NEW DELHI: Noted Indian film lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar has slammed what he sees as vulgarity in new movie songs and urged the Jaipur Literature Festival to take up the issue vociferously, Press Trust of India said.

“There is so much vulgarity today. When you can protest against something illegal and even at stupidity then why there is no protest against vulgarity?” Akthar said on Wednesday at the Jaipur festival at a session on “Gaata Jaye Banjara: Film songs- Urdu, Hindi, Hindustani.”

Describing the changes in song lyrics in the course of time, the lyricist underscored the fact that songs of today were missing the “element of goodness” and that had previously contributed to their staying evergreen even decades after they had been penned.

Akhtar, also compared the Indian film industry with that of Pakistan’s, where he said ghazals and other traditional music formats continued to flourish.

“Words are the character of a song and ultimately that remains. Only those songs survive which are well written. Earlier, a common man used to get philosophy of life from music and songs.

Songs had sensibility...had elements of social justice and human values but that has vanished now and it is very sad that no one is thinking of that,” he said.

Akhtar called upon the audience to raise their voice against vulgarity. Citing the example of various songs “Choli Ke Pichhe” from the 1993 Bollywood flick “Khalnayak” and others he said he would not write such a lyric even if he was pressurised by the industry.

“Character and situation in today’s songs have no emotional depth. So, there is no space for good and emotional lyrics even if a writer tries to compose it,” he said.

“Today, a song is not heard but seen, due to aggressive marketing and visuals,” he said. The lyricist rued that item songs are taking front-seat in today’s films which have seen a decline of traditional narrative songs.

“Audience and aggressive marketing makes the song a hit. Marketing people ask us to write such songs, which are liked by people but if you reject such songs, it will push them to make good songs,” he said.

“There is no dearth of talent in our country. However, literature, poetry, art and traditional music have not been on the priority list of people. But now there seems some kind of resurgence, in younger people,” he said.

Meanwhile Akhtar, who turned 70 on Wednesday, said: “When we write as a duty it is never from the heart, when we write as a right, it is always revolutionary. Be it music, poetry or literature,” PTI said.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2015

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