My Favourites: Songs of Roothna-Manana

I sat on this list for a long time. Too long, I realised, when Dustedoff, a fellow blogger, wrote an excellent post on the topic. She not only made it more difficult for herself by writing only about heroines manao-fying their heroes, she also added a disclaimer saying she didn't want to stick to the conventional trope of the hero manao-fying the heroine. Ouch!

As it was, more than half the songs on my list were on hers as well, and if I was to continue with my list, I might as well just direct my readers to that post on her blog. :( I debated whether to scratch the list completely. I decided I wouldn't, though I glumly deleted all the songs on my list that were duplicates of hers. (That left a sum total of four songs from my original list. Grr!)

The question again arose - should I just give up the theme? I'm pig-headed (perhaps I should whitewash myself and say 'persevering'?), so I decided that since there were many flavours of roothna-manana, I should give it a try. (I suppose the title of the post should really be 'My second-favourite list of Roothna-Manana'.) Yet, there are so many lovely, lovely songs that would fit this theme, of feeling hurt and having to be coaxed out of the sulks, that second-favourite or not, a good time was had listening to a whole medley of songs.

Picking and choosing were more difficult than I had imagined given that most of the good songs were already on Dustedoff's list. Everybody in Hindi cinema (and their aunt) seems to be past master at the art of sulking. And there are always some poor souls having to coax them out of their sulks. Since perseverance is good for the soul, I found my new list. And so, here are the fruits of my labours. Phew!

1. Daadi amma daadi amma maan jao (Gharana/1961) Asha Bhosle-Kamal Barot/Ravi-Shakeel Badayuni

Lalita Pawar is the dominating matriarch (what else?) who is sulking because things have not gone her way for once. And so, she shuts herself in her room; little does she know that she is not safe there either. The grandchildren (Moppet Raju and Master Randeep) have decided that Daadi can't be allowed to get away with throwing tantrums, and so they make fun of her, coax, plead... whatever it takes to get her to smile. The kids have the right idea:

Chhoti chhoti baaton pe bigda na karo

Gussa ho toh thanda paani pii liya karo

Khaali-peeli apna kaleja na jalao

And Daadi is not as immune as she is pretending to be. It takes more effort to stop from smiling when you want to, than actually smiling.

2. Accha ji main haari gayi (Kala Pani/1958) Asha Bhosle-Mohammed Rafi / SD Burman-Majrooh Sultanpuri

I know, I know! (sheepish look) I had deleted this from my original list, only I love it so much I put it right back in! This truly is one of the best roothna-manana songs, especially because he is so sulky he is retorting to every single one of her statements. Considering that he does have a right to be upset (she accuses him of being unfaithful), and considering that her apology is half-baked (Well, she keeps saying 'maan jao na' but it seems more like a demand than a serious apology.), and she does seem to think he couldn't do much if they split (Char kadam bhi chal na sakoge, samjhe?) I can't really blame Dev for being huffy.

I mean, the least you can do after you have accused your beloved of infidelity is to apologise abjectly. Though I suppose, if the accuser is Madhubala, and she looked so, so... sparkly, she can be forgiven.

3. Tumne kisi ki jaan ko jaate hue dekha hai (Rajkumar/1964) Mohammed Rafi / Shankar-Jaikishen-Hasrat Jaipuri

How can I make a list and not have a Shammi Kapoor song in it? Of course the heroine is only pretend-angry. Of course she is going to melt soon; we know it, he knows it, she knows it... so what is the point of roothna anyway? Well, for one, we wouldn't have had Rafisaab singing this song, and any reason is a good reason to have Shammi traipsing behind. Right? 

His 'life' itself has turned its back on him... Dekho mujhse roothkar meri jaan jaa rahi hai. She can barely hold back a smile, at which he complains, Bejaan reh gaye hum, woh muskura rahi hain...

4. Rootha hua chanda hai roothi hui chaandni (Araam/1951) Lata Mangeshkar/Anil Biswas-Prem Dhawan

What is it about Madhubala that caused Dev Anand to be so sulky? I also wonder how he can continue to sulk when she is so expressive, and at her coaxing best. He does manage to turn his back and puff smoke away into the night, but I think she has his measure when she says Dil to hai maan jaaye, Zid hai magar pyaar ki... It serves him right then, that when he finally unbends, she is sulking. 

5. Tumhari nazar kyun khafa ho gayi (Do Kaliyan/1968) Mohammed Rafi-Lata Mangeshkar / Ravi-Sahir Ludhianvi

Having spent all their time in college squabbling with each other, it all comes to a head during a picnic (long-time watchers of Hindi cinema should know what comes next!) - he is trying very hard to coax her out of her fit of sullens, but she is having none of it: Manaane ki aadat kahan pad gayi, Sataane ki taleem kya ho gayi,  she queries. He is honest, if nothing else: Sataate na hum toh manaate hi kaise, Tumhe apni nazdeek laate hi kaise...  (And 'a roll in the hay' takes on a new meaning.)

Confession time: I liked this song long before I knew which film it was, or who it was picturised on. For which I am extremely thankful, because if I had seen the picturisation first, I might never have liked the song at all.   Firstly, Biswajeet and Mala Sinha were far too old to be college students (which they supposedly are!); secondly, I dislike both of them. :( However, I like the song itself and it fits the theme so well... sigh!

