“Tohre dil ka theatre ma, dil deewana booking advance maare
re;
… very happy in my heart, dil dance maare re...”
– Lines from Dil Dance Maare, Tashan.
DilDance Maare is only the latest among many numbers coming out ofBollywood’s
studios which have been fired by Bhojpuri fuel. Tracks withGujju lyrics (‘Usne
bola kem chhe’) and Mumbhai lingo (‘Kya bolti tu’)have salvaged many ailing
scripts, but never before has Bollywoodlooked towards the heartland to deliver
hits which appease all. Andit’s working.
TASHAN MASTER
YashRaj’s next star-studded flick is slated for a month-end release but
itsmusic has started ruffling feathers already. A music critic has
rightlycoined the term ‘hinterland funk’ to describe its desi feel and
theBhojpuri lyrics. When asked what the hell he was thinking while writingthe
loony song, co-composer Vishal laughs, “We’ve heard a millionBhojpuri songs;
this one is just a derivative!”
Akshay Kumar in a
song-dance sequence from Tashan
Another Vishal responsible for triggering this movement is VishalBharadwaj. His
standing ovation-worthy Omkara had tracks like ‘Beedi’and ‘Namak’ which were
replete with unadulterated content from theGangetic belt. Lyric legend Gulzar
however modestly attributes it tothe script. “It couldn't possibly have worked
if I had overlooked howthey talk and sing in Meerut,” he feels, adding, "such
songs are beingcreated only because their scripts demand them."
How then,would one explain 'Billo Rani', resonant with rustic dialectic
('dhakdhak ye mann dhadkat hai, tan ma agni bhadkat hai') in Goal, which is
asports-based tale set in the UK? Composer Pritam comes clean, "Indiansabroad
are always more rooted to their folk music, so it had to be afun song!" To put
it in business sense, script and storyline aside,folk lyrics are often employed
solely to make danceable songs, which inturn aid the film's faring. Goal was a
dud at the box office, but themusic sales were ‘average’ as T-series head
Bhushan Kumar told us. AndFYI, Tashan has been reportedly shot in Greece, which
is a fairdistance from UP and Bihar.
This trend isn’t a shock though.Our dhinchak-music-loving eardrums were
acclimatised long before Billo,Beedi & Co. Rahman’s Lagaan was deeply filled
with last-centuryHindi (‘Mann Dhadkaaye Badarwa’). Later, Baghban’s peppy 'Hori
KheleRaghubeera' perhaps replaced 'Holi Ke Din' as the greatest Holi song.
THAT’S ALL ‘FOLKS’
Musicallyspeaking, our melodists have borrowing copiously from various
Indianfolk elements – be it Dhol Baaje (derived from Gujarati), Sajna JeeVaari
Vaari (a powerful Rajasthani folk theme) or even the mindlesssuperhit 'Aye
Chhori' from Cash, which composer Vishal admits isnothing but packaged
‘Nautanki’. Lyrically, most of these derivationsflaunt semi-clean Hindi, but
some have outright Bhojpuri, Avadhi andthe likes.
"Bhojpuri has the same attitude as hip hop – funkyand raunchy. This common
ground gives scope to crazy lyrics too. Idecidedly went 'mad' writing 'Dil
Dance Maare'…call it the Dard-e-Discosyndrome!" explains Vishal. On the other
hand, Pritam loves thepleasantness in these lingos. “Bhojpuri and its dialects
have beenpopular in songs because their words are simply sweet," he smiles.
Thissweetness is westernised, packaged and sold in mainstream Bollywood.Trade
analyst Taran Adarsh feels this emergence is because theseso-called hinterlands
are big markets also. "Bhojpuri cinema itself isbullish and catching up with
mainstream. So this trend will alwayshelp," he offers.
SEXIST PUNCH
Itdoesn't take a PhD in Bhojpuri pop to figure that almost all the songsfrom
hinterland funk contain flirty, provocative words and other smuttydouble
entendres ('door door se ghoor ghoor ke, maare najariya taadke', from Krazzy
4’s item number). And they work like magic, at therisk of being called sexist.
"Beedi is as 'hot' as a song can get, andit's not sleazy at the same time,"
feels Vishal.
Anotherside-effect of provocation is that these numbers set dance floors
afirethe moment they're 'turned on' – when DJs add twists like'electro-house'
to this genre, it only makes the foot-stompingpotential of this country music
soar in our heady nightclubs. DJ Akhtarof the suburban pub Enigma agrees, "The
naughtiness in these songs is abig reason why they rock the charts. And with
the sing-along appealthat they carry, the Beedis and Billos are sureshot
chartbusters," headds.
MORE IN STORE
Withthe remix formula having reached saturation levels, hinterland funkcould
well be a magic jukebox for musicwallahs. Indipop, as it wasfondly called by
music industry folk, is still reeling from having seenfar better days. "There
is immense scope of using rhythms and wordscreatively from our grassroots,"
Pritam puts it. Perhaps that's whymany of his forthcoming soundtracks boast of
the above feature. "Myproject with Rajkumar Santoshi's next will have many
elements from ourHindi heartland; as also the upcoming Priety Zinta-starrer Har
Pal.There's also a song on Kareena in Golmaal 2, whose North Indian folkbeats
should hopefully rock the nation!" he beams.
Bipasha Basu in the mother
of all hinterland funk songs, Beedi
While Gulzar says he'll only employ the Beedi-lingo if the scriptdeserves it,
Vishal-Shekhar tell us there's more in store even afterthe folk fest that is
Tashan. "We've used much of Rajasthani folk whilecomposing E Niwas's De Taali
but of course it'll be different fromTashan," the rock singer-composer says.
Music composers aren'tthe only ones with hardcore Hindi in their pipeline. DJ
Akhtar too isexcited. "The overseas market has immense respect towards our
music.And with concepts like Bollywood nights picking up internationally,
I'msure this form of song-making will flourish," he feels. After all,wherever
he plays – Mumbai, London or Jakarta, all it takes is a beedito ignite the
hearts of the masses.
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