Regional South Indian cinema is reviving their cultural roots and this is what their Northern counterparts are doing

While I sit before the camera today, even before that, while driving to office, punching my attendance, till putting on the lapel mic, some songs are constantly playing in my head, it seems that they have hijacked the entire system of mine, which are

पहिले पहिले हम कईनी छठी मईया वरत तोहार (Pahil Pahil hum kaiyni Chhathi Maiya vrat tohar), which is a classic sung by Sharda Sinha, beautifully penned by Hriday Narayan Jha.

Another one is, Chhathi Maiya Bulaye, sung by Vishal Mishra, which beautifully captures the emotion of a person living outside hometown, who wishes to go back home during the Chhath Mahaparv. The song narrates the preparations that goes behind the festival, be it making of thekuas, or how women sit together and sing the traditional Chhath geet, and how the ones observing the fast, stand in water worshipping Maa Chhath and Surya Dev. The very song was released just 11 months back and a song sung in a regional language that is Bhojpuri has more than 5 million views. The song that I mentioned earlier, was released five years ago and today the view count stands at 42 million. Various versions of these songs have been released, whose views will together count in billions.

Why am I saying this? To convey how much I miss Chhath. No! I am curating this to establish the significance of these songs which have converted a purvanchali festival into a global phenomenon. Today, Chhath vratis can be seen standing worshipping in the United States of America, from New Jersey to California. This is the power the media holds, it can be a song, an album, a film or simply a story. We are a country which has seen powerful stories of Ramayan and Mahabharat, travelling from generation to generation. But it seems that we Indians have forgotten the Indian way of telling stories, and hence are losing out on our culture.

Cinema is a reflection of society

It is said that cinema is a reflection of society. Movies reflect cultural attitudes, trends and reflect on the past, present and the predictable future. The power of cinema or to say the audiovisual media cannot be determined. In the evolved times like today, the audio-visual medium is the most impactful as the audio-visual input and output devices are in abundance these days. Every single individual owns one or more mobile handsets, which are the best suited device to binge watch cinema these days. Mobile is the most powerful tool in today’s time as far as delivering the narrative is concerned. This awards the film or entertainment industries with immense power to influence and impact modern society. No surprises, cinema does manufacture and drive the narrative of the society at any given point in time. Sitcoms and comedy shows make us laugh and enlighten our mood, psychological thrillers help us see the world from an improved perspective, and historical films help us understand where we’ve come from as humans. Every video, every film, every script reflects society and transforms opinions.

How has Bollywood discarded the rich culture of India?

Bollywood, which must be referred to as the Hindi film industry is probably in its worst phase since its inception. No one would have ever thought that the year would come to an end without even a single Bollywood blockbuster. Films after Films are tanking in Bollywood, the apt to substantiate the cause is ‘Go Woke, Go Broke’.

Bollywood left no stone unturned in maligning Indian traditions and customs along with the civilisational history of India and the Sanatan Dharm. All it did was vilified Hindus and whitewashed the invaders and Islamists. If one looks and analyses the content of the Hindi film industry, it is anti-India in general and anti-Hindu in specific. Let me name some movies and you will catch, Oh My God, PK, Jodha Akbar.

The urdufication of Bollywood has made it ditch the rich cultural history of India and portray Haji Mastan and Dawood Ibrahims as the Hero, some examples can be Shahruk Khan’s Raees or Ajay Devgn’s Once upon a time in Mumbai.

Also Read: Kantara OTT Release Date: Where & When to Watch the film?

Kanatra points out at a phenomenon

First came the Bahubali Franchise and then there happened to be a series of south-Indian films that took the nation by storm, be it KGF, RRR, Karthikeya 2, Vikram Rona or Ponniyin Selvan 1. It has been a great year for the South-Indian film industry. The films are earning well not only in the regional or the Hindi belt but also on the global market. It is due to their original content, unique narration style, some really good breath-taking visuals, the protagonist representing a larger-than-life character and the most important factor, glorifying the rich culture of India.

