Films in India are an extension of life. They are not just stories, they are a reflection of the aspirations of people who adore and worship their stars as demi-gods and try to emulate them in their day to day life. Most people look at films as a great entertainment getaway- a world away from the mad-mad competitive work scenario and the daily humdrum of life. Films to them teach them a lesson with a moral or social message. They entertain them with action, dialogues, music and dance. Movie buffs emulate the dancing steps of their favourite stars and also take pride in recalling the dialogues. So far so good… but there are some aspects which are most overlooked and detrimental to the emotional wellbeing of young minds. The movies laced with lewd gaalis, double entendre words and curse words are soon catching up the fancy of young and old alike. It is considered to be cool when the hero and the antagonists use a volley of verbal abuses as part of the storyline to excite the audience and entertain them this way.

What happens with young people who consider their superstars as their heroes is that they start emulating these heroes and also use gaalis and curse words in their day to day life, without realising its repercussions. Most people understand this aspect very well and yet do nothing about it to talk to their children and tell them not to get influenced by meaningless and lewd dialogues of the movie. They in fact think that children have had a good time enjoying the movie. Yes, they do enjoy most of the movie part- the action, the heroes and heroines romancing and bashing up the antagonists, but what excites them most is hearing the lewd dialogues and emulating them in their own space.

Though films are made only to entertain people, they impact impressionable minds and influence them indirectly to start using lewd language with their loved ones, family members, friends and women around them. A dialogue filled with gaali is greeted with whistles and applauses by some who feel enthralled with cheap thrills.

With this key observation, Vandana Sethhi, the dynamic Director of Water Communications an avid movie buff asserts that India has rich cultural diversity but Indians are losing their respect for the country’s rich language heritage. Millions of people are influenced through movies, so why not influence them the good way. Why can’t films have meaningful dialogues devoid of lewd words and gaalis, instead why not promote poetry, inspirational quotes and words and pave the way for a Gaali Free future for the Gen-Next children.

To make her voice heard she has initiated the Gaali Free India – Swachh Bhasa drive as a Social campaign to bring back the respect for Indian languages.

She asserts, “Gaali Free India (Swachh Bhasha) is an attempt to inspire people to re-look at their vocabulary, filter words and stop using gaalis. The world of Films is a big influencing medium so the words, lyrics and dialogues used in films should be devoid of gaalis and demeaning words. Let’s set good example for our children. It’s a wakeup call to respect the diction, the language and bring back respect into our lives by working towards a world devoid of gaalis. It’s time to free the nation of gaalis. And this can happen when each and every one of us pledge never to use gaalis in front of women, children, at work, with friends or in your surroundings.”

All you need to do is support this drive by logging on to www.gaalifreeindia.org. Be a Gaali Free India Ambassador and inspire others to live a life devoid of gaalis. Your one step can work wonders for your loved ones, the society and country at large.”