Piya Tu Ab To Aja

"Piya Tu Ab To Aja"
Screenshot from the music video
Single by Asha Bhosle featuring R. D. Burman
from the album Caravan
Released1971
Recorded1971
StudioUnknown
GenreWorld music, Filmi, Pop-folk
Length5:25
LabelSaregama
Songwriter(s)Majrooh Sultanpuri (lyrics), R. D. Burman (music)
Producer(s)R. D. Burman

"Piya Tu Ab To Aja" (transl. 'Come to me now, my love') is a single by Indian playback singer Asha Bhosle featuring composer R. D. Burman. The song was originally recorded for the 1971 Hindi film Caravan.

Widely regarded as the quintessential cabaret number in Hindi cinema, the track gained iconic status through its picturization on actress Helen.[1] The single was composed and produced by R. D. Burman with lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri.

Music scholar Nilanjana Bhattacharjya cited "Piya Tu Ab To Aja" as one of the culturally significant tracks in the context of Hindi film music.[2] The song has also been described as "the catalyst" that solidified Asha Bhosle's reputation as the leading performer of cabaret-style numbers in Bollywood.[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 Aja" 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 (8 January 2011). "Out goes the vamp". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. 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. S2CID 191305154.
  3. ^ "Asha Bhosle turns 76". NDTV. Indo-Asian News Service. 8 September 2009. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  4. ^ Arnold, Alison (Winter 2005). "The Rough Guide to Bollywood Legends: Lata Mangeshkar". Ethnomusicology. 49 (1): 157–161. doi:10.2307/20174367. JSTOR 20174367.
  5. ^ Pinto, Jerry (2006). Helen: the life and times of an H-bomb. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-303124-4.
  6. ^ a b Mazumdar, Ranjani (2007). Bombay cinema: an archive of the city. University of Minnesota Press. pp. 85–9. ISBN 978-0-8166-4942-6.
  7. ^ Gehr, Richard (29 November 2005). "Dreamful of Asha". The Village Voice. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  8. ^ "Me and I". Indian Express. 16 September 2003. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  9. ^ Jha, Subhash K. (23 February 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. 28 February 2008.
  11. ^ Ostepeev, Lidia. "Om Shanti Om". Planet Bollywood. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  12. ^ "Filmfare Nominees and Winners" (PDF). Filmfare Awards. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
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