Naseeruddin Shah says there's no Urdu in Hindi films anymore: 'Satyanash ho gaya hai'

Actor Naseeruddin Shah addressed how the usage of Urdu language got changed over the period of time in Hindi films. He said it has changed for the worst, ‘Ab to behuda alfaaz hote hai.’ He also talked about how films these days ‘lack substance.’ He also showed his displeasure at the fact that films make fun of all communities in India. He said movies have not spared Sikhs, Christians, Muslims among others. (Also read: Amitabh Bachchan's granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda says ‘she has got no film offers so far’)

In a conversation during Jashn-e-Rekhta in 2022, he felt Urdu language has changed drastically in Hindi films, and said, “Satyanash hogaya hai. But Hindi film mein kuch bhi kahan behtar huyi hai (it has led to disaster, this did not led to the betterment of our films).”

He continued, “Today, we do not hear Urdu in our films. Earlier, when the censor board certificate would come, it had Urdu mentioned as the language. It was because the lyrics and shayaris were in that language, and even the writers came from Farsi (Persian) theatre. That change can be seen today, there is no usage of Urdu words. Ab to behuda alfaaz hote hai (now they use rubbish words which makes no sense). No one even cares about the title of the film, as most of them are taken from old songs.”

He also addressed how films make fun of communities living in India, and said, "They have made fun of Sikhs, Christians, Parsis… Muslim man was always hero’s best friend who died while saving him in the end. But he died nonetheless." He said thus films have created stereotypes too.

He also said that Hindi films ‘lack substance' and drew a comparison with Indian food, and added, “The bubble of Hindi films is about to burst because they lack substance. We keep on claiming that our films are being watched across the world, just like Indian food is being eaten globally. Indian food is being eaten because it has dum, it has substance.”

Naseeruddin saw release of his latest film, Kuttey on January 13 in cinemas. The film also starred Tabu, Arjun Kapoor and Radhika Madan. It marked directorial debut of Aasmaan Bhardwaj, son of composer-director Vishal Bhardwaj.