I caught the commercial again later in the day and discovered that it was an ad for Vodafone's music services in India. The crux of it was, listen to more songs. Widen your horizons. Don't get hung up on one number your whole life.
As creativity goes, the makers of the ad were spot on. This song (since the movie came out way back in 1976) has been an all-time favourite. It's the kind of song that comes to mind in an antakshari with friends when anybody has to sing a song starting with the sound "K." It's the kind of song that is used by wannabe romeos to subtly romance a girl by making her feel special. It sometimes feels cheesy but it never fails to make the heart go all soft and mushy. That's the power of the poet Sahir Ludhianvi - he touches your heart with simple words. Add the haunting music of Khayyam to that and you have something immortal.
Back to the ad. I was upset that this particular song had been chosen to symbolize something old and worn out. Because it is may be old, but it certainly IS NOT worn out.Anyway, this was my opinion and all I could do was rant about the injustice on my blog. Sigh. Until a few hours later... My six-year-old son was on the potty and singing the first line of this song, as featured in the commercial. (He usually has deep, philosophical questions to ask when he's carrying out this particular activity. Singing has usually never featured on the agenda.)
Suddenly he called out: "Mamma, what comes after the first line?"
"Where did you hear this?" I asked him.
"On the TV. Is there any more to sing?"
Oh, you bet there is, sweetheart. I put on the CD and let him listen to the whole thing. "I like this song," he said simply. "We'll listen to it again later."
Ha! Eat your heart out, Vodafone. Oh, and thank you for getting my son even more interested in Bollywood music at its best. :-)
Kabhi Kabhie Poster © Yash Raj Films, Directed by Yash Chopra
Rediff on the movie
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