Let me begin by telling you that I think songs like "Uunchi hai building, lift teri band hai" are perfectly normal as they have an obvious meaning (however mundane or trivial it be) and so it's pointless to waste our energies on discussing such songs..They deserve the (dis)respect they get. We are only going to discuss songs which have seemingly meaningless or incoherent lyrics but are typically misunderstood by the masses because of their deep underlying meanings.
10. Gale mein laal taai, ghar mein ek charpaayi, takiya ek hai aur ham do ek hai razaai
Sardi kaise jaayegi kaho kaise hume neend aayegi
Movie: Hum tumhaare hain sanam
This song takes a dig at the show-offish lifestyle of young urban Indian middle class families and how they struggle to maintain it. Even though SRK is not able to afford a pillow and a quilt in harsh winters, he still wears a red tie to hide his hardships from the outside world. My heart bleeds whenever I listen to this song.
9. Jab tak rahega samose mein aalu, tera rahunga main o meri Shaalu
Movie: Mr and Ms khilaadi
Indians are probably the greatest foodlovers in the entire universe. And for diehard foodies, nothing signifies inseperable love better than "samosa" and "aloo", which are destined to be together. Also, the blissful energy with which the duo dance in this song (wearing horrendous nightsuits) tells us how love and great food is all we need in order to be happy and....straight. Well I never doubted that.
8. Wo kehte hain hum se abhi umar nahi hai pyar ki.
Nadaan hain woh kya jaane kab kali khili bahar ki
Movie: Dariyadil
When I listened to the song first time, I was like, "Govinda..dude...they are talking about the right age, not the right season". But then I realized how wrong I was. The "kali khili bahar ki" is used as a metaphor in this song for development(khili) of primary/secondary organs(kali) of sex(bahaar), so the 2nd line is actually Govinda's reply to his parents/relatives telling them that he has already reached puberty which they are so unaware of. Very subtle and impressive!
7. Main laila laila chillaunga, kurta phaad ke
Movie: Anari number 1
This song has always been a symbol of great platonic love for me. The protagonist doesn't want to woo his lady love by his sexuality - otherwise he would have said "pajama phaad ke". Instead he is trying to win her by his simplicity symbolized by wearing a "phata hua kurta", like a fakir.
Sardi kaise jaayegi kaho kaise hume neend aayegi
Movie: Hum tumhaare hain sanam
This song takes a dig at the show-offish lifestyle of young urban Indian middle class families and how they struggle to maintain it. Even though SRK is not able to afford a pillow and a quilt in harsh winters, he still wears a red tie to hide his hardships from the outside world. My heart bleeds whenever I listen to this song.
9. Jab tak rahega samose mein aalu, tera rahunga main o meri Shaalu
Movie: Mr and Ms khilaadi
Indians are probably the greatest foodlovers in the entire universe. And for diehard foodies, nothing signifies inseperable love better than "samosa" and "aloo", which are destined to be together. Also, the blissful energy with which the duo dance in this song (wearing horrendous nightsuits) tells us how love and great food is all we need in order to be happy and....straight. Well I never doubted that.
8. Wo kehte hain hum se abhi umar nahi hai pyar ki.
Nadaan hain woh kya jaane kab kali khili bahar ki
Movie: Dariyadil
When I listened to the song first time, I was like, "Govinda..dude...they are talking about the right age, not the right season". But then I realized how wrong I was. The "kali khili bahar ki" is used as a metaphor in this song for development(khili) of primary/secondary organs(kali) of sex(bahaar), so the 2nd line is actually Govinda's reply to his parents/relatives telling them that he has already reached puberty which they are so unaware of. Very subtle and impressive!
7. Main laila laila chillaunga, kurta phaad ke
Movie: Anari number 1
This song has always been a symbol of great platonic love for me. The protagonist doesn't want to woo his lady love by his sexuality - otherwise he would have said "pajama phaad ke". Instead he is trying to win her by his simplicity symbolized by wearing a "phata hua kurta", like a fakir.
6. Ishq baadshah hai husn hai ghulam, kar mujhe salaam, kar mujhe salaam
Movie: Chahoonga main tujhe???
It's an early '90s song. I was really young when this movie was released and that's probbly why I initially failed to connect the 1st and 2nd part of the 1st line of this song. But gradually I understood how daringly original the lyrics of this song were. While it's quite clear that the (male) protagonist wants to be seen as the symbol of love, his demand for respect solely on that basis is unprecedented and shocking to many. From time immemorial, Indian poets and lyricists have made ishq worship husn in their poetry and songs. But for the 1st time in Indian history someone has dared to reverse the trend by demanding some recognition for ishq's unquestionable loyalty to husn for so many years. And I appreciate this act of courage. I truly do. Salaam to the lyricist!!
