Usage of regional lyrics in Bollywood songs, a new trend

The song Chammak Challo from Ra.One is undoubtedly a runaway blockbuster, we agree. But what makes the song even more exciting is the use of Tamil lyrics in the song. With Kareena Kapoor lip syncing Tamil lyrics for the foot tapping dance number, the mix of English, Hindi and Tamil seemed to have blended quite well.

It’s not just Ra.One which had these Tamil lyrics, even the title song of Shaitan also seemed to have a peppy Tamil music playing in the background. With this trend catching up at a rapid pace in Bollywood, it’s interesting to note the mix of cultures and languages in songs these days.

Singer Hamsika Iyer who lent her voice for the Tamil portion of Chammak... is elated about the response she’s received for the song. “Vishal Dadlani is a good friend and we’ve even worked together for a Telugu project earlier. When he approached me for this song, I didn’t quite realise the impact of the song post the release. He gave me complete freedom and I couldn’t have asked for more,” says Hamsika, excitedly.

Though the situation of the song required them to use Tamil lyrics, Hamsika says such alternative sound is what makes the song even popular. She says, “The use of regional languages in Hindi music is not completely new, as even A R Rahman had done it earlier. The song flows in naturally and that’s what needs to be kept in mind.”

For director Bejoy Nambiar it’s the situation and theme of the film that matters over the language. “There was no intention behind using Tamil lyrics for the opening song in Shaitan. When we heard the song, there was an element of rawness that blended with the theme of the movie. The language shouldn’t really matter when it goes well with the theme,” says Bejoy.

Talking about this trend, music composer Prashanth Pilai says, “Music doesn’t have any language barrier. People today are open to hearing fresh sounds as they don’t like to stick to a particular genre. With such demands raising the bar for composers, the language shouldn’t really matter. If the story or situation demands, you can definitely bring in newer sounds irrespective of the language. It also works well commercially,” he points out. With music spreading in innovative ways every now and then, this one’s quite an impressive find!