Execrable Urdu in Bollywood Movies
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
6 May 2024
Television
actor Sheezan Khan, popular for his roles in TV shows like Jodha Akbar and Ali
Baba: Dastaan-e-Kabul has criticised the inability of actors to speak
Urdu in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi. The show stars Manisha
Koirala, Richa Chaddha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Shekhar Suman, Adhyayan Suman,
Fardeen Khan, Farida Jalal among others.
Sheezan
took to Instagram and said that Farida Jalal was the only actor who could speak
eloquent Urdu on the show. He wrote, “Apart from Farida Jalal ji! Nobody could
speak “Urdu” in SLB’s Heeramandi!"
He's right,
an actor from this movie recently said in a promo, "Unki Baatcheet Ka
Lahza Bahut Badhiya Hai" (Her manner of speaking is excellent), not
knowing that the correct word in this context is LahJa, not LahZa.
It's arguably the most rampant mistake made by those who try to flirt with Urdu
without knowing Alif, Be, Pe.
Mind you,
Urdu has both the words but with different connotations. LahJa means
'manner or style of speaking', whereas LahZa means, 'a moment, Lamha
or a glance.' While the former has a Jeem letter in its orthography, the
latter has a Zoe in its spelling. See, how beautifully Bashir Badra used
the word 'Lahja' in this couplet: Lahja Ki Jaise Subha Ki Khushboo
Azaan De/Ji Chahta Hai Main Teri Aawaaz Choom Loon (Manner of speaking is
like a zephyr calling for a prayer/ I feel like kissing your voice).
Now see the
adroit use of the word Lahza by Rafiq Shikarpuri, "Uss But Ko
Apne Roobaroo Kya Dekha/ Ek Lahze Ke Liye Main Khud But Ban Gaya"
(Seeing her-beloved-face to face/I became like her for a 'moment').
By the way,
there's yet another Lahza in Urdu, albeit rarely used. It has a letter Zuaad
and it's actually from archaic Pashto: Tabaqim in Lahza (Lying
ahead). Here, Lahza (pronounced Lah(d)za because of the letter Zuaad)
means Ahead. But it's rarely used in Urdu.
Now when
today's Bollywood actors can't even read, write and speak basic Hindi, how can
you expect even a semblance of Urdu from them? It's an irony that the Director
Bhansali himself cannot speak chaste Hindi and he has made a film on Tawaif
(courtesan) who spoke impeccable Urdu.
Does he
know that in olden days, rich and affluent people, esp. Nabobs, would send
their wards to courtesans who taught them the nuances of language and social
etiquette? Courtesans would speak chaste Urdu and write poetry. The name of
Umrao Jaan Ada comes to a connoisseur's mind. She was a courtesan from Lucknow
who also wrote poetry.
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A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul
is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He
has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several
languages including Persian.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/execrable-urdu-bollywood-movies/d/132265