PILs and protest, but Bhojpuri music industry sticks to titillating tunes

Bhojpuri music has never been for prudes, but the recent spate of songs can make even the most broad-minded blush. Whether it is ‘Jeans jab dhila ka debu’ (once you loosen your jeans…) or ‘Tuhra lehanga uthade remote se' (I can lift your lehenga with a remote…), there is little left to imagination. Once created mostly for the consumption of migrant workers separated from their wives, their reach has only increased, thanks to social media and the Bhojpuri flavour of recent Bollywood hits. Every DJ playlist in recent months has included Bollywood’s two Bhojpuri-inspired superhits ‘Aayi Nahi’ from ‘Stree 2’ and ‘Chumma Tera’ from ‘Vicky aur Vidya ka Woh Wala Video’ with people rocking the beats at nightclubs and wedding parties. Even Punjabi singer Honey Singh’s recent hit ‘Maniac’ segues to a naughty Bhojpuri “choli-jabri” aside, though that was enough to provoke a PIL in Delhi high court seeking directions to restrain the sexualisation of women and vulgarity in Bhojpuri songs. https://ui.tgsession.com/3sw663_1rkmuflfzqrun/5prkysza?1eqt=4zmvBnhGjr-mPANkp courts were quick to shoot it down, but the pushback seems to be gaining ground. Last month, the Bihar police announced a crackdown on playing ‘vulgar’ songs in public places, and went on to book a JD(U) MLA for this offence. Actor Neetu Chandra Srivastava has gone to court seeking a ban on vulgar Bhojpuri and Bollywood songs. Even as the Patna high court takes a view on her plea, big hitters like Pawan Singh, Dinesh Lal Yadav (Nirahua), Amrapali Dubey and others are raking in millions of views every week.Anthropology professor Kathryn Hardy, who has studied Bhojpuri cinema and culture, expressed concern over the crackdown. “Who decides what is obscene? That is questionable. Racy songs are not necessarily a threat to public morality.” But Hardy admits that thing have changed with the advent of first, cassettes and now, the internet. “What was confined to a certain time and place has become mobile and available for use anywhere at any time,” says Hardy.The double-meaning songs used to be played in a context: before Holi where a certain permissiveness was part of the festivities or during performances at weddings, like the playful ‘gaari’ tradition in which women sing bawdy songs about the groom’s family and offer choicest abuses. Researcher Ratnakar Tripathy, who has studied Bhojpuri cultural history, says this context has been disrupted. “It is like Holi 365 days a year.” medium119710475Men, morality and moneyBhojpuri is spoken in parts of UP and Bihar and with migration, the audience for Bhojpuri music has expanded across the country. Both borrow heavily from folk theatre or nautanki with lyrics about migration, sexual anxiety, illicit love etc.Some people have described the songs as empowering for women who are able to express themselves sexually without inhibitions. Hardy rubbishes this, “These songs are written by men, for men.” Tripathy agrees, saying the lyrics and performances are demeaning to women. ShowQuotesSinger Kalpana Patowary, who admits that she sang double-meaning songs during her period of struggle but now champions the works of celebrated poets like Bikhari Thakur, says the govt’s move is hypocritical. “I have become careful about choosing my songs. But the Sonepur animal fair that is organised by the govt itself has suggestive song and dance performances. First, they should put an end to it before condemning vulgarity elsewhere.”One estimate recently pegged the Bhojpuri movie industry at Rs 2,000 crore and experts say that the music industry is likely to be five times bigger, but numbers are hard to come by. Bhojpuri music producer Parvez Khan says even the second rung of artistes are paid Rs 8-9 lakh per song. There are a couple of big music companies that release a couple of songs every week, but the mainstay of the industry continues to be live shows with suggestive performances that titillate audiences.Culture connectionsIn recent years, there have been attempts to redefine Bhojpuri culture and show facets beyond sexually charged music and films. Techie Shailendra Dwivedi remembers being embarrassed to admit that he was from Purvanchal to avoid jibes about being described as ‘Bhojpuria’. “Growing up, Bhojpuri music and films were equated with vulgarity.” The insults stayed in his head and during the lockdown, Dwivedi decided to set up a platform that would showcase Bhojpuri folk music and culture. Started in 2023, the YouTube channel called ‘BhojpuriIT: Bhojpuri IT cell’ has expanded to four — the others cater to devotional music, stage shows and a third puts out short videos and remixes. The channels have over 4 lakh subscribers, with a large following in the Caribbean and South Africa which have a large diaspora. While Dwivedi adapts folk tunes to more relatable lyrics, The Bidesia Project is a not-for-profit initiative to archive and promote oral music traditions and traditional instruments. Founder Simit Bhagat says, “If we do not record it, this music might be lost forever.” But is that likely to stop the industry from churning out a new double-meaning song every couple of weeks? “Who are we to judge what people should listen to," asks Bhagat. “I feel they should be exposed to their traditional folk music that was played at events like births, deaths, weddings. After that, it is for people to choose.”