THE HAT JAA TAAU DIARIES
Originally published on Passionforcinema.com posted at passionforcinema.com/the-hat-jaa-taau-diaries/
Originally published on Passionforcinema.com posted at passionforcinema.com/the-hat-jaa-taau-diaries/
Hailed one of the most popular Haryanvi songs of all time, ‘Hat jaa Tau’ from the album 'nay lifafa' is a top grosser and can be easily heard in any/all types of functions in delhi/ncr. For those unfamiliar with the song, i can only give a few lines
Hat ja tau pache ne, (uncle move back/withdraw)Ho hat-jya, Tau hatjya (oh uncle…oh uncle please withdraw today)Hat jya tau paachhe nai,Nachan ne jee kar reha se ( i feel like dancing)Ho bete!!!!Aaj Hataya nahi hatunga (today i will not go if you asked me to)Dekhe! Daaten te bhi nahi datunga (even if you scold i will not move)
Aaj, mein nahi soon aape mein (today i am not in my control)
Nachan de ji bhar ke ne…ho bete!! (let me dance to my heart’s content)
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| The famous song 'hat ja tau' |
The song broke a box office record and also shattered the slumber of the Haryanvi film and video industry. It also raised a big question. The void created by Hindi cinema. The Hindi cinema industry has been in an experimental phase lately. There are films for the NRI’s (you know the examples), for the gen-y (LSD,My Brother Nikhil) for elderly (Baghban), for family audience as well as average viewers. But somewhere in this variety, regional flavours have been lost. By regional flavours i do not mean the regional characters but regional aspirations and sensibilities.
Indian films had always been characteristic of cultural integration. We have had great films such as Parineeta, Pinjar, Rudaali,Omkara, Ishqiya depicting the culture or giving us glimpses into various regions. But as Hindi cinema grappled with the question of content, form and style while dealing with differentiated audiences, the ability to artistically integrate the preferences of regional audience, could not keep pace.
As a result, the different states in the Hindi heartland started out on their own to make what they liked to watch. Consequently, we got the Bhojpuri industry (active volcano), the Punjabi cinemasphere (dormant volcano) and the Haryanvi industry (the extinct volcano).
The most exciting changes came in the Bhojpuri industry. Suddenly, there was regional cinema that had the potential to tower the well established counterparts of South. (Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films). Though the content and quality of these films is still not as rich as the southern films,they satisfy the huge market of UP, Bihar and adjoining areas. But even these films cater to a limited audience belt.
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| NFDC sponsored film Lado starring Ashutosh Rana |
With no help from Hindi film industry and no Godfather, the other states had the option to either pick up the ‘this- is- all- i -have- for- you‘ films from Hindi industry or make the ‘ this- is-what -we- like ‘ films. They chose the latter. Not only as the area depicted lucrative business potential, but also because they got an opportunity to get rid of typical stories and narratives since no norms or benchmarks existed.
There was the freedom to say what one wanted to without fearing acceptability amongst wider audience. There was an explosion of films in numerous formats, with a wide variety of content that included bad remakes of popular hindi films and also some very original and entertaining work. All in all, it did satiate the taste buds. But what about the films that bombed?
Every time one film bombs at the regional box office, there is an awkward silence over who releases the next. The dependence of producers on Mumbai for their film making needs and lack of initiatives in the regional film sector coupled with lack of structural framework to work in, discourage the average wannabe director.
The audience is torn between ‘low quality- my type’ cinema and ’ high quality- not my type’ films. There is not an iota of doubt that Hindi cinema will remain the most popular form of entertainment in times to come. But why can’t I, as a regional audience, get my own Spider man made in Haryanvi (and not dubbed in Haryanvi)? the graphics and all?
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| Malegaon ka Superman |
The world recognised the magic of Pather Panchali long before we woke up to the genius of Satyajit ray. Then why don’t we make it easier to unleash that creative potential in others back at home? Why does everything become cluttered, confusing and challenging in our nation?
I know the question is a bit ahead of its times. But there is an urgent need to build systems to support young, dynamic and intelligent individuals. People need to say what they have to and we have to make it easier for them. They don’t have to have contacts or in depth technical knowledge to make 35mm films. We need to give skills and a platform for more stories to tumble out of the closet. Even though over a thousand films are released in India, the market is a long way from saturation. And anyway let us put systems in place to take our Mis-en-scene to an international level.
Who knows, we may be watching the Spiderman in a dhoti soon?
