Chhaayaageet #28 - "Abhi ke abhi yahan aao, aur mujhe yahan se le jao."
It's a beautiful romantic scene straight out of a movie.
It's 2 am. Moon light reflecting in the ocean.
Gentle waves coming to shore.
They are together, holding hands, admiring the view.
Dim lights of the city in the distance.
There's music in the air.
A song on their lips.
It's a beautiful romantic scene straight out of a movie.
Except, it isn't.
Ten days before they met like this, they had a little tiff.
These things happen between husband and wife, no matter how much they love each other.
It was also 2 am that day. He had been drinking all evening.
She had kept asking him to come eat dinner.
But he wasn't in the mood.
Cigarettes and drinks, one outpacing the other, and some music on the side for company.
He had no interest in dinner.
She got really fed up and angry.
"I am going to my mother's place. Eat when you want. Drink all you want."
And she had left.
When the hangover went away, he realized what had happened.
She was gone.
Why was she so upset? He was just having a few drinks.
A man's gotta unwind sometimes.
May be she'll come back.
May be she'll realize that she was a bit harsh.
Walking out like this because he didn't have dinner?
And all the love between them?
Just tossed away? Just like that?
As these thoughts swirl in his mind, a few days slip away.
He gets busy. She gets busy.
No phone calls made. No words exchanged. No feelings shared.
Silence.
Then one day, he realizes the loneliness is too much to bear.
He misses her.
At 2 am, he picks up the phone and calls.
She knows it has got to be him.
Who else would call her at that late hour?
He sings into the phone, in Bangla:
Chokhe Name Brishti
Buke Othe Jhor Je
Tumi To Amari Chile
Aaj Koto Por Je
Rain in my eyes
A storm in my chest
You are mine
Then why are you so far away
She hears his song.
She can't help laughing.
"Abhi ke abhi yahan aao, aur mujhe yahan se le jao"
Come here right this moment and take me away from here.
They go to Worli Sea Face.
A beautiful romantic scene straight out of a movie.
Except, it isn't.
They sit there, and complete the rest of the song.
They write the rest of the words.
He composes the tune.
She sings.
Then they record it in the studio.
But when he records the same tune for a Hindi film, he asks her sister to sing it.
Jaane kya baat hai
Jaane kya baat hai
Neend nahin aati
Badi lambi raat hai
Listen to both the versions of the song, Asha Bhosale singing the Bangla and Lata Mangeshkar's version from the 1984 film Sunny. The picturisation of this song wasn't that inspiring. Sunny didn't do well at the box office but the beautiful song endured despite the film's failure.
Asha ji has said that Lata didi sang it beautifully and she could not have done as much justice to it.
RD Burman and Asha Bhosale shared an immense love for music, and food. RD was an excellent cook.
Before they got married, he used to send her roses, anonymously. They would get delivered to whichever studio she was recording at. Asha ji found the roses from a secret admirer to be quite a nuisance.
One day she was recording at RD's studio. Majrooh Sultanpuri was also present. The flower delivery boy appeared and gave her the roses. She tossed them away with disgust wondering out loud, "Who is this stupid fellow that keeps sending me these flowers?" That's when Majrooh Sultanpuri disclosed to her that the stupid fellow was none other than RD. The rest, as they say, is history.
Music: RD Burman
Singers: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
*ing: Amrita Singh
Film: Sunny (1984)