(The video quality is poor but the audio is fine)
Songs that embody the romantic absurdity of Hindi cinema must be in several thousands and it makes zero sense to choose just one as the quintessential representative of that genre. And precisely because it makes no sense, I am going to do it.
Prophets hear divine instruction in serene solitude. I hear these songs. It is not that different.
This particular one from the 1970 movie’ Sawan Bhadon’ (which are the months for the monsoon rains) was produced and directed by Mohan Sehgal. It introduced actors Rekha and Navin Nischol.
Nischol, a generally talented performer who did many forgettable roles, died last year, while Rekha went on to become one of the biggest names of Hindi cinema. She is often described with unintended hilarity by entertainment writers an “enigmatic diva.” Some have even called her the “Greta Garbo” of India. Neither means anything.
In an appointment that underscores her standing, Rekha was recently nominated to the Rajya Sabha or the upper house of Indian parliament.
The song was composed by Sonik Omi and written by Verma Malik. I am deliberately using the English subtitles embedded in the clip because they are are a source of so much mirth for me. I could not tell you with any certainty whether this is the officially sanctioned translation of the song but that would not have made any material difference to its intrinsic sentiment and phraseology.
It is my dream to have the subtitles performed by William Shatner and Angelina Jolie.
My random access memory picked this song from the obscure recesses of my brain early Wednesday morning. It is delightfully corny and panders to my lowbrow tastes and comprehension of the human experience.
Here is a lovelorn young man (Nischol) setting up a trap for his woman (Rekha) in a field. As soon as she walks into the lasso rope, he pulls it and she playfully obliges to be dragged by him. How is that for romantic absurdity?
Throughout the four minutes of the song, the two actors are thrown into what can only be described as hurtfully playful situations. At one point their legs get entangled. The basic premise of the song is that he wants her and says so with unrestrained ardor and she also wants him but rejects him with lovely contempt. That, by the way, is the method of most love songs.
I have translated only one line because it was missed out in the subtitles. My line refers to ‘Aya hai bada chhaila dildar rasiya’ (Oh, the flamboyant romantic is here). It is not my case that the original Hindi lines sound less corny but they at least fit the realm unlike the English translation which is pure comedy gold. It tickles me no end to hear the man reiterate throughout the song that “Our affair in on the roll now.”
My two most favorite lines are “Wait, O sugar candy, Our affair is on the roll now” and “O amateur hunter, your cunning won’t fool me.”
Another potentially great pickup line would be “Dil apna kisiko to dogi, Hum kya burey hein?” (You will fall in love with someone, Am I that unworthy?). I like the unfounded optimism of it as well as its low benchmarking.
So here it is ‘Sun sun sun o gulabi kali.’
Man:
Listen O’ beautiful bloom
Our affairs is on the roll now
Don’t stay away from me after stealing my heart
Woman:
Get lost
My lover indeed!
(Oh, the flamboyant romantic is here!)
Don’t dare come close
Man:
Hide me in your dreams
Spare time for me treating me as a dear one
I am your lover
Woman:
Yuck
Man:
You are my love
Woman:
Get lost
Man:
Don’t go away after capturing my heart
Wait, O sugar candy
Our affair is on the roll now
Woman:
You roam the streets wearing your heart on your sleeve
Like a Romeo
You sigh looking at girls bringing trouble for yourself
O amateur hunter, your cunning won’t fool me
Man:
I ask for your address on every street
Our affair in on the roll now
Man:
You will give your heart to someone, then why not me?
Woman:
I will give it to who I fancy, there are many around
Man:
This is my address
Woman:
Take to your heels, Don’t forget me after you leave
Man:
Where will you go, O maiden (he actually calls her virginal bud)
Our affair is on the roll now
The song ends with woman saying again:
(Oh, the flamboyant romantic is here)
Don’t dare come close
We can tell that she means precisely the opposite.
