Ghajini (2008) lyrics and translation: Behka

It's here! And it's unlike anything else Aamir Khan and A. R. Rahman have delivered before. The soundtrack to Ghajini (go buy the CD, you shall not regret it; listen to all songs here) is more youthful than I'd imagined an Aamir/Rahman collaboration for a film starring Aamir would ever present. But we are used to pleasant surprises from their works, and this is no different in its uniqueness. It has what I think are the best love song and dance track of the year. And I'm absolutely loving them! I know this will sound like a broken record when it comes to Rahman, but he's just done it again! I'll be translating the songs this week, in no specific order. Here is a compilation of all posts on the film, which releases this Christmas.

Song five of six, Behka, has vocals by Karthik and is the song featured in this latest trailer. It really is one of the better songs in contemporary Bollywood that chronicles why the male character is attracted to the woman he's head over heels in love with. The theme is very familiar, but the lyrics (by Prasoon Joshi) elevate it to more than just a poem in praise of woman; not that an ordinary such song would ever be out of place ;).

The most recent Aamir Khan Productions film, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (2008), had a song with elements of jazz (Tu Bole Main Boloon). Behka builds on that platform in a very interesting manner. For one, it involves conventional playback singing in the film, which Tu Bole Main Boloon did not. More importantly, it's a lot more funky and more inconsistent, which works beautifully (the saxophone by Martin is smooth), and should work well with six Aamirs and at least one Asin! Like the allusions to the forces of nature -- wind, water, earth, light -- the theme is repeated through other songs in the album.

Here are the lyrics and my translation (click to enlarge). Have a great start to the week, everyone!

Disclaimer: Copyrights to this song review and translation are owned by the blogger. Any reproduction or reuse without the expressed written consent of theBollywoodFan is strictly prohibited. Violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent permissible by law. Please feel free to link to this post.