“Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein khayaal aata hai, ki jaise tujhko banaya gaya hai tere liye, not for me or other men…”
“Chikni Chameli chhupke akeli pauwa chadha ke aayi, because she’s independent enough to do whatever the f*** she wants to…”
If you’re beginning to wonder why these songs sound so wrong and so right at the same time, take a minute to pause and consider what implications the actual lyrics carried with them before they were morphed into less problematic verse by India’s young Twitterati.
#FeministBollySongs, a trend that has been taking over social media for quite some time now, has had people picking up some of the best known Bollywood songs from every era and stamping out their sometimes latent and sometimes blatant sexism with similar lyrical experiments.
We look at how some of the most recent Bollywood songs fare in comparison to older ones, when it comes to negotiating gender dynamics. Does Chameli really get to indulge in alcohol by herself, without being judged and objectified anymore? We make an attempt to find out.
Ananya Bhattacharyya, a PhD student at Delhi University who has been studying Bollywood’s negotiation of gender identities and relationships through the ages, affirms that while there is still a long way to go, the Indian film industry is increasingly embracing a changed gender perspective.
The songs released in 2015 in particular, she points out, stand heartening testimony to how more of Bollywood’s verse is beginning to reflect a changed world.
“Jazbaa has some great poetry in ‘Kahaaniya’ and even its item number ‘Aaj raat ka scene bana le’ is surprisingly feminist,” she says.
She continues, “In ‘Aaj raat ka...’ the girl is asking for a night out on her own terms, has exams coming up and is busy next weekend for reasons she isn’t obligated to disclose.
Thumbs up to that. I wish she weren’t relying on the man for the night out, though. Piku has a fantastic title track that steers clear of every stereotypically attractive trait in a Bollywood ‘heroine’ with no mention of what she looks like.”
Lyricist Swanand Kirkire agrees and adds that while a debate around the issue is essential, it is also important that it extend beyond just the songs.
He says, “2015 was all about women in Bollywood. It was the women who led most of the finest narratives this year. And the songs are, therefore, reflective of that phenomenon too. Bollywood songs are dependent on the story that they’re placed within.
"They are not independent expressions of poetry. If you want me to write a song for Piku, I’ll write a song that fits everything Piku stands for. If more films are made like that, more songs will be written like that too.”
Music composer Amaal Malik echoes in agreement and points out how there have been songs of feminist affirmation in Bollywood’s earlier years too, albeit few and far between.
“There are a few iconic old numbers like ‘Hungama ho gaya’ and ‘Mungda mungda’ that are every feminist’s delight. And they support the argument that how a song is written depends on the brief given to the lyricist and the overall requirement of the movie.
"As a composer I also feel that if you have a catchy tune, chances are that you will get away with anything in terms of lyrics. But yes, I do believe that to make the right tune and to capture the right emotions with it, the right lyrics are indeed important — feminist or otherwise.”
In the same vein, Ananya adds that though change is decidedly happening, it is not absolute.
“There are still underlying problems in some ‘item’ numbers that continue to objectify women and even some romantic numbers that continue to give the man in the relationship marginally higher ground.
"For example, Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo has a song called ‘Aaj unse kehna hai…’ from the girl’s perspective, and from one angle it can seem like a How-To-Please-Your-Guy-By-Doing-What-He-Wants module.
"‘Unko jo bhaaye who hum lenge/Unke liye kuch bhi kar denge…Jo unko pasand who lete chale…’ There is the argument that it is intended in a spirit of affection that could apply to either gender… but then, why is only the girl singing it?”
