Jara mudke mila aankhe

The 1982 hit Disco Dancer is easily one of my favorite Bollywood films. It's in that rare category of movies where nearly every musical number amazes and fascinates me. It follows the rise and trials of a disco singer whose stage name is "Jimmy". In this song, "Jara mudke mila aankhe", Jimmy is just getting his start, but he's already earned an enemy, Rita, who is protesting his performance with a cadre of shoe-throwing girlfriends. Unfazed, Jimmy confronts Rita with his seductive, vaguely threatening dance moves. It turns out the throng is easily swayed by Jimmy's ability to lead them in aerobic Dancercise, and he seals the deal with an impressive bit of dancing lying on his back like David Byrne.

Enjoy the clip, and if you're in the Bay Area, come check out my Bollywood night tomorrow at the Argus Lounge!

Aap Jaisa Koi

I've been feeling kind of tired this week, and the only cure is lots and lots of star filters. Good thing I've got this disco delight from the 1980 film Qurbani to cheer me up. This song feels like it was just on the cusp of the disco trend that would soon take over Bollywood—it's kind of a softer, gentler disco sound.

Zeenat Aman fronts the band, wearing a dress that's one of those odd combinations of revealing and concealing that you see so often in Bollywood. My God, you can see her SIDES!!! She's supported by a highly enthusiastic Mandingo drummer and a gang of girls in glittery workout leotards. Of course, what really makes this clip is the lighting. Bright, colored, flashing, reflected off disco balls and hanging mesh, but most of all, shot through gorgeous, crazy, rotating star filters.

Intercut a standard portion of male lead reaction shots, one quirky scene with some supporting characters, and a fuzzy heart-shaped matte shot, and you've got yourself a nice feel-good dance number.

Those male leads must have a bit of a hard time doing all these reaction shots. I would assume they're mostly shot separately from the actual dance part, probably with the rest of the crew all staring at them. Here's what I think Feroz Khan is thinking to get himself into the right mood for each shot:

1. Go, shorty, it's your birthday, we gon' party like it's your birthday!


2. Man, check out Zeenat's sides! Daaaamn!


3. I'd tap that.


4. Time to break out my sexy half-raised eyebrow look.


5. It's really hard to keep looking sexy with this damn wind machine blowing on my hair.


6. Oh yeah, the look of slight disbelief. Slays 'em every time.


7. Hmmmm...


8. Wait, shit, did I leave the oven on?


9. Okay man, calm down, you got the scarf of nonchalance, remember? Keep it cool.


10. Damn I'm slick.

Here are the translated lyrics, culled from a forum site:

If someone like you were to come into my life
Then things would be set, yes things would be set

The springtime for the flower, the garden for the springtime
The heart for the heart, the body for the body
Everyone wants a meeting of body and soul
I wish that your heart would have a desire for mine
Then things would be set

I'm a human, not an angel
I'm afraid that I might wander
This lonely heart cannot pull itself together, without love it will pine
Where is there one like you, this heart would like to have just you..

Then things would be set...

Pyar Zindagi Hai

This is one of the first Bollywood songs I ever heard. It's from the 1978 movie Muqaddar Ka Sikander, and I found it on an excellent Bollywood compilation CD called "Bollywood Funk". The funky guitars, synths, gorgeously distorted vocals, and disco beat made it a quick favorite, so later, when I started watching Bollywood films, I decided to track down this movie to see how the song was staged. As funky as the song is, I definitely wasn't prepared for what I saw.

I've included a little bit of the scene preceding the song so that you can see how dramatic the transition is. Right off the bat, there's some amusing dialogue in English: "Hey man, you dig this sort of music? You like it? Then why don't you come and join Lover’s Paradise." Apparently, paradise for lovers involves a ridiculous number of candles (including one gigantic one), lots of glowing hearts, and mirrors in way more places than you'd think would be healthy. All the candles remind me of some kind of Catholic church—in the culturally stereotyped world of Bollywood, this means it's perfect for a den of sin. Just to make the connection a little clearer, we have a lecherous old white guy trying to grab the singer (Rekha), eliciting a truly off-putting rhythmic giggle.

If you're wondering about the constant cuts to Amitabh Bachchan looking somewhere between stoned and worried, basically, the couple that walked into the club ahead of him are his best friend and the woman he loves (sporting some bad-ass Princess Leia curls). It's a good thing the set is covered with mirrors, because it makes a number of the shots of Bachchan very slowly and angrily drinking much more interesting. Well, that and his very provocatively displayed chest hair.

After some explosive lightning intercuts and an odd dance routine involving a lot of bouncing, Bachchan decides it's time to play the "No real person could drink whiskey this quickly" game, feeding the rage until he smashes the bottle against—what else?—a mirror.