My Favourites: Songs of Seduction

I wrote a post on sensuous songs, songs that I thought were erotic without being raunchy or vulgar. This is its sister-post - songs of seduction. These are more explicit in their portrayal (within the parameters of Hindi films). Originally, when films did follow a decent script, we had directors who used songs to pull the narrative along. So, even while we had 'vamps' singing songs, it did have a concrete purpose in the larger scheme of things - for example, Jaata kahan hai diwaane  in CID,  or Tadbeer se bigdi hui in  Baazi,  or even  Mud mud ke na dekh in Shree 420. Nightclub numbers accommodated a more 'westernised' tune into films. But as films became more and more 'masala', the songs of seduction became precursors to the 'item songs' of today. 

The 'vamp' would usually be a nightclub dancer, giving an opportunity for a 'nightclub' song. (I have a pet theory about this - I can just 'see' the producer going to a music director, most probably RD Burman, and saying, "Panchamda, do love song chahiye, ek virah gaan, aur ek nightclub number - aap jaante hai na - ek 'maadern' song." All this without having the script in his hand, or letting Panchamda know the sequence he was composing for. Of course, this is only my theory.) And as the years progressed, the costumes became skimpier and skimpier.

There are many 'seductive' numbers out there, but I have restricted this post to songs of 'seduction', and that too, those that are picturised on one man / one woman. These songs fall into one of three categories: there is the vamp seducing the hero (he will be 'strong' and not give in); there is the heroine seducing the villain (only to get information out of him; she will of course, be rescued by the hero, or by a father-figure); and finally, there is the heroine (or the third angle to a triangle) seducing the hero - she will either be wife or girlfriend. If it is the latter, the hero is (usually) still strong, silent and disapproving.

My self-imposed constraints meant that I dismissed songs such as this, or this, even if the singer sizzled on screen. I have also eschewed the minimally dressed, overtly sexual songs simply because the picturisations do not appeal to me. (I prefer to listen  to those.) I agree that that is a dichotomy since I am  writing about seduction, but again, while I have nothing against honest nudity (thanks, Samir!), I do draw a line at the overtly sexual overtones that later songs brought in purely for titillation. And if that is prudishness, so be it. :) 

1. Raat akeli hai (Jewel Thief / Asha Bhonsle)

Tanuja looks like she should still have been in school, not mouthing lyrics like:

Tum aaj mere liye ruk jao rut bhi hai fursat bhi hai

Tumhein na hao na sahi mujhe tumse muhobath hai 
She is very direct in what she wants - Muhobath ki ijaazat hai, to chhup kyun rahiye, jo bhi chaahe kahiye. Yet, even with the billowing curtains, the skin-tight gown, and two glasses of Coca-Cola, she managed to induce an innocence into a staged seduction scene. Her exuberance made it seem more of an adolescent crush than a classic seduction. (Was I the only person who, watching Jewel Thief, wanted Dev to end up with Tanuja?) Of course, Devsaab being Devsaab, he didn't look disapproving. He merely treated it as par for the course. (It's not their fault they can't resist me! Therefore, they should be treated more with kindness than with disapproval.)

2. Ye hai reshmi zulfon (Mere Sanam / Asha Bhonsle)

This is the classic Hindi film 'entrapment' song. Even the seduction is fake. The vamp (in this case, Mumtaz, who would go on to become a successful heroine herself), sets out to seduce the hero so that the villain can take some incriminating photographs of the two of them. She is also half in love with the villain herself, but makes the mistake of threatening him in jest with her knowledge. Anyone who knows their Hindi films knows what will happen next. She is murdered and the hero (obviously!) is the suspect.   
Pyaasi hai nazar, haan, yeh bhi kehne ki hai baat kya
Tum ho mehmaan, toh na thehregi ye raat kya
A pug-nosed Mumu sizzled, pretty Biswajeet looked uncomfortable, and Asha Bhonsle sounded as seductive as only she could. 

3. Baahon mein chale aao (Anamika / Lata Mangeshkar) 

Probably the most unlikely seductress in the history of Hindi cinema. Even as she is exhorting him to 'Come into my arms' (Baahon mein chale aao) or even
Kabhi kabhi kuch to kaho piya humse
Ke kam se kam aaj to khulke milo zara humse
Hai raat apne, jo tum ho apne, kisi ka phir humein dar kya
Jaya Bhaduri brings a playfulness into the interaction. Sanjeev Kumar is, of course, trying to keep her quiet and escape at the same time. Their chemistry is incredible though, and it does keep you enthralled.

4. Woh haseen dard de do (Humsaya / Asha Bhonsle)

Well, one can't get more direct than this.
Tumhe tum se maangti hoon, zara apna haath de do
Mujhe aaj zindagi ki woh suhaag raat de do 
Since this is the heroine singing to the hero, they go through the 'Why is she singing such explicit lyrics to me?' expression followed by the 'I'm going away because obviously she's a ba-a-ad girl' expression until she begins to sing of how she's only loved him! Then,  and only then, does the tubelight go off in his dim brain! Of course she was not seducing him! She is in love with him.
Maine pyaar ke alaava kabhi tumse kuch na maanga
Tumhe jaane kya samajhkar maine har kadam pe chaaha 
And of course that is quite alright, then. He can now take her home to mother.

This is one of those songs that is better heard than seen. Lovely song, Ashatai at her sultry best, please watch the video at your own peril. You have to watch a Joy Mukherjee plastered with dark make-up to look several shades darker than he is, and a Mala Sinha with her eyes all slanted to look Oriental - don't say I didn't warn you.

