Has Hindi poetry found its way back into film songs?

While he wrote novels, poetry and short stories with equal élan, Dushyant Kumar is most remembered for bringing the Hindi ghazal to the fore in his celebrated collection Saaye Mein Dhoop.
READ: ''Masaan'' a new wave in Indian cinema: Shekhar Kapur
Listen to songs from Ishqiya on Gaana.com
Even many years after his death, his words come in handy when someone wants to protest (Arvind Kejriwal sung 'Ho gayi hai peer parvat si' to inspire people to join the India Against Corruption movement) or serenade – lyricist Varun Grover took Kumar’s ghazal 'Main jise oadhta-bichhaata hoon' and turned it into the song 'Tu kisi rail si guzarti hai' in Masaan.
With poetry by the likes of Mirza Ghalib, Bahadur Shah Zafar and Amir Khusro inspiring songwriters to date, and the works of lyricists like Sahir Ludhianvi, Jaan Nisar Akhtar, Kaifi Azmi, Gulzar and Javed Akhtar making sure that Urdu never goes out of fashion, one might think that the adaptation of a Hindi ghazal or poem to a film song is a rarity. But a harder look at some film song lyrics will tell you that Hindi poetry, too, has made a fair share of contribution to our movies over the years. And Varun, who recently wrote a song adapted from a Hindi ghazal, says Hindi poetry is beginning to regain prominence in Bollywood.
Wanted to use a contemporary Hindi poem in Masaan
Varun says, “I have grown up reading Hindi poems and wanted to use them in my films. Luckily, Masaan was the kind of film in which I could do that, and Neeraj (the director of the film) trusted me with that. In the movie, Shaalu (played by Shweta Tripathi) is a lover of poetry and keeps talking about Mirza Ghalib, Bashir Badr, Nida Fazli and Akbar Allahabadi. I first wanted to adapt a poem by a contemporary Hindi writer, Uday Prakash, but since it was in free verse, Indian Ocean asked us to look at another option. I was then reminded of Dushyant’s political ghazal. So, I turned it into a romantic number.”

Hindi poets’ ‘purist angst’ was a barrier
Talking about why a bigger number of Urdu poems has made it to Bollywood than Hindi poems, Varun says, “Hindi poets had a purist angst. A poem should not be part of a film, they thought. But Urdu poets didn’t mind such things. Even today, a romantic song would use Urdu words. But now, threatened by English and Hinglish, Hindi is regaining its lost value and more work is being done in the language.”
Does Varun plan to use more Hindi poems in his movies? He says, “I don’t wish to undervalue a great work by using adaptation as a gimmick. There has to be a reason to take up someone else’s creation.”
Urdu poetry better suited for romantic songs: Neeraj Ghaywan
Neeraj Ghaywan, Masaan’s director, says, “I miss the usage of pure Hindi, and the subtlety that older Hindi songs had. 'Tu kisi rail si' had the fine balance of budding romance, the playfulness of a small town, and the helplessness one feels in the early days of first love.”
Sharing his opinion about ‘Urdu versus Hindi poem adaptation’, he adds, “I think the sound of Urdu words is inherently romantic – each word is loaded. It becomes easier to adapt Urdu words, because they fit in the metre easily. People tend to have quicker romantic association with Urdu because of the abundance of shayari and ghazals in our literature.”
Poet-lyricist AM Turaz seconds Neeraj. He says, “Although there are many Hindi words like dil, suraj, and jeevan that have been used in songs, Urdu words mein ek alag ravaani hai. Technically, Urdu creations are more suited for song adaptation, as they follow a certain method of writing. Hindi poets have no ustad and everybody claims to be a poet. Also, Hindi poems are hard to fit in metre,” adding, “However, words are often changed at the command of directors and producers. Ultimately, it’s all about the money and a lyricist has to compromise a lot with his choice of words.”

Contemporary Hindi poetry is rarely adapted: Prasoon Joshi
Prasoon Joshi, lyricist and ad guru, says that Hindi has been beautifully used throughout the history of songwriting. But ask him specifically about adaptations, and he says, “The works of contemporary poets have not been adapted much, but there are so many examples where creations of classical Hindi poets have been used.”
The Ludhianvi-Gulzar era has come to an end: Swanand Kirkire
Lyricist Swanand Kirkire says, “There is no Hindi-Urdu war. A lot depends on the background of the lyricist. Amitabh Bhattacharya is from Lucknow. I am from central India. So, our work reflects Hindustani language. Irshad Kamil is from Punjab. Naturally, his lyrics would be loaded with Punjabi shayari. So, that era of Sahir Ludhianvi-Gulzar-Javed Akhtar has ended. The new-age lyricists are taking words from different languages. They are here to express.”

Hindi poems that were made into film songs
'Babul mora naihar chhooto jaye,' a song from the film Street Singer (1938), is a poem written by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, the last nawab of the state of Awadh
'Rang barse' from Silsila and 'Koi gaata main so jaata' from Aalaap are poems by Harivansh Rai Bachchan
Kadambri, a 1975 film, had Amrita Pritam’s 'Ambar ki ek paak suraahi'
Pinjar (2003) had Pritam’s 'Charkha chalati maa'''
Yeh shaamein' by Dharamvir Bharati features in the film Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda, a story also written by him'
'Kadam kadam badhaaye jaa, written by Pandit Bansidhar Shukla, was used in Samadhi, a 1950 film
Some experienced deja vu while listening to 'Ibn-e-Batuta' from Ishqiya, as it reminded them of 'Ibn Battuta pehen ke joota nikal pade toofan mein,' a poem by Hindi poet Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena. But even as Saxena’s family cried foul, Gulzar stood his ground, saying the song in the film was his own original work.
For latest Bollywood updates follow us on Twitter >>> @TOIEntertain
For the latest in Bollywood news, like us on Facebook >>> TOIEntertain
For more interesting Bollywood news and pictures follow us on Pinterest>>> timesofindia
For latest Bollywood updates follow us on G+ >>> The Times of India Entertainment
WATCH: Richa Chadda gets teary eyed after 'Masaan' screening at the Cannes Film Festival - TOI