FREEDOM OF THE F-WORD

By Shilpi Shukla Alexander

Photo Credit: Ambro 

Is it the blatant use of expletives that offend people or is it more about the gender who is swearing? A discussion...

We have recently had Rani Mukerji utter profanities in public in the highly acclaimed movie No One Killed Jessica. The well-lettered sophisticated character that she played in the movie was even heard using the Hindi G-word on a flight – shocking fellow passengers and audience. Not many Rani fans able to take it in their stride while watching the movie. “I had gone to watch the movie with my kids. It was quite discomforting to have Rani Mukerji use foul language. I thought No One Killed Jessica was a family watch,” says chartered accountant Anil Makhija. When asked if he had watched Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai starrer Josh, the pat reply was – “Oh! I loved the movie. It was such fun.” The lead song sung by Shah Rukh -  apun bola tu meri laila – despite having ample expletives in the lyrics became quite famous (not infamous though!). Anil does seem to like the song too! Such contrast reactions. Why? “Well, it’s okay for a man to use expletives. Like I didn’t like Aishwarya dancing to the tunes of ishq kamina in the movie Shakti – The Power,” says MBA student Tarun Wanvari.

While it’s never pleasant to hear them from any gender, it’s particularly unpleasant to have the softer sex pour out expletives. Seemingly, it’s never so much about the word as it is about the person swearing it.

It’s not about the word, but the gender

Photo Credit: Ambro

Expletives have always been a part of most cultures and languages. From the most elite to the downtrodden, people from different strata and class have used cuss words since ever. However, women have always been expected to refrain from using foul language. A world used to gender-specific behaviour accepts cuss words far more willingly from men than women. Our literature tells us that there has always been a general understanding that women, who indulge in name-calling, whether in Victorian England or traditional India, haven’t been brought up or educated well. It speaks low of their family backgrounds as also the socio-economic status. 

Gary W Selnow, a professor at the San Francisco State University and director of World Internet Resources for Education and Development (WIRED) wrote in his journal Sex Differences in Uses and Perceptions of Profanities, “Language always serves as the reciprocal role of reflecting shifts in society while simultaneously contributing to the character of that society.” “While my brother could use invectives even in the most casual scenarios, I was never allowed to swear words no matter how pissed off I was. This is the rule I follow for my daughter as well. I think this is the way most girls around the world are brought up,” says Kamini Verma, an English professor. Many women would agree with Kamini.    

Shifting trends

While men may not like it and many women still be wary of swearing words, social experts claim that the social scene is reversing today and women are heard using bad language more than their male counterparts. “Be it the corporate world or colleges, we now get to see more women than men using the F-word. The use of expletives doesn’t remain confined to that,” says Shobha Agarwal, a social commentator. “This probably is the modern woman’s way of expressing her freedom and strength in the corporate-social world,” she adds. 

Rimi Shukla, who has been working as a marketing executive for the last 10 years has seen a sea change in social norms, especially in the work culture. “There was a time when if a male colleague would use a bad word before a woman, he would immediately apologise. Surprisingly, today I notice women pour out profanities more than men, that oo quite apologetically,” she says.  

Agrees psychiatrist Dr Sanjay Chugh, “Women have always had to prove their strength, potential and skill in a society that’s essentially dominated by males. Today working women swear words to pass on the message – don’t mess with me – to their male colleagues.”

Cinema Comes Of Age

A lot has changed in the recent past. With the censor board getting more and more lenient, in many cases than not, many once-forbidden words, dialogues and concepts are getting uncensored entry in Hindi films. Be it the F-word or the ‘usual’ Hindi expletives with kamina or saala, one gets to hear a lot of these in contemporary movies. What with bold and crude movie titles like Kaminey, Ye Saali Zindagi, being the latest rage in Bollywood. “Like it or not, such titles do attract sharp reactions from people and pull masses to cinema halls,” says film trade analyst Taran Adarsh. 

“Gone are the days when an actor would react with a simple “what the hell” and a director would refrain from using cuss words in his script. We are more realistic today,” says filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj whose films Omkara, Ishqiya and Kaminey had more expletives than one could possibly bear. All three movies were massive hits.

For director Sudhir Mishra nothing could be more annoying than the censor board objecting to the use of the word Saali – in his recent movie Ye Saali Zindagi. As per him, saali is not a gaali (abuse) at all! “In my film, I want to portray the imperfect world we live in today.” Is it the gender of the term that bothers members of the censor board? “The word saala was used 40 years ago in the song saala main toh sahab ban gaya in the movie Sagina, and no one objected to it. This has more to do with the gender of the word,” says Mishra. Nevertheless, the film got an A-certificate.

Defending her expletive role in the movie No One Killed Jessica, actress Rani Mukerji says, “I play a woman who uses Hindi expletives after being vexed enough by the society at large. It’s an expression of her liberation from the clutches of baseless societal norms that only tie women down, not men.” “Had the girl, I play in the movie, not been this tough, she wouldn’t have been able to seek justice in the bad-bad men’s world,” she clears her stand.

Like it or not, the trend seems to be reversing today. Whether for good or worse is quite debatable…

(This article was featured in BR International, a publication for Indians residing in HongKong.)