Gulzar's Aandhi by Saba Mahmood Bashir

Author:Saba Mahmood Bashir
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: null
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers India
Published: 2019-03-06T16:00:00+00:00

chapter five

The Language

Ravi Vasudevan, in the essay ‘Addressing the Spectator of a “Third World” National Cinema’, emphasizes the fact that the ‘language of Bombay cinema is Hindustani’.41 Like all arts, the language of the films also represents the lingo of the times. If one traces the language of the films from the 1940s to the present day, there is a stark difference thanks to the changing nature of language. Art and cinema imitate life, and vice versa. The language of the common people seeps into cinema as well.

For a film by Gulzar, even an entire chapter on language isn’t enough. A wordsmith unlike none other, he knows how to play with words. In this chapter, there are two aspects that have been looked into, and analysed – one, his choice of words, and two, the subtle touches of humour he has employed to great effect in a fairly serious film.

Choice of words

The characteristic use and the style of Gulzar’s writing comes out very prominently in this film. The opening lines of the film are:

‘Yakeen maniye, mujhe koi shauk nahin hai election ladne ka. Aur na hee kisi doctor ne kaha hai ki main election ladoon. Lekin mujhe election ladna padta hai. Apne huqooq ke liye. Janta ke huqook ke liye.’

(Believe me, I have no desire to fight the elections. Neither has any doctor asked me to. But I have to fight the elections – for my own rights, for the rights of the common man.)

One could note the choice of the Urdu words with elements of a conversational tone blending beautifully. Also, the first dialogue that Aarti Devi delivers when she addresses her party workers, asking them to be seated, is ‘Sit down’ instead of its Hindustani equivalent. Her choice of words draws from her characterization. Her dialogues are peppered with English throughout the film, especially when she is in the comfort of her personal zone. When a staff member from Hotel Aashiyana welcomes her with a basket of flowers, she addresses him in English, a language she can speak effortlessly. It’s wedded to her character.

When she reaches Allahabad and looks at a poster designed for the political rally, Aarti Devi points out that it has too much use of English and should instead have Hindi. It is interesting to note that she makes this remark in English: ‘English zyada lag rahi hai. They should be more in Hindi.’ (There is too much of English. They should be more in Hindi). Further, it is worth noting that although the banner says ‘Vote for Aarti Devi’, the script on the banner is Devnagari. This style is a conscious effort from Gulzar. India, being a country of many languages and, therefore, many scripts, has always found the debate around the national language a bit sensitive. Mahatma Gandhi was a strong advocate of Hindustani and preferred it as the national language of free India, instead of Hindi. His idea was to bridge the difference between Hindi and Urdu, languages which had by then begun to be associated with religions – Hinduism and Islam respectively.

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