Ekdum Jhakaas! How Mumbaiya Hindi became part of Bollywood

Ekdum jhakaas No public appearance of Anil Kapoor goes without him mouthing these words 30 years after he uttered it in Yudh 1985 The famous words which mean lsquoAbsolutely superbrsquo in Mumbaiya Hindi are synonymous with the actorFor Jackie Shroff it is ldquoKya bidu How are you palrdquo that came to be oft used by people in Mumbai and outside post his 1983 film Hero Years later Sanjay Dutt also mouthed ldquoKya bidurdquo in Munnabhai MBBS 2003 and Lage Raho Munnabhai 2006As Bollywood is based in Mumbai it is natural for the local fare to seep into movies Mumbaiya language what is commonly referred to as tapori language has always been an intrinsic part of Hindi film dialogues and songs Aamir Khan crooned Ae kya bolti tu in Ghulam 1998 which was laced with tapori lingo Another famous line from the Salman KhanAamir Khan starrer Andaz Apna Apna 1994 that immediately comes to mind is ldquoAaila Oi ma crime master Gogordquomdash Aai in Marathi means mother And how about this one ldquoAbey dhakkan kyun time khoti kar rela hairdquo mdash Khoti is borrowed from Marathi meaning wasteUniversal appealExplains writer duo SajidFarhad who have penned films like Bol Bachchan 2012 and Singham Returns 2014 ldquoMumbairsquos tapori language has now become the universal language of Bollywood There is a huge audience who may not comprehend it but enjoy it In fact now they understand it toordquoTill date Anil Kapoor above and Jackie Shroff are known for mouthing lsquoJhakaasrsquo and lsquoKya Bidursquo respectively Writer Bunty Rathore who has penned for films like Khiladi 786 2012 adds ldquoIt is widely accepted I am from Meerut and even the people there now understand the Mumbaiya language thanks to BollywoodrdquoFor most writers a touch of Mumbaiya Hindi adds to the pithiness of the film making it more expressive while giving colour to the character Instead of penning lines in pure Hindi in films which may make people run to a dictionary to find its meaning use of colloquial Hindi mostly helps connect with the audienceVivek Oberoi used a lot of Mumbaiya Hindi in his films like Company 2002 and Shootout At Lokhandwala 2007Says writer Milap Zaveri who has written for films like Grand Masti 2013 ldquoI feel language is never a barrier I wrote Shootout At Wadala 2013 which had Bambaiya language and the audience loved it Similarly Rangeela 1995 also had a lot of such words and was a super hit When people come to see a film they come prepared that a particular character will speak in a style specific to the culture he is shown to be a part ofrdquo SajidFarhad add ldquoWhen you write dialogues what a character says has to go with hisher setting You cannot show roadside characters spewing chaste languagerdquoThe Bhai lingoBollywood baddies especially those belonging to the underworld speak the typical bhai dialect as it is called As they say ldquoMaine usko tapka diyardquo I have killed himrdquo Interestingly the baddies lingo is concocted specifically to typify underworld characters Vivek Oberoi used it in Shootout at Lokhandwala 2007 as well as in his films like Company 2002 and Jayantabhai Ki Luv Story 2013Click here formidday 36th anniversary special