Welcome to a new segment from your friends over at Doc Bollywood - a weekly dose of 80's Bollywood Cheese. I am a child of the 80's and it was during that time that my love of Bollywood was truly cultivated and brought to it's zenith (or Zeenat;). Why the 80's? It was then that I started junior high school, began to watch Indian movies in earnest with the advent of VHS tapes and was an unabashed fanboy of Amitabh with Kishore Kumar providing the playback duties for most of my favorite songs. The 80's were a great time in Bollywood with disco having arrived on India's shores (years after it's demise in the US) and the music maestros of Bombay combined those sounds with just the right amount of desiness to make an original sound all their own.
80's Bollywood Cheese is a segment where the movie itself is not really celebrated or discussed because many of them, like today's entry, are forgotten for reasons big and small. Also, in the spirit of 'The Princess Bride' we are not making fun of the songs being presented but are celebrating them in all their past glory for posterity's sake. Mainly though this segment gives a chance for those of us who grew up in that era to relive some fantastic tunes, to give newcomers to Bollywood a chance to see an era that is oftentimes ignored by the media and to provide some needed pizaaz to the daily grind that is life. Enjoy!
Today's song comes to us from 'Nauker Biwi Ka' a 1983 movie I saw at the drive in theater in Ahmedabad (India). Having never been to a drive in movie in America I can't really compare the experience to over there but it was just magical. From the amazing food to the cavalcade of friends & family that were present - it was just a magical experience that unfortunately is part of an era that is no more. But that one night has stayed with me all those years as well as this amazing song.
Kya Naam Hai Tera is sung by Kishore Kumar & Lata and has precious little to do with the rest of the movie. It stars Rishi Kapoor and Reena Roy singing to eachother about their nicknames (he was popularly known as Chintu) leading to the chorus of "Dance with the music, romance with the music". Great dance routines, awesome outfits, amazing tune and of course lots and lots of colors - what else can you ask for?
9 comments:
Let me just say "Yay!" for 80's Bollywood Cheese!
What a trip down memory lane! Nauker Biwi Ka is the second Hindi film I remember watching in a theatre. We'd gone in a big party of family and friends and though my memories of the film are somewhat clouded now, I do remember the excitement of watching a film in a theatre which was still a novelty back then!
Though the 80s are by no means my favorite decade, I must admit to a soft spot for 80s Disco. Fabulous song, Doc.
Bollywood's love of sparkly plus 80's sensibilities in the style quadrant = BIG FAT WIN. I love it! And I love Rishi.
Anarchivist - :)
bollyviewer - I think I may have to rephrase my original thoughts about the 80's. The first Hindi film I actually remember watching, in India at that, was 'Amar Akbar Anthony' in 1977 and the next ten years were me growing up with Bollywood - thus the reason I hold them so dear to me. Since then my taste has gotten grown broad and each decade holds a special place in my heart for a different reason. But those late 70's to mid 80's were when I first discovered Bollywood in real time and that explains my soft spot as well.
ajnabi - agree with your combination being a big fat win! And with Rishi involved, what's there not to love?
theBollywoodFan - I too am excited about the series (don't forget Tina Munim, Parveen Babi & Jaya Pradha) and hope I can do the period justice. Did not know about the crazy Amitabh fans in Tanzania, that is awesome! I do know that in Somalia, everyone who even remotely looks Desi is referred to by the locals as a 'Bachchan'. There is a fine line between loving/embracing/enjoying cheese and making fun of it - glad you got what I was going for with this whole thing.
Yay, great idea!! There IS a lot of forgotten goodness in the 80s, and I love that you'll be highlighting some of it.
Much as I love the man, I usually avoid Dharmendra's 80s flicks, but I decided to try 'Nauker Biwi Ka', and although my thoughts on the film as a whole are best left unsaid, I LOVED this fun song with Rishi and Reena. Fabulous, sparkly, colourful and definitely worth a spotlight. Looking forward to more of this series!
DG - totally agree with your thoughts on Deol Saab and the 80's. I think 'The Burning Train' & 'Ram Balram' are the only two movies I liked of his from that decade and they were both a 'time pass', barely. Thanks for the kind words and I am looking forward to this series as well. Already got my next song picked out and ready to go and all I have to say is if you like sparkly, well then check back later on this week ;)
Ha ha! If you get started with 80's Bollywood, does that mean you have no place to go but up?
I confess that I struggle with it. Although Mithunda is growing on me. Nahiiiiin!
I have to add that I went out of town for a weekend, was completely without music, and that "Rishi -- mere naam" chorus was the tune that kept popping in my head. Then I'd start to chuckle and have to explain, "Oh, song in my head."
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