Much like catching up with an old friend

This song popped on the Jatin-Lalit playlist that I pick up on those rare days when I’m feeling a little relaxed.

I’ve loved this song ever since I first heard it on CIBACA GEETMALA and it gives me a similar kind of joy each time. Listening to the song yesterday felt like I was meeting an old friend after years.

What strikes me this time is that this song is rather basic. We have a series of electronic beats supporting a lilting melody, beautifully sung (Kavita Krishnamurthy and Udit Narayan) about a sweet romance.

The arrangement is so simple that it seems innocent. It is this innocence that makes this song still endearing—an innocence that we can relate to...innocent hearts enchanted by the fast, yet steady change in the world of the 90s, much like the tempo and beats of this song.

I can actually imagine the young Jatin and Lalit experimenting with their Roland or Casio keyboard in their home studio. I’m sure many kids in the 90s, fascinated by the preset beats and sounds of the electronic keyboard, tried at least once to put those sounds together and imagined for a few minutes that they had a gift!

While saying all this, I don't mean to take away J & L’s talent. They poured romance right into our hearts for many, many years and we all know it.

In Bin Tere Sanam, they combine the fast homemade beats with strong “catchy-matchy” vocals and that’s what made this song stand out then and keeps it fresh even today. If you know this song well, you exactly know where the beats change and will wait for it! Of course, the loop of this song is its signature and makes it instantly recognisable even years later.

I was recently chatting with a good old friend. Growing up together, we had shared our love of Bollywood music and a whole of other things. The feeling this song gives me is just like those chats. 

Extra Notes

Courtesy:ebay

This song came to my mind like a bolt from the blue. It must have been at least 14-15 years since I last heard this song. It was never even featured in any film though it was included in the Dil Hai Ke Maanta Nahin album. A very romantic Ghazal with lovely Urdu(?) lyrics. 

I'm surprised that after all these years, I somehow remembered every note of this song. Strange! (I wish I remembered my 9-times Table this well ;))

The song is Kaise mizaj aapke hai, farmaaiye...Hum to hain khairiyat se apni sunaaiye.

I am sure it happens even now, but in 90s there were often extra songs in a Movie Album. These songs were perhaps composed for the film but never got used. For some reason, I used to look forward to these extra songs. One such song was Dil Ka Aalam in the Aashiqui album. Many years later, this song somehow got made into a music video, perhaps for MTV.  

The cassette companies would tout these extra songs as BONUS (think startbursts on the cassette covers). 

Interestingly, two such songs, one in Tezaab and the other in Dil became so popular that they were added to the films after  their release. 

Amitabh ko bulaao to jaane - Tezaab - can't find the video but someone has posted the lyrics here! http://www.hindilyrics.net/lyrics/of-Tumko%20Ham%20Dilbar%20Kyun%20Maane.html

Aaj na Chodunga tujhe - Dil - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NZ1eNGZSGY

Coming back to Aashiqui, I've always felt strange about the song Tu Meri Zindagi Hai in Aashiqui. This beautiful song probably couldn't find a place in the film, yet Mahesh Bhatt must have been so in love with this song that he put it anyway. That explains the silly and illogical picturisation of the song.  

Closer home in the south, there was this song called Kinnerasani Vacchindhamma, which was originally part of the Saagara Sangamam album. It was just a few lines but a very catchy number. But it never got used in the film. However, a few year later, Vamsi, who was K Vishwanath's assistant used a full version of this song for another film of his, Sitara. 

I understand that most film music composers have independent compositions in their kitty that they take out in case of emergencies. I would love to delve deeper into such trivia sometime. Any inputs on this topic are welcome.