Happy Rama Navami! On this day Hindus celebrate the birth of Lord Shree Rama - the 7th incarnation or Avatar (not the blue CGI kind, although I guess some could be blue ...) of Lord Mahavishnu, the Preserver. Rama was born on Earth to destroy the wicked King Raavana of Sri Lanka, which he did with the assistance of his brother Lakshmana and the monkey God Hanuman. Want to know more? The Ramayana Epic is available in the Kindle Store at Amazon.com, or you could watch one of the fabulous mythological movies of India (my personal favorite was the one where Jaya Prada played young Princess Sita). If you are really dedicated, you can watch the entire detailed series by Ramanand Sagar in which Arun Govil plays Rama.
Anyway, I was singing some bhajans (Hindu hymns) this morning and then I started laughing to myself thinking of this song from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1999), which is really a tragedy when you consider how beautiful the original bhajan is, but it's still kind of funny. Especially the little cameo by maestro singer Shankar Mahadevan himself as an annoying hippie singing in Shah Rukh Khan's ear.
Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Now I'm not really the Valentine's Day type, personally. I don't really care for flowers (because I have a black thumb and when they're all dead and gross and decaying I'm the one that has to clean them up), I really have no business eating chocolate with hips this size, and my husband and I don't really do gifts. All the red and pink and hearts everywhere makes me gag more than say "awww" ... but I AM a romantic. It's just that my idea of romance is song and dance routines with coordinated background dancers, worldwide locales and multiple costume changes. Damn you Bollywood!
Anyway, over the years there have always been certain Bollywood pairings that had such incredible chemistry together that you were drawn into their love story. Some had real-life romances, some just had strong friendships, but either way their pairing worked their way into our consciousness.
Yesterday my friends at Dhoonya Dance posted on facebook asking about everyone's favorite Bollywood couples ... the most obvious answer was of course SRK and Kajol ... but I got to thinking about the best DANCE songs featuring these various couples ... and what song would be the best DANCE song to represent their 'jodi' ... let's imagine that I was choreographing a medley featuring Bollywood Couples. Here are the song/dance numbers I would choose to represent each pairing:
1. Yeh Ladki Hai Ya Shola (Silsila) - Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha An obvious favorite pairing of many, because of their incredible chemistry on-screen as well as the rumoured off-screen affair between them. This song always stuck in my memory because of how he was immediately entranced by Rekha's dancing and couldn't help but burst into song. There's a bit of antagonism as well as attraction here ... a bit elementary school perhaps. But the ending of this song when he pulls her in and her braid wraps neatly around his neck? Magic!
2. Zindagi Hai Khel (Seeta aur Geeta) - Dharmendra and Hema Malini Ahhh ... The Most Handsome Man in the World and Dream Girl. Whatta couple. Sure, there's more than a little moral discomfort at the fact that he was already married when they fell in love, but it appears that for Dharamji the second time was a charm. They had quite a few wonderful movies together, including some of my favorites like Dream Girl, Sholay, Ali Baba aur 40 Chor and Jugnu ... but somehow when it comes to dancing, "Zindagi Hai Khel" captures the spirit of excitement and fun that I imagine sparked their romance.
3. Humne Tumko Dekha (Khel Khel Mein) - Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh These two are just the cutest couple of all time. I just recently saw them together in the 2010 film Do Dooni Char and they are STILL so adorable together. Here they are in Khel Khel Mein, adorably youthful and clearly in harmony with each other. "Ek Mein Aur Ek Tu" may be the more popular song from this film, but I always loved this one.
4. Jai Jai Shiv Shankar (Aap Ki Kasam) - Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz Yes I know most people would say that it's blasphemy to not name Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore as your favorite jodi ... but I loved RK and Mumtaz's songs together. And well ... dancing isn't quite Rajesh's forte is it? So being under the influence in this song probably helps things a bit.I love his sky blue pant suit. And I just love Mumtaz, period.
5. Nainon Mein Sapna (Himmatwala) - Sridevi and Jeetendra Obviously I am a huge Sridevi fan, and became one during the Sri + Jeetu era. And I think this song is ICONIC ... the matkas and feather dusters are just icing on the cake that is Sridevi + Jeetendra choreography. How can you listen to this song and not want to dance?
6. Aap Ko Dekh Ke (Kishen Kanhaiya) - Madhuri Dixit and Anil Kapoor I love love love these two together ... it reminds me of the 90s and movies like this Tezaab, Ram Lakhan, Beta and this one. They are both so lively, so timeless and fun together. I think this is one of the best Bollywood dance songs out there ... it's unfortunate that it's mostly forgotten by people. I still love it though, and I love Madhuri + Anil!
7. Disco Dandiya (Love Love Love) - Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla There is something SO sweet and innocent about these two together. Everyone fell in love with them as a pair in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, and they were also paired together in Tum Mere Ho, Aatank Hi Aatank, Daulat Ki Jung, Hum Hai Rahi Pyar Ke and Ishq. The magic was never quite the same as QSQT, but to this date when I think of Aamir I think of Juhi. And hey, who doesn't love Disco Dandiya?
