Yesterday, heartfelt. Today, heartattack!! Monojit Lahiri investigates the lyrical shift in Bollywood, exploring how soulful poetry has given way to catchy, bold anthems that define a new audience.

Bollywood's lyrical journey has seen a dramatic transformation, shifting from heartfelt poetry to bold, catchy anthems catering to a younger, fast-paced audience. Monojit Lahiri dives into this evolution, featuring insights from stalwarts like Majrooh Sultanpuri, Gulzar, and Javed Akhtar, alongside critical voices like Kunal Basu and Saibal Chatterjee. This article explores the rise of ad-style lyric writing, the changing audience preferences, and the cultural implications of chart-topping tracks like Munni Badnaam Hui and Sheila Ki Jawani. Discover how Bollywood's lyrics reflect the pulse of modern India while navigating debates on artistry and commercialism.

Majrooh Sultanpuri and the Golden Era of Lyrics

Around three decades ago, I had the good fortune of meeting the late, brilliant poet-lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri. Like any fan and admirer of his incandescent work, I piled on and badgered him with a zillion questions about poetry, lyric writing, Bollywood, the works!

I remember one distinct response to my ponted question about the difference in the treatment of love, from a lyricist in B-town’s perspective, between his time and the present. Gracious, as befitting true-blue artists of his era, but with a wicked twinkle in his eye, the great man said, “Hamare zamane mein mashook ko hum Mere Mehboob ya Chaudvin ka Chand kehke zikar karte the. [pause] Aaj Kal, ek bahut hi popular gaana hai, Tu cheez badi hai mast, mast! Wah, bahut khoob! Aaap khud hi andaza lagaiye, huzoor.” (In our time, we used to address the person we loved as my beloved, or the full moon. These days, there is a very popular song, ‘You are a big item, hot, hot!’ Great! You can draw your own conclusion.)

While I cracked up, the writer of immortal lyrics like Teri aankhon ke siva duniya mein rakha kya hai allowed himself a mischievous smile. Today, if he, or any of his illustrious contemporaries like Kaifi Azmi, Shakeel Badayuni, or Sahir were around, they could well have had a collective cardiac arrest listening to the quality of lyrics rocking the scene, Darling tere liye.

The Shift Towards Bold and Brash Lyricism

Not everyone agrees. Theatre actress Lushin Dubey believes that even back in the fifties and sixties, lyricists like Sahir did switch lanes to adapt and go with the times and mood of the character, no matter how bizarre or un-romantic. “Who can forget his Tel malish, champi in a heavy, dark, and dense film like Pyaasa?”

Oxford-based author of The Japanese Wife, Kunal Basu, a vitriolic critic of most of what Bollywood stands for, dismisses any element of originality or creativity in the industry. “For me, Bollywood is a mega-budget farce, dedicated to trivializing the Indian way of life, converting it to a pathetic, easily digestible caricature that is easy to consume and digest for the culturally deficient. Any resemblance to the remotely inventive, innovative, or halfway experimental, provocative, or pushing the envelope is a savage coincidence. Imitative (read: Hollywood), wildly self-absorbed and self-congratulatory, and constantly catering to the lowest common denominator to grab numbers, we get the trash we deserve. So why blame the writers of the Munni-Sheila anthems? They are spot-on in the populist, low-brow, jhatka-matka space that defines most of the Bollywood products and consumers.”

Harsh words, but what really is driving this new kind of lyric writing—bold, bindaas, irreverent, catchy, conversational, and raunchy—in a segment that was once sacred and the hallowed premise of the sensitive, poetic, and artistic? Film critic Saibal Chatterjee cuts to the chase: “I do firmly believe it has to do with the times we live in, the product being manufactured, and the target audience addressed. While Gulzar and Javed Akhtar will always have a market following, the crowd that constitutes today’s core decision-makers, ‘youngistan’ between the ages of 15-25, are of a totally different mindset, honed in a completely different cultural milieu and context. Impulsive, impatient, with zero brand loyalty, and constantly looking for new highs and kicks through novelty—not for them the languorous, metaphor- and romance-dripping word magic.

“This has opened the doors to a new breed of lyricists coming from the world of advertising—sharp, hawk-eyed, creative mavericks who are trained to recognize and march to the beat of the market, transforming a rarefied and inspirational calling into a cold-blooded, writing-to-sell exercise. The template is more copywriting (Ad-style) than lyric writing, and mass acceptance rather than excellence is the mantra of the hour. In this new game, Munni and Sheila are chartbusters, with the Band Baaja Baaraat lyrics following suit.”

The Perspective of Lyricists: Gulzar and Javed Akhtar

A 20-something ad-man, Abhinav Joshi, agrees: “Today, communication, not heavy-duty language, as in purple prose or imagery-dripping poetry, is what rocks with the masses. This is reflected in books, magazines, movies, TV, everyday conversation, and advertising. Why on earth should Bollywood films be any different? The three commandments are mota bol, seedha bol, jaldi bol! Surprise and delight me, boss, if you want memorability or top-of-the-mind recall. These songs help in the marketing of a film vastly in its pre-release stage. They build hype and grab eyeballs. Dabangg and Tees Maar Khan benefited largely from their signature tunes. Mallika Sherawat’s Razia (Gundo mein phaas gayi) in Thank You was a sizzler. Brash n bindaas is the new cool, man...way to go!”

While one of the two great exponents of classy lyrics, Javed Akhtar being the other, Gulzar remains unamused at the present state of lyric writing. He understands where it is coming from: “It is a time and place thing. In today’s digital-driven, hi-speed world with women multitasking as never before, can a Mere Mehboob, Chaudvin ka Chand, Babul Mora, Din dhal jaye, Jane woh kaise ever appear credible? Where’s the context? The intent, emotion, and passion are the same, but the mode and method of expression is in sync with the compulsions of the here and now, the techno-driven times.

“As for the quality of today’s lyrics, I would hesitate to pass sweeping judgment. Besides, songs written to win mass acclaim have always existed in the industry framework, and so, to each his own.”

Javed Akhtar concurs: “Catchy and chaalu songs were there in the golden age of Hindi movies too, the 1950s and 1960s, but poetry ruled. That’s because the custodians of cinema at that time were people who understood, loved, and celebrated great lyrics—be it directors, writers, music directors, singers, or even actors. Besides, the lyricists were all quality poets in their own right, who had deflected into films for commercial reasons and enriched it beyond comparison. Lastly, but most importantly, there was a large, eager, and enthusiastic constituency who were avid lovers of great lyrics. So, it all fitted in beautifully.”