Love at - sight

 I went for an RD Burman concert recently, and it was blah because of the songs they chose to present. If I had a 22 piece orchestra, I would choose differently. Anyway, which brought me to Ek Ladki ko dekha to aisa laga, because 1942 A Love Story was just such a unique album I felt - it was a very 90s album, modern, and soft, and hardly a saxophone anywhere. Even in the Pancham musical lexicon - 1942 truly stands out to me as an album where - the genius was even more evident for lack of the music maker's signature moves or instruments or what have you. To my untrained ears - It is entirely possible that anyone who knows anything about music may say he used the same 5 ragas or whatever. Anyway. But what I think is - its a very elegant album - musically. Heavy on romanticism ? Which brought me to Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga - which is such a lyrically wonderful piece of music - and which led me to think about Bollywood songs about how seeing someone you love changes life as we know it - or seeing someone and immediately falling in love is also a thing  :- 

1. Ek ladki ko dekha to aisa laga : -

Music : But who else, R.D. Burman, Lyrics - Javed Akhtar. Oof poetry. 

Ek Ladki ko dekha to aisa laga ...

Jaise khilta gulaab ..

Jaise shayar ka khwab ..

Jaise ujli kiran .. jaise vann mein hiran ..

Jaise chandni raat .. jaise narmi ki baat ..

Jaise .. mandir mein ho ek jalta diyaaa ..

2. Tujhe dekha to ye jaana sanam ..

Music : Jatin-Lalit, Lyrics  - Anand Bakshi 

Tujhe dekha to ye jaana sanam

pyaar hota hai diwana sanam

ab yahaan se kahaan jaaye hum

teri baahon mein mar jaayein hum ..

ye dil kahin lagta nahi .. kya kahu main kya karu ..

tu saamne baithi rahe .. main tujhe dekha karu .. 

I was talking about people who are willing to die on the hills of their convictions, and how rare they are. It was explained to me that they aren't so rare. My experiences suck.  Oh well. For me, DDLJ is about a hero - who I consider a hero because he doesn't give a shit about what the world thinks - all his fucks are about what he himself thinks - so while he fails college (because who cares, he's having a goof time), he doesn't elope with the girl(because he cares even though its not a good time). This is a stupidly naive approach to life that only works in movies and books - but when this kind of thing works in life, it leaves the world a better place. DDLJ makes it fashionable to have principles and stick by them so well, that the consequences take care of themselves. And so, while in the many thousands of beautiful songs with beautiful lyrics, many many choices are available to one - one goes back to Tujhe dekha to ye jaana sanam - not necessarily for this particular song, but for what it represents and celebrates. 

3. Tumko dekha to ye khayal aaya from Saath Saath

Music :Kuldeep Singh , Lyrics - Javed Akhtar 

Tumko dekha to ye khayaal aaya

Zindagi dhoop, tum ghanaa sayaa ..

Aaj phir dil ne ek tamanna ki .. 

Aaj phir dil ko humne samjhaya ..

Zindagi dhoop tum ghanaa sayaa ..

Now this song is more the speed of real life. Its ostensibly a love song, but the primary emotion it has always evoked in me is melancholy. It's about a time of yore - probably the bombay my mom loves from her childhood memories and which cannot be found again. Its like a too sweet gulaab jamun - you love it, but there is only so much one can take of it. Or maybe its just Farook Sheikh and Deepti Naval - so intellectual that one cannot but suspect them of knowing life is futile, and love is whatever - a distraction. I don't know. 

4. Dekh ke tumko dil dola hai ..

Amar Akbar Anthony, Music - Laxmikant-Pyarelal (I mean if there was Rahman before there was Rahman, uncle Laxmi and uncle Pyare were it) - lyrics - Anand Bakshi

 Dekh ke tumko dil dola hai ..

God promise hum sach bola hai ..

Bolo to ji ye bolo to mar jaayein .. 

Essentially, saying - I swear my heart skips whenever I see you. Can't say fairer than that. 

Tum/Tu as the reason the world sticks to its axis and rotational speed

I loved the "Tu hai to dil dhadakta hai" song from Mr. and Mrs. Mahi. It is one of those simple tunes, with almost a nursery rhyme simplicity to the poetry as well as the rhythm - and yet - so transcendently explains what having a loved one feels like. Of course - it doesn't need to mean romantic love - in fact, I think - this kind of love is usually felt more for - siblings, or parents or even best friends. However, Bollywood is all about romantic love - and fair enough for my romantic soul, I'll bite. Anyway - so this led me to think about other songs that explain how the loved one makes existence a possibility, a certainty, a hope or a celebration ...

1. Tu hai to ... - Mr & Mrs Mahi (2024)

Tu Hai To ..

Tu hai to dil dhadakta hai ..

Tu hai to saans aati hai ...

Tu na to ghar ghar nahi lagta

Tu hai to darr nahi lagta ..

Tu hai to gham na aate hai

Tu hai to muskuraate hai 

Ke tere bina so nahi sakte

Kisi ke ho nahi sakte ...

Lyricist - Sagar 

2. Tum se hi din hota hai .. - Jab We Met (2007)

Tumse hi din hota hai ..

