A German documents the changing language of Hindi film lyrics

The 45-minute film titled Bollywood Zubaan A Voice of India has been sponsored by the German consulate in New Delhi

A German documents the changing language of Hindi film lyrics

The 45-minute film titled Bollywood Zubaan A Voice of India has been sponsored by the German consulate in New Delhi

German research scholar Dr Rainer Lotz is working on a 45-minute documentary film titled Bollywood Zubaan A Voice of India that records the changing language of Hindi film songs over the last 60 years.

Lotz's documentary includes the views of experts as well as commoners.

Lotz, a co-director and PhD scholar from the Jawaharlal Nehru University of Delhi, was in Pune's Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) with his technical team to shoot a section of his documentary.

He has already met lyricist Javed Akhtar, veteran director Mani Kaul, young director Anurag Kashyap and FTII director Pankaj Rag.

"We have already taken bytes of experts in Mumbai and from those in the Central Institute of Indian Languages in Mysore. We are backed by noted linguists like Anwita Abir and prolific writer-critic Vishnu Khare," he told MiD DAY.

Lotz says his documentary is almost complete, except for some shots, which are to be shot at the Hariharan Prasad Academy in Chennai.

"My co-director A P Hampel will finish the post-production work at the OTS Production in Delhi. This 45-minute film is being made for the Consulate of Germany in Delhi. It will be screened in September this year," Lotz said.

The idea of making this film on Bollywood hit Lotz when he observed the rich diversity of India and was immediately reminded of the parallels with the European Union.

"The seed was sown after we had a seminar on multilingualism in Europe, which took place last year."

Lotz says popular Bollywood film songs help bring Indians over several generations on one platform, as the music works as a strong bonding factor.

"It was with government backing and finance from the Goethe Institute, Munich, that I could proceed with the shooting. Gradually, I realised that Bollywood songs have become an integral part of everyone's life," Lotz said.