Why not make the language of the country the language of Bollywood films? All disputes will end!

By Sharad Rai

These days, once again, the debate over the "language of the nation" has flared up. In Mumbai—the city of films—this language controversy has also gained momentum. Prominent local leader Mr. Uddhav Thackeray (son of the late Balasaheb Thackeray and former Chief Minister of Maharashtra) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Mr. Raj Thackeray have come together, setting aside old differences, to oppose the use of Hindi in the name of Marathi identity. Maharashtra’s third major political figure, Mr. Devendra Fadnavis (Chief Minister), withdrew his ‘tri-language policy’ GR (government resolution) to avoid further linguistic controversy. This policy proposed Hindi, along with Marathi and English, as a compulsory language. Ironically, this is happening in a state where Hindi films are made, where Bollywood resides, and where Hindi cinema has helped unify the entire country.

Recently, a similar language dispute heated up in South India. The controversy led to Kamal Haasan’s film “Maha Thug” flopping in the court of public opinion (cinema halls). Interestingly, it is because of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin’s anti-Hindi policies that Kamal Haasan secured a seat in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament). Voices opposing the Hindi language have often emerged from the South. But the reality—when we remove politics—is that South Indian film stars owe much of their pan-India fame to Hindi-dubbed versions of their films.

The struggle over language in India has been long. The conflict between the North and the South over languages has persisted across generations. From the streets to Parliament, debates have occurred, yet no lasting solution has been found. In recent years, South Indian films like Baahubali 1 & 2, Pushpa 1 & 2, RRR, KGF 1 & 2, Animal, and others have done extremely well — especially in North India where their Hindi-dubbed versions have performed brilliantly at the box office. Thanks to these films, stars like Prabhas, Allu Arjun, Jr. NTR, Ram Charan, Dhanush, etc., have become household names across India. It seemed that the language rift between the North and South was finally fading, but then Kamal Haasan made a controversial comment about the Kannada language, reigniting a Kannada-Telugu language dispute — proving that even within the South, language divisions persist.

One key observation here is: the South Indian films that have become blockbusters share one thing in common with Hindi films — their dialogue style mirrors that of Bollywood. Because of this similarity, people have stopped debating about language, and are focusing on content and box office collections. Think about it — if Telugu and Tamil filmmakers, inspired by the success of their dubbed versions, begin shooting their films directly in the 'Bollywood-style Hindi', wouldn’t their earnings skyrocket even more? Then what’s the need for this North-South divide? The truth is that, despite all the linguistic controversies, there is one language that has consistently united India — the language of cinema. Films are the one medium that people enjoy without conflict, without prejudice, and with mutual understanding.

Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Salman Khan’s films are loved in Chennai, and Rajinikanth, Sridevi, and now Allu Arjun, Ram Charan, Prabhas, Jr. NTR, and Suriya’s films are enthusiastically watched from Uttar Pradesh to Jhumeritallaiya. Even if these films are in dubbed Hindi or other regional tongues — we call this "Bollywood language".

Back in 1965, when there was an anti-Hindi movement in South India, the craze for Raj Kapoor’s films and Lata Mangeshkar’s songs never declined.
Despite the language tensions, actors like Vyjayanthimala, Hema Malini, Rekha, Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Sridevi, Jaya Prada came to work in Bombay (Bollywood). And today — despite anti-Hindi rhetoric from some leaders and actors — South Indian stars continue to work in Bollywood. Why? Because they want nationwide popularity. Similarly, Hindi film and TV actors are working in South Indian cinema.

It’s only logical to say that Bollywood’s language is the real language of India — a language that can portray a Madrasi character authentically, and a Bhojpuri character just as naturally. This is not an officially stamped language like Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, or Sindhi. This is the language of the streets, the language of the common man —the man who gets a haircut at the local salon, who eats at a basic restaurant, who rides in an auto-rickshaw... In short — it is the language of Mayapuri. The language of Hindustan. So then, why don’t we start a serious conversation about making the language of Bollywood the language of the nation? It might just end all these pointless disputes