6. Dil hai aapka huzoor (Jaali Note/1960) Mohammed Rafi-Asha Bhosle / OP Nayyar-Raja Mehdi Ali Khan

 

Finally! Madhubala gets a bit of her own back. After having to keep coaxing Devsaab out of his fit of sulks, it helps that he is the one who has to do the coaxing here. Dev being Dev, of course, even his coaxing is a sham - Dil hai aapka huzoor leejiye na leejiye, Itna husn par guroor tauba tauba keejiye... He makes it sound like he's doing her the honour of giving her his dil. Unlike the usual pretend-anger, she is seriously ruffled and doesn't think much of his gift. Sheesha dekhiye huzoor, she tells him, Dil na humko deejiye, Apni shakal dekhkar tauba tauba keejiye! Ouch! 

What is worse, she shows no sign of unbending even when the song winds down. She even accuses him of being drunk: Aap kya nashe mein hai, Kuch toh hosh keejiye. He is forced to leave her alone. Atta girl!

6. Dil ki awaaz bhi sun (Humsaya/1968) Mohammed Rafi / OP Nayyar-Shevan Rizvi

A very different kind of manana - he is accused of murder and she wants nothing to do with him. Disgraced before the world, alienated from his love, hounded by the enemy - whom does he turn to? If only she would believe him. He needs to convince her to listen to her heart, not what the world wants her to believe. 
Ik nazar dekh le jeene ki ijaazat de de
Roothnewaale woh pehli si muhobbat de de
Ishq masoom hai ilzaam lagaane pe na jaa
Meri nazron ki taraf dekh, zamaane pe na jaa 
Will she listen to the voice of her heart? Or will she trust what the world knows to be true?

7. Maana janab ne pukara nahin (Paying Guest/1957) Kishore Kumar / SD Burman-Majrooh Sultanpuri

What was it about Dev Anand that caused him to make so many of his heroines huffy? He seems to have spent an inordinate amount of time having to manao-fy them. Of course, being Dev Anand, he cannot stop being flirtatious, or even manhandling her. 

His idea of manao-fying is to offer his heart as if the girl should be honoured to be the recepient of his affections. (If she is not, then she'd better be, dash it!) Toota phoota dil hai hamara, he sings, jaisa bhi hai ab hai tumhara... It doesn't even occur to the man that she may not want it! Of course, by the time the song ends, she can't help but smile and the man doesn't bother to hide his complacence - Mashallah kehna toh  maana, Ban gaya bigda zamaana, Unko hasa diya pyaar sikha diya, Shukriya toh shukriya toh keejiye saaheb... Just for that, she should have broken her tennis racquet on his head! (Even if it was Dev. Uff!)

8. O mere sanam O mere sanam (Sangam/1964) Lata Mangeshkar-Mukesh / Shankar-Jaikishen-Shailendra

Like Dil ki awaaz bhi sun, this is a much more serious affair than pretend-anger. A man, besotted by his wife, comes across a love-letter from her past. She cannot confess who her past lover is without consequences in the present, and the resultant distrust has put a strain beyond anything on their marriage. His grief over her suspected infidelity, her anguish at not being to clear her name, things have come to a head at their anniversary party where she pleads for his understanding. Ye dharti hai insaanon ki, Kuch aur nahin insaan hai hum - but his own inner conflict doesn't allow him to accept her innocence. As he turns away in contempt, she is bereft.

9. Baat baat pe rootho na (Seema/1955) Lata Mangeshkar / Shankar-Jaikishen-Hasrat Jaipuri

And you thought only lovers could sulk? Gauri (Nutan) has had a hard row to hoe, and her life experiences hadn't given her a good opinion of the world. Now she is in a delinquent home and the black cloud is upon her. It is her hand against the world. Ironically, it is within the remand home that she meets with friendship and loyalty and even love. Even Putli (Shubha), whom she had fought with upon arrival, is bent on giving her a second chance. She even reiterates the old 'Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone' which strikes Gauri as sensible advice. Given with such good cheer, who can remain sullen? Gauri is forced to smile - perhaps the home will do her good after all? Even if it is not in quite the manner that her aunt wishes. 

10. Rooth na jaaye tumse kahoon toh (1942 A Love Story/1993) Kumar Sanu / RD Burman-Javed Akhtar

Okay, why am I including a song from the 90s? For two reasons. a) This was the Boss' last score. And what a score it was! Each and every song was a gem, and this was not in comparison to the lacklustre offerings of the 90s. This is a musical score that can stand comparison to some of RD's best. b) This is manana with a difference. In the stalking-that-masquerades-as-love-in-Hindi-films'-syndrome, this one is a kicker - he is manao-fying a heroine who doesn't even know his name, and to add insult to injury he insists that whether she knows it or not, whether she accepts it or not, she will never find someone as deewana as him. Or perhaps he means that quite literally? 

If I needed a third reason, it is because Kumar Sanu did sing very well for this film. His Kuch na kaho is a much better rendition, in my opinion than Lata's version. 

So there you have it - roothna manana in varying hues. (I tried to keep Dev from taking over this post as well, but the man is impossible!) Do you have any more to add?