From Munni to Sheila, the item songs of Bollywood have been subjected to heated conversation in the country over the years.
These songs were criticised through write-ups , satires or parodies, and are generally derided as using the allure of the names mentioned to make up for what they lack in artistic quality.
But is the music industry of our country free from lyrics which are extremely demeaning towards certain groups, especially women ?
There is a very popular song on the Bengali New Year which contains the line ‘Bokhate cheleder bhire lolona der rehai nai’ (literally meaning the beautiful women will not be spared by the crowd of eve teasers or probably even worse, who can tell?).
The writer of that song has contended the intent was to highlight the reality of what happens at the Bengali New Year celebrations in public fairs.
Swayong, a Bangladeshi youth platform which sheds light on various social injustices through storytelling, celebrated the first anniversary of their popular Facebook talkshow ‘Angur Fol Tok (Grapes are sour)’ this week by shedding light on some problematic lyrics in the canon of popular Bangladeshi music.
In this special episode titled ‘Gaan niyea Shurshuri’, the speakers talked about problematic portrayals of gender stereotypes in Bengali music and their impact on our society.
They not only trashed songs like ‘Joubon amar laal tomato’ or ‘Oh Tunir maa’, but also took on popular Bengali melodies like ‘Tip Tip Brishti’ and ‘Ononto Prem’ and discussed how these songs are only good for titillation, as opposed to any artistic pursuit.
Mitul Mahmud and Swatil Mahmud, the co-founders of Swayong, told UNB on Thursday, “Although we believe in freedom of artists, we still need to talk about how problematic lyrics help reaffirm and strengthen patriarchal narratives in the society.”
“If you are born a woman in third world countries, you’ll often have experiences which are sour. Hence we came up with the idea of this talk show titled Grapes are Sour a year ago,” they added.
Regional movement builder of SheDecides Syeda Samara Mortada, singer and cultural activist Warda Ashraf, and singer Armeen Musa participated in the show.
“These songs which portray women as products and promote touching a woman without her consent as a way to express love end up promoting rape culture in our society,” said Samara.
The speakers said that the lyricists of these songs are generally middle-aged men who have no idea of a woman’s feelings and only express their twisted fantasies through music.
These lyrics only spread misogyny in the society, they added.
Source: United News of Bangladesh