Piya Tu Ab To Aaja

"Piya Tu Ab To Aaja"
Song by Asha Bhosle, R.D. Burman from the album Caravan
Released 1971
Genre World Music
Length 5:25
Label Saregama-HMV
Writer R.D. Burman (music), Majrooh Sultanpuri (lyrics)
Producer R.D. Burman

"Piya Tu Ab To Aaja" (Hindi: पिया तू अब तो आजा, English: Come to me now, my love) is a song from the 1971 Hindi film Caravan. It is considered the quintessential cabaret item number by Helen.[1] The song was sung by Asha Bhosle and R.D. Burman. It was composed by R.D. Burman with lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri. Music scholar Nilanjana Bhattacharjya identified "Piya Tu Ab To Aaja" as one of the culturally important Hindi film songs.[2] The song has also been called "the catalyst" that made "Asha [Bhosle] the queen of cabaret numbers".[3]

Music Video

The song was performed by Helen, who is known for doing item numbers in Bollywood films of the 1960s and 1970s. It is a highly suggestive song with Asha Bhosle breathing quickly at intervals, giving it an orgasmic sound.[4] In the film, Helen performs the provocative dance in front of a large audience, including Sunita (played by actress Asha Parekh) who has just discovered that Monica (Helen) and her husband are having an affair.[5] The picturisation is typical of the item numbers of the era portraying a "vamp" character who dances seductively for a nightclub audience.[6]

Remakes

The song was later released as part of the video Raat Ki Rani (1987), a compilation of Helen's different cabaret numbers.[6] Asha Bhosle recorded a new version in 2003 for the Kronos Quartet album You've Stolen My Heart: Songs from R.D. Burman's Bollywood.[7] It also appears on the compilation album The Very Best of Asha Bhosle, The Queen of Bollywood. Composer Lesle Lewis released a remix of the song on his 2003 album Special Appointment Club Hits[8] while R.P. Patnaik produced a Telugu version for the 2008 film Swagatam. Pritam also sampled it for his song "Parda" on the Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai soundtrack.[9] "Piya Tu Ab to Aaja" is also a frequent choice of television performers. In 2008, actress Amrita Arora danced to the song on the reality programme Chhote Ustaad.[10] Amrita Moitra, a contestant on Zee TV's Dance India Dance, performed a mujra version of the song during the second season. The number is referenced briefly during the song "Dhoom Tanaa" from Om Shanti Om when Deepika Padukone, dressed in a gold bikini ensemble, dances in a cage.[11]

Awards

References

  1. ↑ Kaur Allagh, Harjeet (January 8, 2011). "Out goes the vamp". The Hindu. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  2. ↑ Bhattacharjya, Nilanjana (Winter–Spring 2009). "Popular Hindi Film Song Sequences Set in the Indian Diaspora and the Negotiating of Indian Identity". Asian Music 40 (1): 53–82. doi:10.1353/amu.0.0012.
  3. ↑ "Asha Bhosle turns 76". NDTV. Indo-Asian News Service. September 8, 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  4. ↑ Arnold, Alison (Winter 2005). "The Rough Guide to Bollywood Legends: Lata Mangeshkar". Ethnomusicology 49 (1): 157–161.
  5. ↑ Pinto, Jerry (2006). Helen: the life and times of an H-bomb. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-303124-4.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mazumdar, Ranjani (2007). Bombay cinema: an archive of the city. University of Minnesota Press. pp. 85–9. ISBN 0-8166-4942-1.
  7. ↑ Gehr, Richard (November 29, 2005). "Dreamful of Asha". The Village Voice. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Me and I". Indian Express. September 16, 2003. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
  9. ↑ Jha, Subhash K. (February 23, 2010). "Gauhar will be seen performing on 'Piya Tu Ab To Aaja' in Once Upon A Time...'". India FM. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  10. ↑ "Not kidding around". The Statesman (ProQuest). February 28, 2008.
  11. ↑ Ostepeev, Lidia. "Om Shanti Om". Planet Bollywood. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  12. ↑ "http://deep750.googlepages.com/FilmfareAwards.pdf Filmfare Nominees and Winners". Filmfare Awards. Retrieved 16 March 2011.