Rfak, Arijit Singh And Atif Aslam: Romantic Ballads

OP is beejee.

A new (to me) melody that's got me hooked is Phir wahi from Jagga Jasoos, sung by Arijit Singh -- a heart-rending love song though not technically about romantic love. The words hit you that much harder when heard from a child's articulation of abandonment by a parent. The more I hear Amitabh Bhattacharya's lyrics the higher he climbs the ranks of my favorite lyricists.



Tum ho yahin kahin
Ya phir kahin nahi

Are you around here somewhere
Or are you nowhere?

Phir wahi… phir wahi…
Saundhi yaadein puraani phir wahi
Phir wahi… phir wahi…
Bisri bhooli kahaani phir wahi…

Once again,
Those old slightly wet memories
Once again,
Those old forgotten tales

Phir wahi… phir wahi…
Jhootha vaada aasmaan ka mere
Chanda aadha..

Once again,
The false promise of the sky
For half a moon

Dil kyun joda agar dil dukhana tha
Aaye kyun the agar tumko jaana tha
Jaate jaate labon pe bahana tha
Phir wohi… phir wohi…

Why did you join my heart if you wanted to hurt it?
Why did you come if you had to leave?
While leaving, you had the same excuse on your lips,
Once again

Phir wahi… phir wahi…
Toote sapno ke choore phir wahi…
Phir wahi… phir wahi…
Roothe armaan adhoore phir wahi
Phir wahi… phir wahi…

Once again,
The shards of broken dreams
Once again,
Sad incomplete dreams

Gham ka jaaya dil mera…
Dard se kyun bhar aaya?

My heart which is born from grief,
Why is it filled with pain?

Aansu ponchhe hi kyun agar rulana tha
Qissa likha hi kyun agar mitana tha
Jaate jaate labon pe bahana tha
Phir wahi… phir wahi… wo…

Why did you wipe my tears if you were to make me cry?
Why did you write the story if you had to erase it?
While leaving you had the same excuse on your lips,
Once again

Wo… Phir wahi… phir wahi…
Saundhi yaadein puraani phir wahi
Phir wahi… phir wahi…
Bisri bhooli kahaani phir wahi…

 

'Tis the season of remixes and reimaginings. Though normally not my thing I don't have a wholesale aversion to reimagined versions of golden oldies. The title track of "Ek ladki ko dekha toh aisa laga"* is a good example of a great song recreated the right way. The original number was a triumph of melody and poetry but Kumar Sanu's rendition was adequate at best. I can only imagine the spell a skilled singer like Arijit Singh could have cast with Pancham Da's composition. The newer version doesn't have Javed Akhtar's poetry or all of RDB's original composition but it has Darshan Raval's voice -- a voice that makes one want to keep listening over and over again. : )




"Ek ladki ko dekha toh aisa laga"*: Its politically correct messaging notwithstanding the movie is a travesty. Not recommended.

 

Woh jo tha khwab sa ...

Movie: Qarib Qarib Singlle
Music: Vishal Mishra
Lyrics: Raj Shekhar
Singer: Atif Aslam

I listen to this song so much I have the words memorized. Atif Aslam's voice adds pathos to the gorgeous lyrics. The words absolutely make the song. The subtlety with which the pain and resignation are expressed is superlative.

beeta jo beete na haaye kyun, aaye yoon aankhon mein...
humne to beman bhi socha na, kyun aaye tum baaton mein...

that which is past, why hasn't it gone yet?
why does it keep coming back into my eyes?
I didn't even think of you perfunctorily,
why are you back in my words?

poochhte jo humse tum jaane kya kya hum kehte
magar jaane de...
aadatan to sochenge hota yoon to kya hota
magar jaane de...

Had you only asked, there was so much I wanted to say
but let it be.
As is my habit I will wonder how it would have been, had it been
but let it be.

 

Qaafirana Sa Hai...