Na hai ye paana 

Na khona hi hai 

Tera na hona jaane ...

kyun hona hi hai ..

Tum se hi din hota hai

surmayee shaam aati hai 

Tum se hi .. Tum se hi ..

Har ghadi saans aati hai .. zindagi kehlati hai ..

Tum se hi .. Tumse hi ..

aankhon mein aankhein teri .. baahon mein baahein teri

mera na mujhme kuch raha .. hua kya

baaton mein baatein teri .. raatein saugaatein teri ..

kyun tera sab ye ho gaya .. hua kya 

main kahin bhi jaata hun .. tumse hi mil jaata hun 

Tumse hi , Tum se hi .. 

shor mein khamoshi hai .. thodisi behoshi hai .. 

Tumse hi, Tumse hi ..

Lyricist - Irshad Kamil (but of course. I mean, Irshad Kamil expressed so many colours of romantic love in Jab We Met. And each one was spot on. Tumse hi was about maturing because one fell in love. Ye Ishq Hai was about how being in love with someone is a high .. aaoge jab tum was about the angst of being in an unattainable love. I love the music of Jab We Met as much I love the movie - as much as I love the idea that Geet and Aditya tend to sit with a cup of coffee or chai at the end of the day, after the kids are asleep and the work calls have finished, and Geet still talks nineteen to the dozen, and Aditya is a little exasperated now, but still remembers how harsh the silence was before Geet filled it with her incessant chatter, and smiles. And when Geet gets anxious every so often, he reminds her that she is the OG cool cat, and shes got this, and all becomes ok with the world. No trains or flights are ever missed by them, ever again)

3. Tum ho to gaata hai dil  .. - Rockk On (2008)

Tum ho to ..

Tum ho to gaata hai dil

Tum nahi to geet kahaan

Tum ho to hai sab haasil

Tum nahi to kaun yahaan

Tum ho to hai sapno ke jaisa haseen ek samaa 

Jo tum ho to ye lagta hai ke mil gayi har khushi

Jo tum na ho ye lagta hai ke har khushi mein hai kami

Tum ko hai maangti ... ye zindagi ... 

Lyricist - Javed Akhtar 

Same Same but different

 I've recently had my playlists play two songs of their own volition, both of which I liked immensely at the time of release of the song, and subsequently also its been pleasant to here them whenever one of my playlists shuffles them on, even though they're not staples. However, it struck me, that both songs are essentially about a woman advising her lover to admit that he is smitten - but in contradictory ways. One wants the lover to express his love uniquely and not walk the trodden path of oft used metaphors. On the other hand, the other song talks about coming straight to the point. Both are forthright women of the 21st century from these songs - both have a mind of their own and demand to be addressed and even loved the way they want - and what both seem to agree on - is to not trivialise the affection their lovers feel by way of their expression of it. 

The first song is Agar Main Kahoon from the movie Lakshya starring Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta and can be seen here.

The particular lyrics are : 

Main tumse kahungi

Is baat ko agar tum 

Zara aur sajaa ke kehte

Zara ghuma firaa ke kehte 

To achcha hota

The second song is Achcha Lagta hai from the movie Aarakshan starring Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone and can be seen here. 

The particular lyrics are : 

Aankh mein aankhein daal ke kehdo

khwabon mein tehlao na

Zara short mein 

Batlao na

Seedhe point pe aao na 

On a seperate note, I realise I've used the word lover instead of boyfriend or manfriend or whatever. It seems like the right word though. 

Gulzar and the magic of timeless-ness

Gulzar Saab accesses our deepest, most visceral emotions with the magic of his words - any fan of the Hindi film industry's music will attest to being transported to a different plane while listening to his poetry. While he can arrest our very heartbeats with his souldul lyrics, his genius lies in his versatility - his non-reverent lyrics are as impactful as his serious ones - from "Chhod Aaye Hum woh Galiyaan" to " Beedi Jalailey", Gulzar Saab has made us love Hindi film stories even more thanks to his genius. 

This post is basically an ode to how wonderfully he weilds his poetry to explain how eternities can be lived in moments. A few examples are below : -

1. The song is "Aanewala Pal" from the movie Golmaal, starring Amol Palekar, Utpal Datt, Bindiya Goswami, Deven Verma amongst others. The particular lyrics are : 

Ek baar waqt se,

Lamha Gira Kahin,

Wahaan Daastaan Mili, 

Lamha Kahin Nahi 

Thoda sa hasake,

Thoda sa rulake, 

Pal Ye bhi jaanewala hai .... 

The song can be found here.

2. The song is "Bol Na Halke Halke" from the movie Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, starring Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Bobby Deol and Lara Dutta. The particular lyrics are :- 

Umrein Lagi Kehte Huye

Do Lafz the, Ek baat thi,

Woh ek din sau saal ka

Sau saal ki woh raat thi

Kaisa lage jo chup chap dono

Pal pal mein puri sadiyan bitaadein 

The song can be found here.

3. The song is Aye Hairathe from the movie Guru starrign Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai amongst others. The particular lyrics are :-

Do char mahine se lamhon mein 

Umro ke hisaab bhi hote hain 

The song can be found here.

This is all for this post. Will be back with more.