Look who’s talking

The Spectator

Watching Shah Rukh Khan on TV recently vindicates what I have always maintained: our top Bollywood stars may be aces at singing dancing and fighting — but when it comes to the Queen’s English —the reigning Bollywood heroes have been nothing short of highly fluent articulate and sophisticated.

Think about it: in the sixties the triumvirate that dominated Bollywood of Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor spoke impeccable English.

To listen to Dilip Kumar express himself in Urdu or English was a joy; he chose the most evocative words, the right emphasis and the killer pauses that made listening to him akin to enjoying poetry. Dev Sahib too, with his Government College Lahore background (his brother Chetan actually taught English there), was no slouch when it came to expressing himself in English though his frequent usage of the word ‘motion picture’ as in ‘we make motion pictures’ made his profession sound grander than it really was.

Raj Kapoor’s usage of English revealed him to be the sophisticated man of the world that he truly was. His manners, hospitality and graciousness (except when he was inebriated) were exceptional as was his command of the language.

Cut to Rajesh Khanna whose command of English was perhaps not as formidable as that of Dilip Kumar’s but who spoke it with an ease that came no doubt from his Xavier’s college days.

And then came Amitabh Bachchan. A poet’s son, who spoke so exquisitely in Hindi and English that listening to him brought back the days of Dilip Kumar. Not only was Amitabh articulate but thoughtful and well-read too.

Shah Rukh, though not given to flights of poetic expression like Amitabh and Dilip, also displays the same command of English. His vocabulary suggests that he reads a lot; he is confident of sophisticated syntax and un-phased by complicated questioning.

What does this mean? Is it a coincidence that all our top actors have been so fluent in a language that they don’t even act in? Are we projecting our own value systems on our leading men? In a country where the English language is equated with success and sophistication do we subconsciously reserve the No One position to people who speak it well?

Who will take over Shah Rukh’s mantle? I do not know, but I am pretty certain going by the history that it will be an actor who speaks English in silken tones.

So mothers and fathers keen on getting your brats to enter Bollywood — forget teaching them singing and dancing and fighting — teach them how to speak English like they were born to do it instead!

s_malavika@dnaindia.net