The new K-pop

Hours after the BJP government withdrew special status, social media was flooded with jingoistic jingles on Kashmir. Sunday Times looks at the growing market for (desh)bhakti music
The girl in a sparkly yellow salwar-kurta taunts the guy: “Jaate ne jamura ja bye, bye, bye, lagela garmi re hai hai hai, kare hai Modi kaam behtareen, kare hai Amit Shah kaam behtareen.”

Sings the boy in red-dyed hair: “Dhara 370 hatalai la, le laibe Jammu Kashmir me jamin.”

This would have been a run-of-the-mill Bhojpuri romantic ditty with the girl dreaming of escaping to the cool climes of J&K, except it is anything but that. Guised as a love song, the boy announces that he will buy land and live in Kashmir, now that Article 370 has been scrapped. In another song, a Haryanvi singer croons about his desire for a Kashmiri wife (bahu kasmeer tai laoni si) while yet another eulogises to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah for finally bringing the ‘tiranga’ to the Valley.

Hours after the BJP government withdrew special status for J&K on Monday, over a dozen music videos in Hindi, Bhojpuri and Haryanvi celebrating the move were released on social media. Article 370 or dhara 370, as it is popularly known, set the jingoistic jingles flowing with themes that ranged from crass — ‘grab the land’ — to misogynistic — ‘get the gals.’

Most videos shared through WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook include a liberal sprinkling of the national flag, visuals of dead bodies lying on bloody ground (presumably terrorists), men and women in saffron turbans and flags, juxtaposed with clips from army show reels. Mehbooba and Abdullah (former state CMs Mehbooba Mufti and Farooq Abdullah) as well as the Hurriyat leaders are pilloried as traitors for cheating their countrymen. On TikTok, brawny Haryanvi men have uploaded videos announcing their intention to find a Kashmiri ‘lugai’.

Despite the off-key orchestra and tacky shots, the videos have garnered millions of views, thanks to the growing market for patriotism pop. Rohtak-based Ramkesh Jiwanpurwala had finished penning down lyrics even before Shah finished his speech on article 370 on Monday. By the end of the day, he had canned the song with the help of his son, Kumar Prince and daughter-in-law, Kavi Singh. The song released on August 6 and has already notched 2.5 million views. The words aren’t subtle or deep: “Tod dee 370, chehre par khushhali aayee hai, deep jalao, desh mein aaj ek aur Diwali aayee hai.” (Scrapping 370 has brought cheer to everyone, light diyas because it is a second Diwali.)

Views don’t always directly translate into money but the viral fame helps. Kavi Singh, a 21-year-old who has been singing ‘desh bhakti’ songs for the last two years, is inundated with bookings for shows since ‘hat gayi dhara 370’ became viral. She is also the brand ambassador for Haryana’s kabaddi team, Haryana Heroes. The fact that she has got death threats for defaming Hurriyat leaders and former CMs as gadaars has failed to prick her conscience. “I feel if people cannot say ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ or sing Vande Mataram they have no right to live in this country,” she says. The trio also released songs during the Pulwama attack and surgical strikes.

Siwan-based lyricist Pramod Kushwaha, popularly known as PK Iron after a producer felt his songs proved his mettle (loha hai tum mein), says young people are increasingly drawn towards patriotic songs. “I write songs for every situation whether it is a festival like Raksha Bandhan, or romantic numbers but it is the desh bhakti songs that catch on,” says the 27-year-old who writes for Bhojpuri singers.

Singer Nardev Bainiwal, who lives in Haryana’s Faridabad, also keeps a close eye on current affairs. “I compose songs based on issues that I am inspired by. Pulwama attack, for instance, made me so sad that I could not sleep till dawn. I wrote a song and recorded it the next day and it was a big hit,” he says. The 38-year-old has written and sung on the theme of ‘main bhi chowkidar,’ Pulwama attack and surgical strikes. Pakistan-bashing is another favourite theme.

Director Pawan Joon, who started Jawan Music company in 2017, says it only takes a couple of hours to can a video. His videos on Ram mandir, surgical strikes have all done well. “Yeh jwalant mudde hain. (These are hot issues.) So they do well,” he adds.

These hot issues don’t just get views but also help singers earn through stage shows and functions dedicated to soldiers, martyrs or religious events like bhandaras. Bainiwal says new singers get around Rs 5,000 while established ones can demand even a couple of lakhs.

The trick, it seems, is to stay tuned in to the news.