Lyricist Dr Sagar wants to follow the tradition established by Majrooh Sultanpuri and Shailendra!

Bhojpuri songs have a strong literary tradition with greats like #MajroohSultanpuri and #Shailendra highlighting the beauty of the language in the past, says lyricist Dr Sagar, whose song “#HerailBa” from #AnubhavSinha’s pandemic drama “#Bheed” captures the struggle of migrants.

he lyricist, who hails from Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district, is garnering praise for the track whose lyrics underscore how the “sweat and blood” of displaced migrants hold no value in big cities.

“Both Majrooh Sultanpuri sahab and Shailendra wrote lyrics in Hindi and Bhojpuri in mainstream cinema. I want to follow the tradition established by them. I want to change the standard of Bhojpuri songs in Bollywood,”said Dr Sagar.

If some of Shailendra’s Bhojpuri lyrics include songs such as “Paan Khaye Saiyaan Hamaro” and “Chalat Musafir”, Sultanpuri has to his credit tracks such as “Kahe Hamra Se Parda Ba” and “Chutki Bhar Senur”.

Citing the example of folk singers and artistes in the genre such as Sharda Sinha, Bharat Sharma, Mahender Mishir and Om Prakash Yadav, known for his “Birha” songs, Dr Sagar said the music from the Bhojpuri belt has a rich legacy.

Talking about “Herail Ba”, which roughly translates to ‘lost’, Dr Sagar said it took him about a week to write lyrics of the song composed by Anurag Saikia.

“When Anubhav Sinha called me for a song in ‘Bheed’, he did not specify whether he wanted the lyrics in Hindi or Bhojpuri. He just told me the situation and I sent him the opening line the next day. He was very happy. It took me a week to write all the stanzas,” said the lyricist, who has a PhD in Hindi poetry from Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University.

“Herail Ba” is not his first Bhojpuri song on the migrant crisis. The lyricist had earlier collaborated with Sinha and Manoj Bajpayee for “Bambai Mein Ka Ba”, the 2020 single which was released during the pandemic.

Dr Sagar, who also counts Banaras Hindu University as his alma mater, has so far written lyrics for over 20 films and acclaimed web series such as “Maharani” and “Khakee: The Bihar Chapter”.