5. Woofer tu meri..meri, main tera amplifier..fier
Album: ???
Ok I'll be honest here. I had to seek a friend's help in deciphering the true meaning of this song. My friend is an electronics engineer.
As widely known, female vocal chords are conventional source of high frequency sound emitters. By comparing his girlfriend to a woofer - a low frequency sound producing device, Imran Khan is telling her how different and special she is. Also, he knows women hate men for taking their words lightly. So he compares himself with a device (an amplifier) which doesn't suppress but boosts the strength of audio signals received to assure his girlfriend that she will always be taken seriously.
Movie: Chahoonga main tujhe???
It's an early '90s song. I was really young when this movie was released and that's probbly why I initially failed to connect the 1st and 2nd part of the 1st line of this song. But gradually I understood how daringly original the lyrics of this song were. While it's quite clear that the (male) protagonist wants to be seen as the symbol of love, his demand for respect solely on that basis is unprecedented and shocking to many. From time immemorial, Indian poets and lyricists have made ishq worship husn in their poetry and songs. But for the 1st time in Indian history someone has dared to reverse the trend by demanding some recognition for ishq's unquestionable loyalty to husn for so many years. And I appreciate this act of courage. I truly do. Salaam to the lyricist!!
5. Woofer tu meri..meri, main tera amplifier..fier
Album: ???
Ok I'll be honest here. I had to seek a friend's help in deciphering the true meaning of this song. My friend is an electronics engineer.
As widely known, female vocal chords are conventional source of high frequency sound emitters. By comparing his girlfriend to a woofer - a low frequency sound producing device, Imran Khan is telling her how different and special she is. Also, he knows women hate men for taking their words lightly. So he compares himself with a device (an amplifier) which doesn't suppress but boosts the strength of audio signals received to assure his girlfriend that she will always be taken seriously.
4. Ek aankh maaroon toh parda phat jaaye, dooji aankh maroon kaleja katt jaaye
Dono aankhen maaroon toh chhori patt jaaye, o chhori patt jaaye
Movie: Tohfa
It's said that Barbareek, one of the greatest warriors in Indian mythology had 3 unfallible arrows in his quiver. One of our modern super heroes, the jumping jack Jitendra reportedly has 3 equally potent weapons with him - his three winks. While the left eye wink exposes his enemies, the right eye wink pierces their liver but it's the two-eye wink that's the most intriguing of them all. A two-eye wink is nothing but a blink. Very subtly it tells us that Jitendra uses left eye-right eye winks to destroy his enemies and can charm a girl simply by blinking....does that seem to allude to a computer game? I won't be surprised if it does. It's such a great song with multiple layers of hidden meanings.
3. Mere baap ki beti mujhe bhai bolti, mere baap ki bibi mujhe beta bolti
Meri maa ka bhai mujhe bhaanja bolta, mere bhai ki beti mujhe chacha bolti
Movie: Chal mere bhai
It's not just a song about the importance of strong family values. On the contrary, through this song Sanjay Dutt wants to draw the audience's attention to the negatives of a nuclear family and how it leads to despair, pain and frustration to the unmarried members of the family.
2. Baith ja baith gayi , khadi ho ja khadi ho gayi
Ghum ja ghum gayi, jhoom ja jhoom gayi
Bhul ja bhul gayi
Movie: Amir Garib
If this song especially the last line made you feel that the song is about a one night stand, I don't really blame you. Cleverly disguised as one, the song is actually about unquestioning love and trust. It tells us that so complete should be your trust (in your partner) that you shouldn't question him even when he tells you to simply forget him without giving you any reason to do so.
1. Jurassic Park mein sundar se jorey jazz music gaye milke
Picasso ki painting mera peecha pakarke texas mein nache mil ke
Movie: Humse hai muqabla
At the surface the average pair-wise correlation of the lines of this song appears to be close to zero. But if you shut your eyes (and mind and all other senses) and listen to this song, you will know that never in the history of bollywood a song was written with such beautiful and profound lyrics. I wouldn't even attempt to explain it because I just can't. Nobody can. You don't explain or understand it. You have to feel it.
Most of the songs above are either from '80s or '90s. That was the golden era of Hindi music industry. They don't make such masterpieces anymore. I wish they did. Listening to them would be much more fun than writing about them.
Most of the songs above are either from '80s or '90s. That was the golden era of Hindi music industry. They don't make such masterpieces anymore. I wish they did. Listening to them would be much more fun than writing about them.
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