A brief word on the nuances between English and Urdu-Hindi. I struggled to translatebijliiyaanandshokhiyaan, plurals of the feminine nounsbijliiandshokiirespectively. In English, the word lightening does not necessarily imply the number of bolts (singular versus plural), howeverbijliyaanclear indica...
in Hindi films. In “Shokhiyon Mein Ghola Jaaye,” the camera surges between haystacks on a dolly track like a sheep on the loose, anticipating every peekaboo moment of Dev Anand poking his head through the straw or tracing Waheeda’s bright redchunniacross the hay to victory. And don’...
Gandhi (“ye hii to mere ideal hai.n“) was included to separate the film from real life. Although the parallels in appearance, mannerisms, and even the film’s title (Aandhi,meaning storm, rhymes with Gandhi) are undeniable, Gulzar explains in an oldFilmfareinterviewthat he never intended...
Posted in Hindi Lyrics Translation | Tagged Amitabh Bacchan, Anand, English translation, lymphosarcoma of the intestine, lyrics of Maine Tere Liye, Maine Tere Liye translation, meaning of Maine Tere Liye, Mukesh, Rajesh Khanna, Salil Chowdhury | 12 Replies Chandan Sa Badan Lyrics and Translation...
“Aasman Ke Neeche” ranks among my favorite classic Hindi film duets. It’s melodic and flirtatious, chasing the audience through a garden of poetic overtures, thanks to the dynamism of S.D. Burman and Majrooh Sultanpuri. In amusical masterpiecelikeJewel Thief, however, the song can be ove...
In a previous post, we have discussed howWoh Kaun Thi?is the quintessential example offilm noirbeing adapted for vintage Hindi cinema. In this film, Dr. Anand (Manoj Kumar) encounters a mysterious woman (Sadhana) on a stormy night and offers to give her a ride in his car. After she ma...
serenade of this lilting gem. The lyrics of “Tum Hi Mere Mandir” take on a more egalitarian meaning in this context: instead of espousing blind subservience, marital love is portrayed as a divine commitment that should not be weakened by judging our partners for their flaws and ...
The well-known opening line carries the Urdu vocabulary lover’s favorite, “zohra jabeen.” The meaning of this term has confused many a Hindi film goer over the ages. Actually a combination of two separate words,zohraandjabeen, the term is used loosely to mean “beautiful one,” but the...
Songs likeinhii.n logo.n nehave historically cast a sympathetic light on the tragic lives led by courtesans of yesteryear, and it is a well-known fact that fans have been fascinated with this genre of music and movies since the earliest days of the Hindi film industry. To conclude, I’...
The enemy are seen as scrawny, primitive beings with a limited vocabulary while the Indian fighters are tall, gorgeous, eloquent, and noble. Haqeeqat, meaning “reality,” portrays the real losses of the Indian army, complete with stunning battle re-enactments across the Himalayas, however, the...