Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh Should Look Up History of 'Azadi'

Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh Should Look Up History of 'Azadi' Before Making it Their Morning Alarm

Is co-opting 'Azadi' for a commercial film belittling all the movements that have been given a voice by the call for freedom? Not really. Not as much as our politicians co-opting the slogan for petty campaigning, anyway.

Is co-opting 'Azadi' for a commercial film belittling all the movements that have been given a voice by the call for freedom? Not really. Not as much as our politicians co-opting the slogan for petty campaigning, anyway.

Sometimes, words go beyond their literal meaning and become symbols. They become part of an ecosystem of thoughts and beliefs, and even come to represent movements. But popularity has its own baggage. Take the rather legitimate case against the co-opting of the 'Azadi' chant that became synonymous with mass dissent over the years in the upcoming Bollywood film Gully Boy.

While the film and its music have been getting critical and popular appreciation alike, many have taken an issue with the song 'Azadi'. Originally written and performed by musician Dub Sharma as an ode to the many student protests against the government and authorities that broke out with the suicide of Hyderabad University student Rohith Vemula in 2016, it soon came to be associated with dissent and protest (all things dubbed 'anti-national') in general.

Student political leaders such as Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid became household names after allegedly raising chants of 'Azadi' in Jawaharlal Nehru University in the same year during a controversial protest against the hanging of Afzal Guru who was sentenced to death for involvement in 2001 terror attack on Parliament. They and others still face sedition charges for raising "anti-India" slogans and leading the movement.

The heavy implications and associations the word carries made it a bit difficult to watch actors Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, the talented duo who play protagonists in the film, sit on a couch on set for a popular talk show with film critic Anupama Chopra and commodify 'Azadi' into a brand of popcorn for Indian yuppies to munch on while watching national debates on the freedom of expression.

"It's a catchy track," Bhatt said. "I'm apolitical," Ranveer said and added that he was busy with his work and personal life. Sure, it IS a catchy song and people have all the right to be apolitical and busy. But it's a tad disappointing to find out that popular influencers, especially artists, choose to exploit issues for artistic and commercial gains without taking a stand about the issue in real life.

Dub Sharma's 'Azadi' spoke of the right to equality, and freedom from caste atrocities, government repression, saffronisation of politics and more. It sought freedom from 'Manuwaad', casteism, religious discrimination. The chants have been used by protesters in Kashmir, during the FTII protests and countless other instances when public anger boiled over.

In any case, Ranveer Singh can't convincingly deny a common ground between politics and the entertainment industry.

Think about the glamourized PSAs starring Akshay Kumar -- the so-called 'poster boy' of Swachha Bharat in Bollywood. Or Vicky Kaushal who recently gave many in the government a new catchphrase and a new favourite film in 'Uri'.

But that is not where the problem lies.It lies perhaps, in the casual flippancy with which the actors proclaim that they are "happy bunnies" who wake up in the morning and sing "bolo Azadi" because they like the "energy" and "melody" of the song. Not all who have chanted "Azadi" have had that kind of privilege.

But, so what if "Azadi", which was foremost a call for women's emancipation even before it became the hitherto war cry for students in 2016, is a peppy a Bollywood number now?

Is it belittling all the movements that have been given a voice by the call for freedom? Not really. The symbols and institutions that have used the chant represent a greater endurance and history and the loss of one symbol is not enough to blot out the heritage of dissent. Not as much as the BJP and the Congress co-opting the slogan for petty campaigning, anyway.

And films and music are some of the best forms of dissent in any case so maybe it's a good thing that Zoya Akhtar appropriated the chant and made it more resonant with a larger audience. The song itself is lyrically impressive and reflects to some extent what the chant is meant to symbolise in reality. Perhaps she should have given her "apolitical" actors a memo on appropriate responses to questions on the political nature of the very political music of her film.

Finally Anupama managed what she sought out for with that question... 👏

Originally posted by: anjs

Finally Anupama managed what she sought out for with that question... 👏

Why isn't anyone asking the question to the very people who composed the song?

What a shitty article 😆😆

Originally posted by: Thug-Leader

Rai ka pahad bc😆

These stars are damned if they do say something and damned if they don't, ask divine, dub Sharma and zoya about the song and Wat it stands for, just coz rs and alia are acting in it doesn't mean they know everything bout this particular song

Originally posted by: Paachaa

Umm, the whole azaadi criticism with Gully Boy has been going around from the time the music album of the film released. The criticism since the music release is the very reason why Anupama asked that question to Ranveer and Alia.

Why only ranveer and alia? ask both BJP and Congress why did they use this song and made videos for their 2019 election propaganda !!!

What is this nonsense that an actor mouthing a song must have some knowledge or view on it? Man. These days journalism is so so f**ked up, even the film critics are. They have some abba jabba jabba expectations from a movie and then go all haywire in criticizing the movies, actors and everything on the basis of their expectations.


Faltu ka drama. This song and album is already a hit with the youngsters. Make as much issue as you can with this, movie and album toh hit hai. Deal with it. Critics dont have any shame also these days, so many of their fav movies ar rejected straight by the audience and so many they trash are appreciated and made BB by audience, phir bhi next movie mei pen leke muh uthaake chale aate hai apna pov dene.