed about this at all (our songs). This is our USP, our tradition and we should be proud of it," said the poet, reminding his attentive audience how songs-in-narrative was not an invention of Indian cinema. Folk theatre (Nautanki), the Jatra of Bengal, Urdu-Pharsi theatre and ancient Sanskrit plays had it.
"But unfortunately, in the last few years, Hindi film songs are trapped in some 25 words. Jaane jaan, jaadoo and deewana must have been effective to begin with, like all clichés. But it's been bombarded on people so often that they don't register any longer."
If you are the kind who doesn't really appreciate translations, where perhaps the essence of poetry is lost, you may want to skip the last 200 pages of the book that feature the English translation alongside the original Hindi lyric. As Javed Akhtar himself admitted: "Translating poetry is like pouring perfume from one bottle to another. You definitely lose something. Poetry is not conducive to translation. But not everyone knows every language. So this is the second best substitute."
Of course, for someone who treasures song lyrics, this book is a great buy and keepsake. The conversation between `J.A.' and `N.M.K.' runs only for around 50 pages and leaves you wanting more.
The book has an elaborate and very unusually personal foreword by Akhtar's wife and actress Shabana Azmi that lets us peek into his writing room, and lets us know how he's not fussy about his pen but is definitely about his paper, how he doesn't use a proper writing desk and how he can write a song in a car on the way to the studio!
The book's also peppered with a few black and white pictures, including one with Kishore Kumar, Javed's favourite singer.
Society and song
Taking questions from audience later, Akhtar spoke at length about how society and the song mirror each other. "In a society, art, politics, business, education and morality don't exist in watertight compartments. It's not possible to have a callousness in society and great literature at the same time. It is not a matter of chance that songs such as "Woh subaha kabhi to aayegi" came at a time when there was a decency, a culture and an idealism in a society that was in an upbeat and optimistic mood. When there was crudeness on campus or in Parliament, how could it not be in films? Songs such as `Sarkai lo khatiya' and Advani's speeches came from the same package."
As Javed Akhtar repeatedly pined through the evening for a song like "Woh subaha kabhi to aayegi" to come around again and regretted that unlike real estate, poetry could not be willed, audiences would wilfully wish such a subah (morning) for good Hindi cinema and poetic Hindi songs again.
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