Item Song of 80s – Yeh Din tau Aaata Hai

Today every 2nd hindi film has an Item Number, which usually involves the film’s heroine or some other special dancer / model/ actress or all of that to gyrate to a fast rhythm dance track mainly to lure the hero/ other character of the film. The song usually does not have much relevance to the actual film’s plot although the makers do try their best to fit the song in the narrative of the film. The song is mostly an up tempo, fast beat song with lyrics being little important.

Of course this tradition of Item songs is nothing new and existed long back in our films. Here is one of the track I heard today,  of course have heard it multiple times in the past and enjoyed it too. Today, while hearing it once again, I realized that this was almost an Item song in the film with no actual connection to the film’s story, although it involves the lead stars only but the song is the film’s Item number.

The song in question is ‘Yeh Din tau Aaata Hai’ from the 1983 film Mahaan starring none other than Amitabh Bachchan in a triple role and featuring the best item girls your money can buy in the 80s, Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi. This song features Big B and Parveen Babi dancing to the rocking  R D Burman tune. The song is sung by Asha Bhosale and R D Burman himself and is a fantastic upbeat number in true sense. You cannot but tap your feet to it.

Asha Bhosale’s catchy voice is matched by RD’s perfect tone and the music is a mix of Arabian and Indian tunes with generous dose of Disco to match the 80s theme.

Enjoy it once again..This song would clearly give Munnis and Sheilas a run for their money, even today.

Good Song in Bad Film – Jab Chaha Yaara Tumne

Another nice song I cam across was ‘Jab Chaha Yaara Tumne’ from the film Zabardast starring Sunny Deol, Jaya Prada, Rajeev ( Chmpu) Kapoor and Rati Agnihotri.  The film directed by Nasir Hussain also starred Sanjeev Kumar and featured a forgettable lost and found revenge saga. The song is a delightful number by  R. D. Burman sung by Kishore Kumar.

The picturization is as lame as it can get in a 1980s film with Rajeev Kapoor trying to woo Rati Agnihotri in middle of nowhere with Sunny Deol and Jaya Prada, the other couple watching and guiding them. Rajeev Kapoor has to be the worst Kapoor family dancer and thankfully Sunny Deol doesnt dance in the song. The song is a delightful little gem though.

I had easily forgotten the song since the film released in 1985, but the song came back in limelight thanks mainly to the reality show Big Boss Season 1 and its star Ravi Kissen, who kept singing this song in the show. I am thankful to him for reminding me such a lost gem.

Good Song in Bad film – Aisa Sama Na Hota

Continuing the quest to find hidden gems of hindi film music buried in some mindless film of the 80s, here is a truly great song in a not so great film.

The song is called ‘Aisa Sama Na Hota’ from the film Zameen Aasmaan released in 1984 to a not so great box office performance. The film had quite a good star power with Shashi Kapoor, Rekha, Rakhee trio who had earlier given super-hit Basera ( incidentally Basera has a very similar story line to this film) . The film also had young Sanjay Dutt with his boyish look and Anita Raj, a regular Sanjay Dutt heroine of the early 80s.

The song is a beautiful melodious composition by R.D. Burman sung superbly by none other than Lata Mangeshkar. The song has beautiful lyrics by Anjaan ( father of modern day lyricist Sameer). Lata Mangesgkar in the era of the 80s sometimes sounded very shrill but not in this song. The way she controls her pitch in the songs and especially when she begins the ‘antaras’ is almost miraculous.

The soothing music and the magical voice, a perfect combination for a song you listen to while travelling on hilly roads with lush green surroundings and that is what exactly the actors on screen for the song, Sanjay Dutt and Anita Raj do. The film is not much worth writing about however this song you can listen over and over. This one is not for the discos but for the purists.

Would we ever again have such simple but beautiful songs in our films ?