These days, one of the most important men in the Hindi film industry, is the freelance Hindi-Urdu tutor. And his most loyal students are expatriates looking for a break in the entertainment industry. Ditching the decorum of classrooms, and the headache of making space at home, teachers now conduct a 'public' tuition over chatter and chilled frapp ufffd at Mumbai's coffee shops
These days, one of the most important men in the Hindi film industry, is the freelance Hindi-Urdu tutor. And his most loyal students are expatriates looking for a break in the entertainment industry. Ditching the decorum of classrooms, and the headache of making space at home, teachers now conduct a 'public' tuition over chatter and chilled frappe at Mumbai's coffee shops
I'll have a Cappuccino," he says in fluent English to a cap and apron-donning steward at the Lokhandwala branch of Barista, a popular coffee shop chain.
"Mujhe yeh bahut accha lagta hai (I really like this one)," she purrs in impeccable Hindi, running her slender index finger that wears frosted nail paint, over a laminated menu card. 
Hindi-Urdu tutor Jamil Haider conducts a class at the Lokhandwala
Barista for Canadian singer Natalie Di Luccio (checked blouse)u00a0
and other expatriates looking for a break in Bollywood. PICS/ Nimesh Dave
Jamil Haider throws an approving smile at Natalie Di Luccio, watching the coffee cup arrive at a table strewn with notebook sheets, with barely any room to hold cutlery. The 27 year-old brings up a latest Hindi film song with her.
Nothing unusual about the scene -- except for a coffee shop table unable to accomodate any coffee cups, and an intense conversation between an Indian and Canadian in shuddh Hindi.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0
It's a Wednesday afternoon at the Andheri coffee house, and business is good. Cliques of young men and women sip on coolers, chai and coffee, chit chatting about this, that and the other.
It's hardly an appropriate venue for a lesson but Luccio and Haider don't seem to mind; he hurls complicated Hindi phrases at the 21 year-old who jots them down on a sheet, all in Roman script.u00a0
The singer and aspiring Bollywood actress has been taking Hindi lessons from Haider for three months, and the tutor is impressed with the progress she has made in conversational Hindi.
Luccio is one of Haider's many expatriate students who drop by for classes in Urdu, Arabic and Hindi, at coffee shops and cafes that dot the struggling starlet suburb of Andheri. "Most foreigners are looking for a break in Bollywood; the couple of Indians I tutor, are here to learn Urdu because a particular role demands it," says Haider, who holds a BA honours degree in English and claims to have maxed a certificate course in Urdu from Patna.
The full-time language teacher hasn't had to labour over building a clientele. Plastering posters at popular eateries across Mumbai has worked well. Interestingly, the snack shacks also double up as Haider's classroom. "It is less formal than taking a class at home, and more fun for the young."
At 35, aspiring actor Aadhaar Goswami finds himself "too old to attend Urdu lessons in a traditional classroom". The anonymity of a coffee house has offered him ready refuge. For Anamika Singh, 19, Urdu classes at the Yari Road McDonald's outlet are "hat ke (unusual) and interesting".
In the last three years, twenty three year-old Maddison Mckay, a model from Australia, has made Mumbai her home, and Haider, her guruji. "I have a busy schedule and find it tough to fit classes with fixed timings into my day. Impromptu lessons over coffee suit me fine," she says over the phone from her Sydney residence where she's back for a short break.
Unlike Haider, Junaid Asif Khan juggles a job as a client service executive with part-time teaching. He says coffee house lessons work well because the ambience lends a casual streak to learning. "More than a teacher, you feel like a friend. Students tend to pick up lessons faster," says the English literature graduate.
But for every experimental Khan there is a disciplined language tutor who believes in maintaining the decorum of a lesson. Pooja Dhanwali who has more than 10 years of teaching experience wouldn't accept another coffee-class offer. "I changed my mind after a single session at a Cafe Coffee Day outlet. There was way too much distraction," she remembers about a Hindi class she shared with a foreign student.
