"'Do you know Tum Se Acchha Kaun Hai?' It's one of my party pieces from the film Jaanvar, not the Jaanvar movies of 1982 or 1999, but the original old one from 1965 with Shammi Kapoor plus Rajshree, the best Jaanvar. 'Jaanvar' means 'Animal', so it's my movie, the song name means 'Oh Who Is Better Than You?' but when I sing it I change it to Mujh Se Acchha Kaun Hai? which means 'Oh Who Is Better Than Me?'"

Song performed by Susanta

Aliya's calling, 'Animal, come and play.'

Her voice comes flying in from outside, plus I can hear people talking as they go past, crow craarking in the tamarind tree.Sun's well up, from far off a radio is playing the song, Ek Tu Jo Milaa, meeting you I meet the whole world, one flower in my heart the world's abloom.

 

"The foreigner is tall, taller than Nisha, plus to my mind très baisable, wah, what a sexy. Midriff's bare, she carries herself like someone who knows what she's about. Like in the song, zulfein hain jaise kandhon pe baadal jhuke hue – dark hair rests like a cloud on her shoulders – in the sun it's giving off bright flashes like gold.. The main thing I notice about her is that her blue jeans are so tight you can see everything."

Chaudhvin Ka Chand, possibly the most famous song in the history of Indian cinema, is here performed by Rajeev accompanied by Strings, at the community hall in Ipswich, East Anglia on MBT Annual Day. See a colourised version of the original film clip here.

"'Do you like music?'

'Very much sir,' says I whose deep voice can carry a film song, oh yes it's chai chappa chai with full wiggling of upraised backside, wah wah darlings, where will you find better entertainment? Of course I could never speak of such things to the great Aawaaz-e-Khaufpur, these low performances are reserved for Chunaram's chai shop."

Chai Chappa Chai, from the film Hu Tu Tu,
Sunil Shetty - Tabu

 

"Silly Animal," says Nisha, now smiling. "Your hair is all jungli, it's matted up full of dust, there are twigs in it. Come, I'll brush it."

So I'm sitting there while she runs her fingers through, teasing out the tangles, then she starts to brush it, aaa aa aiiiee, catches here, aiiieeaaa, tugs there. Zafar comes out to look for us, I'm looking at him. I'm smiling.

"Ça va, Animal?" he asks, who has learned it off me.

"Si heureux je vais mourir." But this he did not understand.

Animal has in mind the lyric "Heureux, heureux à en mourir," from La Vie en Rose, sung by l'immortelle Edith Piaf.

Kaun Aaya Méré Mun Ke Dvaaré

Putting aside his notes Zahreel Khan begins to talk of that night, how he himself had been in the old city and had been caught in the panic. He speaks of the scenes in the streets and the crush of dying people in the hospitals. He tells how he like so many hundreds of others searched all night for his missing loved ones, and of the terrible scenes in the city as morning broke. The filmi music is still playing up the road but I reckon people can no longer hear it, it has vanished into a deep silence. For those listening to Zahreel Khan it's their own memories they're hearing. Then there's one moment, the wind catches that sound in its airy hands and brings it to the tent, one clear phrase, a grave and beautiful voice singing, Kaun Aaya Méré Mun Ke Dvaaré, who's this come to the door of my mind?

Film songs posted on YouTube often cease to be available, presumably after complaints from distributors. In order to avoid copyright hassles, I would like to encourage people to record their own versions of the songs from Animal's People, and post them on YouTube, or send them to me, to be showcased here or on the corresponding page for songs from The Death of Mr Love. Who knows, perhaps it could launch a singing career.

Songs wanted:

Main nashe mein hoon (from the old Guru Dutt movie) Uncolourised version. For a colourised and badly out of synch clip, see the Death of Mr Love songs page.

Please email to: songs > indrasinha • com