RAD/FAB Song of the Week: Jawani Janeman Haseen Dilruba from Namak Halaal (1981)

About six weeks after watching Namak Halaal, I still don't know how much I like the movie as a whole, but I have zero complaints about the songs. They are all memorable and fabulous and zany . . . and really carry the story more than the dialogues or the scenes or even the acting (as much as it pains me to say it, I don't feel like Amitabh or Shashi really lived up to my expectations in this one). Also, after a road trip where I subjected my mother and sister to a non-stop 70's Bollywood playlist (OK, this was released in 1981--but it straddles both decades style-wise), this was the one song they couldn't get out of their head for days. Mission accomplished.

In this scene, Parveen's character has been paid/blackmailed to assassinate Shashi's character in some spectacular fashion. You'll have to watch the rest of the movie to find out what happens--but I think the sharp objects on the set really serve to make you feel the dangerous subtext of the song.

If you haven't already seen it, ENJOY! And if you have, I admonish you to enjoy it again. One can't really get tired of a shimmying Parveen Babi virtually painted (but not lethally a la Goldfinger) in gold and sparkles--and surrounded by the same. Also, take note of the large gold-spiked anemone in the middle of the stage. (Why, we don't know. But's RAD/FAB.)