A tutor famous in Malad as 'VP Sir' will grant you a one-on-one lesson anywhere; at home, in a garden chair at an al fresco restaurant or in a coffee shop while Venga Boys plays on the stereo. What's been going against VP Sir, however, is his advance notice clause. For Luccio and others juggling jobs in the entertainment industry, last-minute plans are the norm.u00a0 "It's impossible to plan a class for a particular day in a specific week," shrugs Luccio.
That's why Haider is in demand; his 24-7 service, anytime, anywhere has bagged him loyalists. "My day begins at 6 am and classes continue till midnight,' says Haider, who often answers student queries on SMS. At Rs 300 a class, the personalized service seems a steal.
Mahatma's Gandhi's vision of propogating Hindi because Urdu and Sanskrit were far too alien for the common man, is hitting a hurdle thanks to rigid timings.
The central government-sponsored Hindustani Prachar Sabha, which is run out of the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Foundation on Marine Drive, is a 69 year-old institution that offers a far more intensive three-year course in written and conversational Hindi. Wives of expatriates, consular staff and social workers form a bulk of 79 year-old Dr Susheela Gupta's class. The two-hour Saturday session has kept foreigners keen on entering the entertainment industry, at bay. "Last year we had a foreign director who signed up to learn Hindi. But they are few and far between. Fixed timings make it difficult for them," says the honorary research director who's been with the institute for 12 years.
While coffee-classes may have just kicked off, language tutors have always played a significant behind-the-scenes role in Bollywood. Veteran actress Hema Malini signed up for Urdu lessons for her role as Razia Sultan, a sultan of Delhi who ruled Delhi from 1236 to 1240 in a 1983 film of the same name. In an interview with director Kamaal Amrohi, film historian and Editor, Bollywood News service, Dinesh Raheja remembers being told about the diligent student that Malini made. "But she would invariably get stuck on one word --'dukhtar' ('daughter' in Urdu), and couldn't pronounce it with the right inflection."
Raheja says diction plays a key role in enhancing an actor's performance, like with South Indian star Sridevi. "Sridevi's performances appeared far more confident after she began dubbing in Hindi herself. Earlier, her voice was dubbed by a character artiste called Naaz. I remember noticing the remarkable difference her own voice made to her performances in hits like Mr India and Chandni."
It's only when an actor is able to overcome the language hurdle, that he can focus single-mindedly on emoting. Veteran actor Sanjeev Kumar is believed to have said that his performances improved as much as 80 per cent in the dubbing theatre, shares Raheja. One of Hindi cinema's most prominent actresses, late Meena Kumari's mastery over Urdu worked splendidly for Pakeezah, a 1972 musical melodrama that told the story of Sahibjaan, a tawaif from Lucknow at the turn of the century.
"Today, however, most dialogues tend to be in Hinglish; a blend of Hindi and English, making it far easier for actors with limited command over Hindi and Urdu to not only survive, even thrive," says Raheja.
A-list actress Katrina Kaif is sure to find a place in this list. A turning point in her career is said to have been a time when a leading producer looked her straight in the eye and sneered, "How can a girl who can't speak Hindi become a Bollywood actress? Aisa ho hi nahin sakta (it's not possible)." This prompted Kaif, a former British Indian model whose voice was dubbed in her early films, to start learning Hindi.
Stars at school
Brushing up on language
Sridevi learnt Hindi and delivered her own dialogues for hit movies like Mr India and Chandni. Prior to these, a character artiste named Naaz used to dub for her.
Hema Maliniu00a0took Urdu lessons before she played Razia Sultan in the 1983 film.
And this macho man took English lessons
Theatre veteran Pearl Padamsee is believed to have given Punjabi superstar Dharmendra lessons in English. Padamsee's daughter Raell remembers being excited at the thought of accompanying her mother for one such session. "It was late one night that mom was off for a class, and I was thrilled at the idea of getting to meet a superstar," Rael says.
Service with a smile: Most freelance tutors offer 24-7 service, are available on SMS and call, and a session is priced at around Rs 300
With inputs from Subhash K Jha
ADVERTISEMENT
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
