Posted by “A pinch of salt in a sweet dish,” is how director Ayan Mukerji defended the term ‘love storiyan’ in the song ‘Kesariya‘ from his film supernatural film Brahmastra. Ever since the track dropped on July 17, netizens have caught on to the Hinglish phrase that’s sneaked into the otherwise wholly Hindustani lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya.
While I won’t say that line tastes exactly like salted caramel cake, I don’t mind the intervention. I’m not a phonetics expert but I really can’t reimagine some songs that just sneak in that English word out of nowhere. It’s a heist very few can pull off.
And I’m not talking ‘Ishq Wala Love‘ (that had its fair share of memes then, remember ‘Gaana wala Song‘?). Neither am I referring to the Hinglish raps that are so common place today (my favourite is “caffeination of keher“). The listed examples have one thing in common: they’re all romantic songs and slyly slide in an English word like they didn’t know it’s not Hindustani.
‘Kuch To Hua Hai’ – Kal Ho Naa Ho (2002)
“Pighla pighla hai dil mera jab se,
achha rehta hai mood bhi tab se.”
The song sung by Alka Yagnik and Shaan, composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and written by Javed Akhtar, is set in New York City. Along with the setting, what also helps us warm up to the ‘mood’ is the prologue where a bunch of characters are talking to the camera about what defines love for them. Rajpal Yadav says with a warm smile, “Pyaar Yash Chopra ke geet hain,” after a Mandolin strum as a hat tip to Shah Rukh Khan’s Raj in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995). And in the very next shot, we see Frankie sum it up, “Pyaar? Pyaar is to chill.” That’s what Karan Johar stands for — soulful romantic songs with a dash of New York in it. And Saif Ali Khan, Bollywood’s go-to metrosexual man, pulls off the trickery by shaking his head out of nervous excitement, a gesture reminiscent of falling in love.
‘Tere Sang Ek Simple Si Coffee’ – Zameen (2003)
“Tere sang ek simple si coffee bhi kick deti hai“
Yes, I’d agree this one has the word ‘simple’ staring at you right from the chorus. But that’s not the English intervention I want to talk about. It’s the ‘kick’. And what’s fascinating is Hema Saradesai and KK singing the entire track with an anglicised slur (“te-vv-ee sang”) only so that they can pull off the lyrically odd chorus. Composer Himesh Reshammiya and lyricist Sameer lend a helping hand with the follow-up line, “Zindagi jeene ka lutf aaye humey, o sanam (3).” So we got ‘lutf’ and ‘sanam’ here? Then it’s Hindi song enough.
‘Kajra Re’ – Bunty Aur Babli (2005)
“Aankhein bhi kamaal karti hain,
personal se sawaal karti hain”
Expect Gulzar to stealthily sneak in a friend from the English dictionary when one’s completely immersed in the shayari/mehfil zone he’s stoked up. Like “Taaza gire patte ki tarah, subz lawn par lete hue” in the Saathiya title track, he makes Hindi, Urdu, and English sit on the same bench in ‘Kajra Re’ as well. In this song composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Alisha Chinai sings the above line as Aishwarya Rai performs a mujra. This dash of namak just adds to her overall saucy personality that’s pretty evident from her 10-minute appearance in the film. The way she stabs her heart while saying ‘personal’ just makes it feel like it’s some deep dard-bhara word of Urdu. And before it’s exposed, Gulzar swiftly follows his wink with a couplet to mull over, “Palkon ko uthati bhi nahi, parde ka khayal karti hain.“
‘Dil Kya Kare’ – Salaam-E-Ishq (2007)
“Bhool gaya din saal maheena
January mein bhi aaye paseena”
It’s that anglicised slant again that comes to Adnan Sami’s rescue when he sings ‘January’ like it’s some cool millennial catchphrase. It could’ve very well been “garrrmi mei bhi aaye paseena.” But Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Sameer want their own ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends’ and ‘November Rain‘ here by equating the idea of falling in love to sweating in January. Give it a few days, and that won’t be a remote possibility in Mumbai, where the song is set.
‘Nashe Si Chadh Gayi’ – Befikre (2016)
“Lagti current jaise, nikla warrant jaise,
Abhi abhi utra ho net se torrent jaise.”
Okay, this is too much English in one breath but Arijit Singh, lyricist Jaideep Sahni, and composer Vishal-Shekhar pull it off only because it’s that — one breath. Maybe Pritam was taking notes when he listened to this song as he roped in Arijit to dish out the “love storiyan” in ‘Kesariya‘. But unlike the Befikre song, Arijit can’t glide through this. He enunciates the words with crystal-clear diction thanks to its placement in the song.
Maybe that’s why “Love Storiyan” feels like a lesser heist. It feels almost anti-climactic. But as long as the climax is sweet, and the aftertaste sweeter, we can all take it with a pinch of