{"id":9969,"date":"2016-09-15T22:00:16","date_gmt":"2016-09-15T16:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak?p=9969"},"modified":"2018-08-28T16:43:53","modified_gmt":"2018-08-28T11:13:53","slug":"voices-separation-longing-in-bollywood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tarshi.net\/inplainspeak\/voices-separation-longing-in-bollywood\/","title":{"rendered":"Playlist: Separation and Longing in Bollywood Movies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Khalil Gibran<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Separation is a part of bitter reality for people migrating to other places. The ordeal of staying away from loved ones is very painful. There is always the wait, the fear of loss or never getting to see them again. Every day is spent with thoughts of the person left behind. These emotions of loss and despair are best brought out through poems and music.<\/p>\n

Therefore I thought to put together some mainstream Bollywood songs across decades which best capture these emotions related to migrants who live away from home but keep the people they love close to their hearts.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t help but notice the way separation is expressed in these songs differently based on gender. The women seemed to be in a weaker position of pleading and missing, and the men slightly more powerful even in the separation. Most songs sung by the female character for her lover are about her desperation to get back to her lover and portray her agony and pain in the separation. Whereas those sung by the male character are more to do with demanding love, for it was a promise that was supposedly made, and some even express a sense of betrayal and mistrust as their lover was leaving for another land. Patriarchy seems to seep in subtle ways into every emotion expressed.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, for now, let\u2019s enjoy the playlist:<\/p>\n

1. Yeh Dooriyaan<\/em> from Love Aaj Kal<\/em> (2009)<\/strong><\/p>\n