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. ----- 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 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism