Ek Paheli Hai Tu …
Film: Heera Panna (1973)
Banner : Navketan Enternational Films Pvt.Ltd.
Producer/Director : Dev Anand
Lyrics : Anand Bakshi
Singers: Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhonsle
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The duet, so different from a normal love song. This also being a romantic duet but coupled with a little mystery in it as hero follows the girl not showing her face & seducing hero as if she is his woman.
This very expression Kishore puts in opening words as the lyricist rightly says
“Ek Paheli hai tu..Naar naveli hai tu…Jitna main suljhaaun….Aur Ulajhti jaye!”
Panchamda has literally given the tune, a touch of mystery and singers have contributed so aptly. Listen the way Kishore opens the song very mysteriously and sighs in between the lines with his typical “haaaye”.
Asha’s part is so well used without any lines but just the expressions of seduction with naughtiness. Her “oohs” “o-hos” “aahs” and “giggles” take the song to such a great height..! This must be from one of very few duets which has female lead with no lines as such to sing but only strong, sexy and naughty expressions and it still be called a duet.
Another best part of this composition is – There are very short lines in stanza, broken into two to three words only like the sign line itself. Stanza is also so unusually tuned. For example-
Kishore-“Deewaaaanaaaa hone lagaaa hoon…. (Mark the extension of word pronunciation.)
Asha-“ Ta ra ra rum….(short note)
Kishore-“Main inmein khone lagaaaa hoon…
Asha-“ Ta ra ra ra rum…(Long stretched note)
Kishore-“ Naina….tere…aise… jaise ..Bhoo..ool bhulaiyyaaa…… see the words broken to form a melodious linking line to “ Badi Albeli Hai tu…and then smoothly landing to sign line.
Not to miss the minimal but rich orchestration amongst this classy singing. Song has intro music of only two strokes on Santoor. After which song has in its M1, M2, Santoor is in combination with guitar chords played in short notes…this relates with kind of words go in short lines. Trumpet is so well woven into M2 and Asha follows trumpet notes ditto in “Pa..Ppa..Papa …pa pa pa pa ppa papa….in her rendition. This is a highlight of a composition. Tumba is so subtle in rhythms, just as much as required and has side rhythms such as brush strokes on Tumba, Kabash and of course the rhythm bass guitar without which hardly any Pancham song is complete.
Violins also have been composed differently than normally what we hear in any other hindi film songs. Violins always sound so unusual in all of Pancham compositions.
Song ends abruptly at “Ek Paheli Hai Tu..!!”…expressing exactly, opening of a secret of a girl not being whom the hero expects..! on screen.
Panchamda has almost given 100% visuals to the director to shoot this song depicting all the moods and expressions in his creation. Dev Anand has done a fair justice to Panchamda’s composition on picturisation too.
That’s Pancham’s finesse to any song we like and goes to become ageless classic.
Sandeep Kulkarni
Panchammagic.Org
