Mumbai, Feb 19 National-Award winner Swanand Kirkire believes that mainstream Bollywood lyrics have not lost their poetic depth, asserting that they have merely evolved with changing times and sensibilities.
Asked if he thinks lyrics have lost their poetic depth in mainstream Bollywood, or is that criticism unfair, Kirkire told IANS: “I don’t think lyrics have been lost. You know, newer kinds of sounds and newer kinds of words are coming into lyrics.”
“Definitely, the old-world imagery goes away, and it has to, because younger people see a different world. A different kind of vocabulary will come into their lyrics. So, I don’t think everything new is bad, and everything old was good. Lyrics are still lyrics.”
The National Award-winning lyricist pointed out that the industry has always had a mix of commercially driven songs and those rooted in deeper meaning.
“Definitely, there is always a big quantum of lyrics that try to become really popular soon. And there is another part that talks about meaning. So, everything is happening together.”
However, Kirkire did underline the need for greater linguistic engagement among younger creators.
“The newer generation works a little more on lyrics. They are very good with sounds, but since Hindi is not their first language, most of them are educated in public and English-medium schools, so they should learn a little more Hindi. That’s one thing.”
At the same time, he praised musicians emerging from smaller towns and the independent rap scene.
“And the people from small towns who are making music now, the rappers and everybody, they are doing great. So, I don’t think anything is losing meaning,” he said.
Kirkire’s latest is the series “Bandwaale”. The show is streaming on Prime Video.
It is created by Swanand Kirkire along with Ankur Tewari, marking a significant new chapter in his storytelling career.
Kirkire won the National Film Award for Best Lyrics twice: first in 2006 for the song "Bande Me Tha Dum...Vande Mataram” from the film Lage Raho Munna Bhai, and then in 2009 for the song "Behti Hawa Sa Tha Woh" from the film 3 Idiots.
In 2018, at the 66th National Film Awards, he won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the Marathi film Chumbak. He made cameo appearances as Sansad ji in Panchayat 3 and as Mansoor Khan Sahab in Qala, for which he also contributed as a lyricist and singer.
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