Dum Maaro Dum: RIP
Right now when I am typing this post I am fondly thinking about a gypsy track from the movie ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ that all of us have loved, hummed, sung or tapped toes to – be it in a disc, in picnics, while driving and even in bathrooms! Yes, I am talking about Dum Maro Dum, nopes, not the one that features a shrinking and not-at-all –beguiling Deepika Padukone sporting a skimpy skirt and a tattoo(Oh, yeah… we all know about her fixation with tattoos!). BTW Deepika P’s look (her tacky and so very glittery skirt) is not at all Kewl and Sexy. Though she’s trying hard to be sexy. Well, there’s a difference between being sexy and seductive and plain vulgar. I leave it to you to decide the category this song fits best in.
The appalling lyrics too don’t do much for the song. Though the lyricist has tried hard to up the shock value of the lyrics to either appeal to the rebel instinct of today’s youth or depict the false pretenses of the society we live in but the effort comes across as a joke. “Phir Dekh Raha Hai/ Aaj Ankh Sek raha hai/Kal haath seke ga/Aaj Dheel Chor Raha hai /Kal Khud hi Rokega/Aaj Mere liye Chair kheench raha hai/Kal Meri Skirt Kheenchega/Kheeche ga ki nahi?”
And this one is a shocker- “Uche Se ucha Banda/Poty Pe baithe Nanga/Phir Kahe ki society /Sali kahe ka pakhanda”. Huh what’s the relation between being naked while attending to nature’s call (everyone sits naked from the most influential people to non entities) and the falseness and deception of society.
Uff!! I tell you these pseudo-intellectual lyricists (the culprit is Jaipdeep Sahni)– only thing they are good at is making simple things complex. Anyways, if you forget, the movie has a strong social message, which is, to bring forth the evils of Goa – drug, prostitution and mafia. But that in no case is an excuse for having such a gross song in the movie. Well, the theme of the movie sounds similar to Dev Anand’s Hare Rama Hare Krishna shot in Nepal which at that time was a hub for drug-dazed hippies. Well, there’s a saying if it’s not broken then don’t fix it! ( That fits here! BTW Just a suggestion – Rohan Sippy could have used the original lyrics in the song!)
Now coming back to the original version, the song Dum Maaro Dum Mit Jaaye Gum has become synonymous with the name Zeenat Aman. No matter how much I try Deepika just doesn’t fit in! The instant I hear this song Zeenat pops up from nowhere right infront of my eyes in a lungi and kurti with glasses pushed up on her head, loose hair, beads…and the way she says “Hussh” before the song begins, there is something inherently sexy about it.
Though the song is effervescent but it has a dash of teenage angst, rebellion and escapism “Duniya ne humko diya kya, duniya se humne liya kya, Hum sab ki parwah kare kyu, sab ne hamaara kiya kya”. The simplicity and beauty of this song, with such genuine, simple yet compelling lyrics goes straight to the very core of you, like a glass of lemonade in a hot summer day…and you are left with no other choice than enjoying it.
For listeners like I, who cherish qualities like depth and emotional honesty in music, Deepika Padukone’s Dum Maaro Dum to put it mildly, leaves a bad taste in mouth. Well, what’s your take on it? Can Deepika outdo Zeenat? Do the gross lyrics really imply anything? Or you really don’t give a damn because it’s another item song that will come and go?
deepika and zeenat! huh…zeenat was the epitome of glamor and deepika is what you call the opposite of glamor & grace.