Saturday, January 30, 2010

Dil to bachcha hai ji......a masterpiece

Generally I have seen only A R Rehman songs grow on me...as in the song keeps getting better and better for me on repeated listenings......but this time its a non-Rehman song...and the height is that this song has grown so much on me that I am literally addicted to it.....I dont know if this statement will stand the test of time or not.....but right now I am tempted to say....or confess rather......Dil To Bachcha Hai Ji from Ishquia is the most hummable and magical song I have listened to in past few years......

Because I have nothing better to do, I watched the movie yesterday (please spare urself and watch it online at max)...and I have been listening to this song now for past 3 days continously.....I am going to pen down my understanding of the lyrics....


Aisi uljhi nazar unse hatt ti nahi
Daant se reshmi dor katt ti nahi
Umr kab ki baras ke safaid ho gayi
Kaari badri jawani ki chhatt ti nahi
Wallah ye dhadkan bhadne lagi hai
Chehre ki rangat udne lagi hai
Darr lagta hai tanha sone mein ji
Dil to bachcha hai ji
Dil to bachcha hai ji
Thoda kaccha hai ji
Haan dil to baccha hai ji

basically its about an old guy (Naseerudin Shah in the movie) who falls for a girl (Vidya Balan)....so he says

I am so mesmerized by her that I am not able to forget her

I am so old that I cant even cut a silk thread with my teeth...

it was long ago that I was young.....now I am an old guy (safaid ho gayi...means my hairs have grown white)

but still the youth inside me has not died (this line awesomely captures the feelings....he compares the youthness inside with the black clouds of rain...which are full of water and ready to pour down)

my heart beat is up (because of old age)

the shine of my face is also fading

I am afraid to sleep alone (now I think this line is a masterpiece....its serves a dual purpose.....both old age people and children are afraid of sleeping alone....both for different reasons....so this line connects with the ongoing problems of old age...as well as connects beautifully with next lines)

even though I am old but my heart is still a child...what can I do about this child

Kisko pata tha pehlu mein rakha
Dil aisa paaji bhi hoga
Hum to hamesha samajhte the koi
Hum jaisa haaji hi hoga
Hai zor kare, kitna shor kare
Bewajah baaton pe aienwei gaur kare
Dil sa koi kameena nahi
Koi to roke, koi to toke
Iss umr mein ab khaoge dhokhe
Darr lagta hai ishq karne mein ji
Dil to bachcha hai ji…

who knew that heart...which is so close (pehlu) to me....would be so mischievious (paaji)...

I always thought that it will be as pure (haaji in muslims means someone who has made pilgrimage to Mecca) as myself

I am trying to forget her...but it is not listening to me....and forcing me (by making constant noises) to remember her

it remembers even the smallest/casual talks with her (how simply Gulzar saab has put such delicate idea into words)

heart is the biggest scoundrel.....

someone please make it understand/stop it

now in this age it will make me fall in a trap (there can be 2 viewpoints here: 1. guy is old....girl is young....so its hard to imagine that feelings of love shown by girl for the guy will be real..so he is a bit cautious 2.since he is old....he knows that very often love can be a trap/just a passing moment....not something which can result in a long lasting relationship)

Guy is old...and mature but still he sees himself falling for a young girl.....he realizes that its only his heart which is asking him to fall.....so he says that I am afraid to fall in love...although I am old, my heart is still a child...it is not mature and I cant believe it

Aisi udaasi baithi hai dil pe
Hassne se ghabra rahe hain
Saari jawani katra ke kaati
Piri mein takra rahe hain
Dil dhadakta hai to aise lagta hai woh
Aa raha hai yahin dekhta hi na ho
Prem ki maare kataar re
Tauba ye lamhe katt te nahi kyun
Aankhon se meri hatt te nahi kyun
Darr lagta hai tughse kehne mein ji
Dil toh bachcha hai ji…

I like this stanza the best.....how well Gulzar saab captures the restlessness/hopeless situation of an old guy whose life has been without much colors of love/relationships....and now in this age he meets a young girl who he wants to fall for.....

the guy has had a very sad/colorless life....that sadness has sunk in so deeply that even now when he got feeling of love for the girl...he feels real happiness inside...he is afraid of smiling

whole youth I spent neglecting girls/love etc....and now in old age I am feeling what I should have felt then....

When my heart beats.....I feel like she is very close to me....hidden somewhere...she is looking at me..

She is cutting my heart with her knife of love...

Oh God...why dont these moments pass....

why am I not able to remove her from my eyes/mind/heart

I am afraid of telling you my feelings......

my heart is a child....


Apart from these awesome lyrics....I think music is too good...and has been sung awesomely well by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan...his rendering is just superb.....well it is only when we all three elements music/lyrics/voice gel so well that we get such awesome songs....

3 comments:

Unknown said...

nice movie.. just saw today.

apart from the lyrics the tune also feels innocent and childlike, quite contrary to the plot :-)

priyanka said...

i had some different interpretation of first couplet. but that is the beauty of Gulzar sa'bs work, everybody has his/her own meanings.. isn't it? :-)
the second line reminds me of the caution that my mom had thrown to me when i had just started learning embroidery. "silk ka dhagaa haath se mat todna, ungli kat jayegi". Silk threads are stronger than their cotton or other counterparts. u can snap a cotton or even polyester thread using fingers or teeth, but not silk. So my interpretation is "aisi uljhi nazar unse hat-ti nahi" in the same fashon as "daant se reshmi dor kat-ti nahi" :-)

what say?

-priyanka

Sandeep Chauhan said...

@Priyanka: thats interesting.....i never thought it that way......but thats Gulzar saab.....he is "God of small things"...as in he creates beauty out of smallest/seemingly ordinary things/situations.