Tum Kya Mile and the changing language of love in Bollywood songs

Then there is the not-so-subtle Pyar Hota Kayi Baar Hai from Luv Ranjan’s Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar that released earlier this year. An insipid, uninspired copy of Ranbir Kapoor’s blockbuster Badtameez Dil from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013), it has Amitabh Bhattacharya at work again. It may feel like it, but it isn’t a heartbreak song. In fact, if you ignore the sexist overtones and choose to look at it as gender-neutral, you’ll find it surprisingly life-affirming. The song urges you to not think of a failed relationship as the end of the world, strongly undercutting Karan Johar’s brahma mantra that he espoused in his debut directorial Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), “Hum ek baar jeete hai, ek baar marte hai, shaadi bhi ek hi baar hoti hai, aur pyaar bhi ek hi baar hota hai, baar baar nahi hota,” defining love for an entire generation.

What then to make of Bollywood’s delayed but unequivocal acceptance of the new-age love where the old idea of the happily ever after is only the beginning? The romances of today are no longer satisfied with merely finding the one. They demand more — that our filmmakers also show the little joys and the not-so-little frustrations of living with them every single day, getting your heart broken by them in a million different ways, the sinking emptiness of feeling stuck, learning to hate them, and yet, finding your way back to them all over again. The Netflix and Prime Video bingeing audiences are no longer content with flowers brushing and films ending on the wedding mandap. We are a generation of afterparties. We want to see the good, the bad, and the ugly of falling in love in its unadulterated 360-degree glory. We want stories that are relatable. We want our lives reflected and represented on screen.

I feel Grey Wala Shade from Anurag Kashyap’s Manmarziyaan (2018) best describes modern love. Written by Shellee, it is sung by Harshdeep Kaur and Jazim Sharma. It goes, “Kala na safed hai, kala na safed hai, ishqe da rang yara, grey walaa shade. Zamana hai badla, mohabbat bhi badli, ghise pite version nu maaro update.” Although long overdue, it’s reassuring to see Hindi films taking cognizance and following suit.