BOLLYWOOD NEEDS its own glossary. A handbook for all lyricists with a list of what words to use and not use when it comes to writing lyrics. This handbook should be made after the blessings of every community, caste, creed, profession, village, vocation and the likes, so that tomorrow no lyricist is ever picked up for using a word which might just be derogatory to any of the above mentioned entities.
It’s funny how the largest film industry in the world still doesn’t have the creative freedom to do what it wishes to. In spite of having a government-appointed censor board, the industry still has to listen to many organisations who have no social or economic impact on the society.
The truth is that the more we develop as a society, the more we seem to be regressing and getting narrow-minded. We are becoming increasingly intolerant of other people’s views and creativity. And this is visible in the media where we see people getting extremely critical. In this case, the medium of cinema, often gets picked on for all the wrong reasons.
Last week, we saw the film 'Kaminey' being pulled up by the Rashtriya Teli Rathore Chetna Mahasangh for the use of the word ‘teli’ (oil-merchant) in its title track. The usage of the word teli in the song had somehow injured the emotions of the Mahasangh. Using the word apparently reinforces the fact that they are a ‘under-privileged’ section of the society. How the use of a word manages to inflict such pain upon the entire community is somehow lost on us.
Kaminey is just one of the many instances. Earlier this year, the film 'Billu Barber' managed a similar feat, with objections raised on the film title itself. The word ‘barber’ was deemed derogatory by the entire barber community because of the obvious reference to them and so the title had to be reduced to simply 'Billu'. The question is, if the film was about a barber's profession, won’t he be referred to in that way? Or would 'Billu Hair Stylist' be a better choice for the title?
Similarly in 2007, Madhuri Dixit’s comeback film 'Aaja Nachle' only brought an uproar in the cobbler community. Here again like Kaminey, the title song had the word ‘mochi’ (cobbler) in it and had to be changed. However, in this case it was an entire line that had to be removed.
Before that, it was the 2004 release 'Meenaxi – A Tale of Three Cities' which failed to stir the box office but sent Islamic scholars into a tizzy because of the song 'Noor un ala noor'. Reason? The word which means divine light cannot be used in the context of a human being as it was being used in the song. The song perfectly manages to maintain a balance between the description of the woman’s beauty and love for God. It’s just a matter of perception. Anyway, the hue and cry resulted in the film being pulled out of theatres even before it could complete two weeks.
Clearly, these attacks are nothing but publicity stunts. However, it’s not the producers or distributors or the PR people of the film, who create the ruckus, it’s the so-called social organisations with ulterior motives that are behind them. These controversies crop up only after the film or song have become a hit and not immediately after they hit the air waves.
Take a look at the above mentioned examples; Each of these films made news for some or the other reason. Beginning with Meenaxi, the film had M F Hussain at its helm, while Aaja Nachle was Madhuri’s comeback vehicle after marriage and two children. Billu Barber had Shahrukh Khan playing a superstar like himself, Priyadarshan as the director, Irfan Khan, Lara Dutta, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone.
These protests and attacks make no sense whatsoever as they have no agenda. Who cares if a profession is mentioned in a song? What is required is a forum of industry experts that can fight these allegations. Why should somebody’s body of work be trampled upon by a bunch of extremists with political aspirations? These attacks not only restrict but also insult some of the best creative minds of our country. Does someone like Gulzar need to be told what is acceptable and unacceptable when it comes to song lyrics? The only reason film-makers bow to such pressures is because of the lack of any regulation in this regard.
The point is that moral policing on creativity needs to stop. Why do we perceive somebody’s freedom to be our constraint and where does something like this end? Tolerance and creative freedom is something that’s absent from our society. Media is the mirror of our society and restriction of the media doesn’t spell out development. 
4.5 / 2 votes 