Movie: Kedarnath (2018)
Music: Amit Trivedi
Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya
Singers: Arijit Singh, Nikhita Gandhi

I am partial to this song for a very personal reason -- it is my little one's favorite song. It is the most requested song on all our road trips and long drives. She knows most of the song phonetically though she has no clue what the words mean. She sings along whenever it plays and I cannot express how adorable qaafirana sa hai sounds in a chirpy little American accent. : )

 

Barbara Streisand had it right about rainy afternoons and memories. What better way to indulge a damp, smoky afternoon of nostalgic yearning than to listen to ghazals. Randomly clicking through Youtube suggestions brought up this forgotten favorite. The album has three versions of this song though only the Rekha Bhardwaj version found its way into the movie. My favorite is the redux version by Shafqat Amanat Ali. His impeccable articulation of the intricate lyrics makes the words stir something deep inside.

The lyrics are enchanting. I cannot remember a single Bollywood ghazal in recent memory with such a complex vocabulary. These type of words are rarely heard in filmi music and not since Umrao Jaan sang yeh kaun sa dayaar hai.

muqammal: to complete
musalsal: recurring
mayassar: manifest, make available
badastoor: as a rule, as usual

Song: Phir le aaya dil-e-majboor
Movie: Barfi (2012)
Lyrics: Saeed Qadri
Composer: Pritam
Singer: Arijit Singh (reprise version), Shafqat Amanat Ali (Redux version)

Reprise version:



Redux version:



Phir le aaya dil-e-majboor, kya kije
Raas na aaya, Rehna door, kya kije
Dil keh raha hai use muqammal kar bhi aao
Wo jo adhuri si baat baaki hai
Wo jo adhuri si yaad baaki hai

My heart compelled me to return, there was nothing I could do
For it didn’t quite agree with me, staying away from you
My heart tells me it is time to complete,
that incomplete conversation,
that half forgotten memory

Karte hain hum aaj qubool, kya kije
Ho gaye thi jo humse bhool, kya kije
Dil keh raha hai use mayassar kar bhi aao
Wo jo dabi si aas baaki hai
Wo jo dabi si aanch baaki hai

I confess today, it cannot be undone
That mistake I made, there is nothing to be done
My heart seeks to yet again reach for
that suppressed desire that remains
that subdued fire that remains

Kismat ko hai ye manzoor, kya kije
Milte rahe hum badastoor, kya kije
Dil keh raha hai use musalsal kar bhi aao,
Wo jo ruki si raah baaki hai
Wo jo ruki si chaah baaki hai

That’s the way fate wanted it, what do we do
Our paths kept crossing, there was nothing we could do
My heart tells me to keep it going
that stopped way forward
that unfulfilled yearning (for you)

 

I haven't heard too much of Diljit Dosanjh's discography but based on the few songs I have he is on my follow list. Two numbers that I really like are Ishq di baajiyan from Soorma and Ikk kudi from Udta Punjab.





Ikk kudi (reprise version) is a lilting composition with velvety vocals. The contrast between the profound poetry of Shiv Kumar Batalvi's words and the electronics heavy orchestration is starkly appealing. Shiv Kumar Batalvi was a beloved Punjabi language poet and many of his poems have featured in Bollywood songs and folk and ghazal albums by the likes of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Jagjit Singh.

Movie: Udta Punjab
Music: Amit Trivedi
Lyrics: Late Shri Shiv Kumar Batalvi
Singer: Diljit Dosanjh (Reprise Version)


ikk kuDi jeeda naam mohabbat
ghum hai, ghum hai, ghum hai

a girl, whose name is love,
is missing, is missing, ah, missing.

o saad muraadi, sohni phabbat
ghum hai, ghum hai, ghum hai
ghum hai, ghum hai, ghum hai

simple, pretty beauty,
is missing, missing, is lost.

o.. soorat oss di, pariyaan wargi
seerat di o.. mariam lagdi
hasti hai taan phul jhaDde ne
Turdi hai taan ghazal hai lagdi

her face is like fairies,
and it seems she has got a soul as kind as Mariam’s.
when she smiles, flowers fall off,
and when she walks, she looks like a ghazal.

lamm salammi saru de kad di haaye..
umaraje hai marke agg di
par naina di gal samajhdi

she’s tall like an oak tree,
and an age that is as much as that of embers, (that is she’s very young)
but she understands the talk of the eyes.

ik kuDi jeeda naam mohabbat
ghum hai, ghum hai, ghum hai

o saad muraadi, sohni phaabbat
ghum hai, ghum hai, ghum hai
ghum hai, ghum hai, ghum hai
ghum hai, ghum hai, ghum hai o…

Translastion from Bollymeaning.com