(One of my younger son's favourite songs, it is played ad nauseum in the car, and on YouTube at home, so perhaps I'm biased. And yes, he seems to listen to all sorts of age-inappropriate numbers - his favourite song when he was barely a year old was Pyar kiya to darna kya, and he has since told a friend of mine that he is planning to get married around 23, since he doesn't think he can wait until he's 24 years old.)

5. Na jao saiyyan (Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam / Geeta Dutt)

This is a seduction with a difference. She is a wife who is desperate for her husband's company; he is a dilettante with a yen for visiting courtesans. When accused of shunning her company for that of a nautch girl, he retorts, 'Can you do what they do? Can you drink? Do you have it in you to attract a man, and keep his attention?' So she sets out to prove that she can, indeed. Only, she needs the strength that alcohol can give her. It is one of the most poignant scenes in a powerful movie - the depths to which a woman can fall to keep her man; and the ultimate betrayal when, even after her fall from grace, he still leaves.
Ye bikhri zulfein ye khilta gajra
Ye mehki chunri ye man ki madira
Ye sab tumhare liye hai preetam
Main aaj tumko jaane na doongi
Meena Kumari looked extremely beautiful and sensuous (in this, and in Piya aiso jiya mein) but Rehman was a bored and disinterested husband as he leaves. 

6. Thoda sa thehro (Victoria No 203 / Lata Mangeshkar)

This is the classic heroine-trying-to-seduce-the-villain-to-find-the-truth song. It is also the classic come-hither-but-stay-right-there song that all heroines get to sing (In the more politically incorrect days, they would have been termed a tease.) - 'good' girls still remain virtuous even if they are seducing a man. But one has to give Saira Banu credit for fashion designing. No one quite made such a sexy costume with bath towels and safety pins before.
She sings:
Thoda sa thehro
Karti hoon tumse vaada, Poora hoga tera iraada
Main hoon saari ki saari tumhaari, Phir kaahe ko jaldi karoon?

Of course it is the man's fault for taking her at her word. Honestly, though, I cannot think of any man who would have been taken in by the so-obvious ploy to get into the house, but no one gives minor villains in Hindi films credit for any brains, anyway. 

7. Lag jaa gale (Woh Kaun Thi / Lata Mangeshkar)

Most people would not count this as a 'seduction' song, I guess, but to me, it's rather unusual in the usual scheme of Hindi films. A beautiful maiden, a balmy breeze, and an unusually direct call to embrace, for
Humko mili hai aaj yeh ghadiyaan naseeb se
Jee bhar ke dekh keejiye humko kareeb se
Phir aap ke naseeb mein ye raat ho na ho

Which man can resist? Not Manoj Kumar. Not when the heroine is Sadhana, and not when she is adamant that  Lag jaa gale ke phir ye haseen raat ho na ho... 

8. Aaiye aapka tha intezaar  (Mahal / Asha Bhonsle)

Okay, I must confess I giggled when I first saw this clip. Because if it was intended as a seduction, then I'm afraid the picturisation failed (me) completely.  As my husband pointed out when I showed him the song (and if you are politically correct, just ignore the next statement, please): "Ugh, it's like being seduced by your sister." The lyrics are adequately seductive:
Hum na kehte the nigaahon se kheenche aayenge aap
Raat bhar jaagenge, tadpenge, machal jaayenge aap 

Asha sounds Asha-ish, which means she's at her seductive best (if you take my advice, you will just listen to the audio). Devsaab does the dialogue bit rather well and I don't blame the unlikely seductress one bit for looking seduced herself.

ps: The actress looks like a particularly adorable kitten; or a little child playing grownup. (And I thought Tanuja was young!)

9. Aa jaa re, aa zara (Love in Tokyo / Mohammed Rafi)

Aah. The first male voice in this list. Mohammed Rafi at his sensuous best. He's almost whispering the notes, slurring them in his inimitable style. Minimal instrumentation ensured that it was Rafi's voice that carried the song's haunting melody. *Shiver* Joy Mukherjee matches the mood onscreen. And one cannot blame Asha Parekh for her response (though she does play hard to get). How can a woman resist?  

10. Yeh raat yeh chaandni phir kahan (Jaal / Hemant Kumar)

I know I end up having this song on multiple lists. I had it on the previous one too. And in my post on well-picturised songs. But as I said in my post on sensuous songs, it is both sensuous and seductive. And Dev's Tony is  seducing Geeta's Maria. She knows he is bad news, she has already been warned about his profligate ways. And he knows she knows. Yet, he sings, each word, each phrase, increasing the inner conflict between her own rising desires, and her rational side which warns her that she is digging her own grave. 

Jaati bahaarein hain uthti jawaaniyan

Taaron ki chaaon mein pehle kahaaniyan

Ek baar chal diye gar tujhe pukar ke

Laut kar na aayenge kaafile bahaar ke

Aaja abhi zindagi hain jawaan

Sun ja dil ke dastaan 

He continues to strum the guitar, knowing she will come to his call, and she is drawn to him despite herself. It is a masterpiece in song picturisation - the storm outside mirroring the storm inside. And such simple sets - man, woman, a guitar and a palm-tree lined beach. Perfect.

Obviously, my picks, and definitely not a very comprehensive list. You might even disagree with my definition of 'seduction'. Fair enough. The comments section is open to your choices. What are they?