Kanatara receives full marks for glorifying the unique culture of Dakshina Kannada in which there is a beautiful representation of customs like Bhooth Kola (Spirit Worship) and Kambala (Buffalo racing on paddy fields). Kantara has attracted the audiences towards a new emerging phenomenon, the regional south entertainment industry tracing its roots.

How is the south Indian industry reviving its roots?

Bollywood, which can be deemed as the major entertainment segment of India is reaping what it had sowed over the years. And the south Indian entertainment industry is on a surge with its attempt of reviving its cultural roots. Bollywood is going full woke and is busy disconnecting with the audience whereas the South Indian movies are being made on archetypal storylines of India. They do not degrade the family system in the name of criticism. Celebration of Childbirth, college life, family-oriented love stories, marriages; all are depicted how traditional Hindus have done them for thousands of years.

I just shared the recent film Kantara and how it beautifully portrays the unique culture of Dakshin Kannada. The next movie which fits in here is the recent blockbuster RRR, which gracefully displayed the religious leanings of the characters in the film and the constructive criticism of the colonialist British was welcomed by the audiences. Taj Mahal is no longer the the most loved tourist site for foreigners, it has been replaced by Mahabalipuram. RRR is an example how the south Indian industry be it Tamil, Telugu or Kannada are portraying the ancient Indic culture and carrying it forward.

The missing stint in the northern counterparts

Let’s begin with the Punjabi entertainment industry. Before I go into the elaboration mode, let’s have a look at some lyrics of the industry that has the largest share of approximately Rs 700 crores in the independent music of India, five times the one that falls second.

Lakh 28 kudi da, 47 seven weight kudi da

Lakk tere patle waaste bani haan tommy dian jeena ni

There can be a long long list if I sit to cumulate all that is wrong with the industry. These lyrics are simply misogynistic which are suggesting the girls to fit in a size that is not possible practically. There is rampant female objection, women are shown gold diggers and that takes up the space is guns and luxury cars along with glamour.

However, there is nothing about the Punjabi culture that the songs have brought forward and presented. The rich history of Punjab, the Sikh Empire which even defeated the Afghans, the different types of instruments played in Punjabi folk and the beauty with which it connects to the soil, the harvest and the country.

The next in our firing line is the Bhojpuri entertainment industry. If we look at the Purvanchali region, there are various languages, dialects and their respective history like Mithila, Maghi, Awadhi. However, side-lining the rich history of the region that once acted as the guiding light of Asia, Bhojpuri entertainment industry has been a disgrace. Can you name one, just one Bhojpuri film you have watched with your family. None of us can because, that type of content if not being made and that the Bhojpuri industry is manufacturing is vulgarity.

After the era of liberalisation in the 1990s, when numerous cassette businesses debuted in the music industry, the Bhojpuri language truly fell out of favour. Songs in Bhojpuri grew popular and had a potential audience of almost 12 crore people. Traditional poems and melodies became extinct due to the general lack of education and the absence of Bhojpuri as a language of instruction. The young adventure of new singers and writers, which progressively degraded into vulgarity, swiftly overcame the literary prowess.

The songwriters created increasingly obscene songs in an effort to garner more hits by titillating the general public. Success started to be measured in vulgarity. Nothing in contemporary Bhojpuri writing could stop this downward spiral and produce something progressive. The Internet also gave Bhojpuri bhasha a new identity for the twenty-first century: auto-tuned music with coarse lyrics. The tremendous desire for vulgarity has drowned out all attempts to write good tunes.

What needs to be unlearned?

To your surprise, the same Bhojpuri industry has made the local festival of Chhath a global festival. Through bhojpuri songs the rich culture of Bihar and Purvanchal has travelled to not only entire India but also the world. The singers and production houses who are bust producing vulgar after vulgar songs and films for the entire year, suddenly start singing Chhath geet as soon as the month of Kartik begins. What does this establish,

Do we lack a rich cultural history? No

Do we have good artists who can portray the culture of Bihar or any other state? Yes

Does it happen? A big No, why? Because, we have forgotten our cultural roots in the urge of becoming modern, while adapting to the western norms. If these north Indian regional industries wish to grow, they need to reconnect with the the cultural roots or else they are in for a Darwinian extinction.