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Why Hrithik Needs a Refresher Course in Bihari for ‘Super 30’

To say that Hrithik Roshan’s Bihari accent in the ‘Super 30’ trailer is atrocious is an understatement.

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To say that Hrithik Roshan’s Bihari accent in the recently released Super 30 trailer is atrocious is an understatement. Ekdam moode off kar diye (this has been such a let-down).

The least he could do was to watch some of the videos of Anand Kumar (on whose life the film is based) interacting with his students. YouTube Bhaiyya (Biharis have this habit of putting everything, living as well as non-living, into some category – Bhaiyya-Bhabhi, Chacha-Chachi, Mama-Mami etc – hence YouTube Bhaiyya) has so many of his videos. It seems he did not watch any. Bhaari miss kar diye (you missed a treasure trove).

He could have noticed that Biharis rarely use tum (you). We generally prefer aap (you with respect) with almost everyone. More so with strangers. The very first dialogue (we Biharis pronounce it as dae-logue) in the trailer is: Ka banana chahte ho? (what do you aspire to become?). Anand Kumar, like a quintessential Bihari, would have said the same dialogue like this: Ka banana chahte hain ji? Ho goes with tum which we avoid while hain is used to give respect. Just a matter of picking up the nuance which is completely missing here. Isme blunder mistake kar diye (You did a blunder here).

Though slightly late in the day, here is small refresher course for Hrithik Roshan, if he is willing to redub dialogues all over again.
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Points to Remember

  • We, Biharis, make no distinction between s-sh, r-rh. Sadak (road) can very well become sarak. Desh (country) is generally pronounced as des. We often struggle to properly pronounce complicated words like seashells on seashore. Hrithik has to get this distinction out of his mind to have a semblance of Bihari accent. Kosis karke dekhiye (give it a try).
  • While we are religiously taught to make distinction between masculine and feminine gender while writing, we rarely follow the grammar while speaking. Truck bhi chalta hai, cycle bhi aur bail gadi bhi, kya fark padta hai (Everything runs – truck, bicycle and bullock cart, who cares). This is perhaps an attempt to rise above gender discrimination even before the advent of feminism.
  • Ji’ and ‘Wa’ are spices that need to be liberally used. Mayankwa, Shadab ji, Vaibhavwa, Master ji, Chair ji — these suffixes are to be used extremely frequently. Of course, without trivialising them. Ji and wa need to be used while keeping the context in mind. Wa is used to show informality with the dear ones, ji is generally used to show respect. You now know why we, Biharis, suffer at formal occasions. Hrithik Ji toh saara dialogue formal tarike se bole hain (Hrithik’s dialogue delivery has been extremely formal)
  • We rarely use English words without proper localisation. Motion becomes Mausam, shift and swift can be used interchangeably, Tesan is used for station and civil surgeon can very well become sikil saarjan. The emphasis always is on localisation rather than blind adoption. English has to have a Bihari touch. Bujhe na (understood?)
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  • In parts of Bihar, e is pronounced as ae. Itna therefore becomes aetna. I have seen Anand Kumar following this Bihari tradition on multiple occasions. Hrithik, I am sure, would have missed the trick. Aetna aasaan toh hai follow karna (very easy to get this nuance right)
  • In the great Bihari tradition, using main (I) is almost blasphemous. We use hum (we) for singular as well as plural. Hrithik deserves credit for getting this right at least. Isko sahi pakde hain (you have got this right).
  • And one very important lesson – never use the mocking tone while speaking in Bihari accent. Hrithik, it seems, has used a lot of nose while speaking. That is so full of contempt. Mera to matha bhanna gaya (I got very angry while watching the trailer because of the seemingly mocking accent).
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Prathibha Diye, Koshise Nahin Kiye

The refresher course is meant to give you a feel of what Biharipan mean. The list is by no means exhaustive. There are multiple layers and there are significant regional variations.

It would have been really helpful if you had spent some time in Bihar before attempting such an ambitious role.

Bihar, like many other places, is unique with a rich tradition. If you had genuinely made an attempt to learn some of it, garda uda dete (you would have passed the muster with flying colours). What we are going to get instead is: Prathibha Diye, Koshise nahin kiye (you have the talent, but you did not give an honest try).

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Topics:  Hrithik Roshan   Super 30 

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