Notes that linger on and on
Surendra Miglani

Meri jaan meri jaan pyaar kisi se ho hi gaya hai, hum kya karaen, vayee vayee vayee vayee
IN this beautiful number in the film Yahudi, composer Jaikishan had inserted the words vayee vayee vayee vayee while his senior partner Shanker wanted the song to be without this "encroachment". Jaikishan stuck to his guns and managed to retain them in the final version. The tiff on this issue is believed to have been the beginning of a tense relationship between the two composers which in the later years reached its crescendo.

Jewel Thief (top), Viraasat (centre) and Dil to Paagal Hai (bottom) had hummable songs that not only spelt magic at the box office but echoed in public memory long after

And history has proved how right Jaikishan was! If the popularity of the song has stood the test of time, the words vayee vayee vayee vayee have definitely contributed to it.

This is not the only case where a repetition of a meaningless word has lent enormous beauty to a song. The history of Hindi film music is replete with instances of words and even sounds of laughter, hiccups and cough lending immortality to the sweetness of songs.

In 1989, Gulshan Rai’s Tridev had a Viju Shah-composed number Tirchhi topi waale in which oye oye became so famous that it became an identity not only of the song but also of the film.

The refrains of oye oye in the number Tu ramta jogi in Subhash Ghai’s Taal made it quite hummable. The same movie had another song Jungle mein bole koyal ku ku ku ku where ku ku ku ku did the trick.

Raj Kapoor’s Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai had this number Hum bhi hain tum bhi ho where the interludes of oye hoye hoye in a female voice were responsible for creating the musical magic.

Take the case of Barsaat mein humse mile tum sajan from another RK venture, Barsaat, where the words tak dhina dhin soaked the song with a rare poignance.

AVM Productions’ Chori Chori too had Shanker-Jaikishan imparting a unique touch to their composition Is paar saajan, us paar dhaare with the chorus voice of Ho timka tima timka tima ho. Similarly, the shouts of hillori worked wonders for the song Panchhi banoon udti firoon in the same film.

No less powerful was the impact of the chorus voice of Dam tale tum dum tale in S.D. Burman’s beauty Aa gupchup gupchup pyaar karein in Sazaa (’51).

Door koyee gaaye dhun ye sunaaye, rendered by Lata Manageshkar, Shamshad begum and chorus in Baiju Bawra drew a large part of its "staying power" from the Ho ji ho input in Rafi’s voice.

Naushad was again at his best when he made a male inject melody with the words aa aa aa aa into the classical number Daiyya ri daiyya laaj mohey laage in Leader.

Another Naushad composition Morey saiyyan ji utrenge paar also poured honey into listeners’ ears with the chorus interludes of Haiyya ho haiyya re haiyya haiyya ho in Uran Khatola..

Tirchchi topiwale in Tridev vowed the audience

Chhoti si dulhaniya ki shaadi, pyari si dulhaniya ki shaadi, dekho ji dekho ji aaye saarey baaratisaaley baalati. It is the innocence spewed by the words saaley balati (uttered by a child) in the Lata-led chorus in Santaan that has made this number, composed by Datta Ram, dwell in the hearts of music lovers to this day!

In the Sajan salona maang lo ji koyee(Dooj ka Chand ) the words uyee maa acted like an icing on the cake, courtesy Roshan.

And it was the cough voice heard intermittently in the song Hamein to shaam-e-gham mein kaatni hai zindagi apni rendered by Noorjehan in Jugnu that made the song look so "healthy".

R.D. Burman’s Chunri sambhal gori in Bahaaron ke Sapne would not have been what it turned out to be without the interludes of ha aa in a female voice.

Asha Bhosle showered uniqueness on the number Ye hai reshami zulfon ka andhera number in Mere Sanam with her laughter. And just imagine, how lifeless the number Aa ke dard jawan hai in Pran Jaaye Par Vachan Na Jaaye would have sounded without those sensuous sighs of Asha following everytime the words baahon mein le le mujhe? We also saw how, rather heard, effectively she conveyed a sense of pain with her sobs in Sunaate hain sitaare raat bhar in My Love!

And remember, how beautifully R.D. Burman’s robust ha ha ha ha followed Asha’s Piya tu ab to aaja in Carvan. And how the word Aaja rendered in a very unusual style imparted a touch of inviting naughtiness to the Palat meri jaan number in Aan Milo Sajana.

In Ye Dil Kisko Doon, we had Shashi Kapoor trying to sink his sorrows in cups of alcohol while singing Phir aane laga yaad wohi pyaar ka aalam (playbacked by Rafi) with Usha Khanna simply repeating the words pyaar ka aalam everytime Rafi uttered them. And wow! what an "intoxicating" effect Usha’s words had on this composition of Iqbal Qureshi.

Similarly, Lata’s hiccups in the song Kaise rahoon chup in Intqaam took the number to glorious heights of popularity. And her sighs in the number Ishq ki main bimaar in Dharti made the song unforgettable.

The song Hoton mein aisi baat main daba ke chali aayee in Jewel Thief became,well, a jewel with the words O shaalu (uttered by Bhupinder), no?

By the way, try to sing Mast bahaaron ka main aashiq (from Farz) without the words ku ku and Chaahe koyee mujhe junglee kahe (from Junglee) without yahoo and you will know what melodious meaning these meaningless words have provided to these songs.

Postscript: Did you know that the words ku ku in the Farz number and yahoo in the Junglee song were uttered by composer Laxmikant and renowned filmmaker Prayaag Raj, respectively (both the songs were otherwise rendered by Rafi).

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