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IMMORTAL MELODIES Old Hindi film songs have become a big hit with youngsters

And no it’s not the remix variety of music but pure oldies in their original avatar. And this music is gaining currency with youngsters who move on snazzy bikes with iPods glued to their ears.

Those romantic duets sung busily circling trees, holding hands, the mandatory drenching in the rain, or even making a dash on the slopes of the hills of Kashmir or Ooty — all this the current brood of youngsters maynot have had the chance of seeing on screen.

But the songs with their amorous lyrics and mellow instrumental back up have them hooked.

Abhijit, a techie, who is 20 years old, says that though he was not aware of the beauty of the oldies till about two years ago, he is now hooked onto them. Listening to an FM radio station in one of the buses he takes to work, Abhijit says he was struck by the song the station was playing.

He remembered it was Lata Mangeshkar’s “Yeh shaam ki tanhaaiyan, aise mey tera gham”. He could not however remember the film but that was the day he decided he would explore the world of old Bollywood numbers.

Earlier songs were a perfect way to open your heart out to that someone special, says Mukund, a third year BA student in one of the city’s upmarket colleges.

“Nobody could sing love songs like Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammad Rafi,” he says. Humming a number from the film “Taj Mahal” — “Paanv choo lene do phoolonko inayat hogi” —Mukund says he had presented an MP3 player loaded with old love songs to his girlfriend who is a die hard Led Zeppelin buff.

One special song he had recorded in that was the “Agar mujhse mohabbat hai” which really moved his girl Asha.

He says: “It might take sometime for us to start a life together, but the feelings that I have expressed to her through those songs has made an impact. I am confident she has understood my mind and heart.”

The sad part is that the films with these songs are not in circulation anymore and videos of these songs are in great demand.

There are very few clippings available, but they sell like hot cakes, says a video store owner. At the same place, youngsters also come to load their iPods and pen drives with old songs.

Asha Bhonsle’s cabaret numbers are also in great demand. Abdul Rauf, a dealer says he has sold not less than 500 copies of cabaret songs of 70s, and the demand is going up by the day.

But the best ever analysis of why youngsters swear by these numbers comes from Ragini Jalan. She says there is happiness, love and passion, the pain of separation and heartbreak in Bollywood oldies.

Ragini says these Bollywood songs are so melodious and cool, you would not get fed up with them ever. You can hum the tune a million times and still love them.

M. RAGHURAM

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