8. Ude Jab Jab Zulfen (Naya Daur) - Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala Ok, I know it's supposed to be Dilip Kumar and Madhubala, but I honestly thought their dynamic always seemed tragic, while Kishore Kumar and Madhubala had that lighthearted fun that I enjoy (granted, both situations turned our tragic in the end). But I loved Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthi on-screen together - particularly in Madhumati, but also in Naya Daur. And I think this is one of the loveliest 'old is gold' dance songs out there.
9. Pehle Pehle Pyar Ki (Ilzaam) - Govinda and Neelam Govinda and Neelam represent the 80s youth and the disco generation. I love them together! They're both great dancers and were super cute. Ok, if nothing else, the video is worth watching for Chi Chi's teeny tiny shorts in the 1st music interlude.
10. Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna (DDLJ) - Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol Ok I give in to the mass hysteria. Though I'm not a rabid fan of either SRK or Kajol, I will give that they definitely have great chemistry on-screen ... probably owing to the fact that they are great friends and are really comfortable with each other. And though I was never as crazy about DDLJ as everyone else was, there is a certain EPIC-ness about this song. So it deserves a place on the list, for sure.
So there's my Bollywood Jodis dance medley ... who are your favorite jodis and what are your favorite songs featuring them? Let me know!
So I finally got around to finishing up my list of RajRahul Shah Rukh Khan songs for Episode 2 of the Bollystalgia Podcast ... it's my favorite songs of his through the 90s and now most of this past decade as well. Again, the sound levels may be a bit wonky, but I figure it'll get better as I keep messing around with it ...
Anyway, from Deewana to Billu, here are some of the most gorgeous ballads, charming melodies, and rocking dance numbers from Shah Rukh Khan's filmography. This was fun because it made me re-visit a lot of the songs that I've forgotten from the early and mid 90s. It also re-established how much I love cheesy Yash Raj movies.
You can see the original blog post on SRK, with video links, here.
If anyone has songs they'd like to add, or thoughts/comments they wanted to share, please comment or email/tweet me, or even send an audio clip of your comments, and I'd be happy to include them in the next podcast.
Up next? My epic Salman Khan love-fest list, BollyDisco!, Villain's Lair songs, Rain songs, and more ...
5. Choo Lene De - Oh Darling! Yeh Hai India - I had totally forgotten about this song!
6. Jai Maa Kaali - Karan Arjun - LOVE LOVE LOVE! :)
7. DDLJ is a tough one but I have two faves - Ruk Jaa O Dil Deewane is one of my fave SRK songs ever:
and
8. Zarasa Jhoom loon mein - DDLJ:
(but of course I love Tujhe Dekha To, who doesn't?)
9. Kaise Mukhde Se - English Babu Desi Mem (admittedly more Sonali Bendre than SRK):
10. Mein To Hoon Pagal Munda - Army (cuz Sridevi's my favorite!!!):
11. Chaahat Na Hoti - Chaahat (forgot about this one too, great song):
12. Dil Ki Tanhai Ko - Chaahat (this song also always stuck in my head):
13. I super heart this song - Do Dil Mil Rahe Hai - Pardes
14. Main Koi Aisa Geet Gaon - Yes Boss
15. Pyar Kar - Dil To Pagal Hai (I've been known to wake up at 3 am, look out at the moon and break into singing this song, only to fall back asleep seconds later, ask my college roommate Meeta!)
16. Mere Mehboob Mere Sanam - Duplicate (LOVE THIS SONG!):
20. Humko Humise Churalo - Mohabbatein - I have a love/hate relationship w/ this movie, honestly my fave song was "Chalte Chalte Yuhi" but it featured the extremely annoying Uday Chopra, so I had to go w/ the marginally less annoying Aishwariya:
21. Dil Ki Baazi Laga - One Two Ka Four (love SRK & Juhi)
22. O Re Kanchi - Asoka
23. Suraj Hua Maddam - K3G (if you look on the other side of the pyramid, you'll find Ajith Kumar singing "Yenna Solla Pogirai" to Tabu from Kandukonden Kandukonden. LOL!)
EDIT: please don't really look for Ajith & Tabu, I'm just kidding.
also love this song:
24. Yeh Ladki Hai Allah from K3G:
(skipping Devdas because really, that movie's songs belonged to Ash & Mads)
25. Ishq Kamina - Shakti (this song is awesome!!!)
26. Tauba Tumhare Yeh Ishare - Chalte Chalte
27. Mahi Ve - Kal Ho Na Ho:
28. Tumse Milke Dil Ka Hai - Main Hoon Na (SOOOO LOVE THIS SONG!!!)
29. Yeh Hum Aa Gaye Hai Kahan - Veer Zaara
and
Mein Yahan Hoon - Veer Zaara
30. Kangna Re - Paheli
31. Mitwa - Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna
32. Aaj Ki Raat - Don
33. Chak De India - Chak De India
34. Deewangi Deewangi - Om Shanti Om - this video is so fun!
