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When R D Burman inspired movie titles!
The late R D Burman has inspired music, musicians and movie titles. On his 75th birth anniversary on June 27, we celebrate the legend all over again.
Movies like Breakfast at Tiffany’s and The Graduate inspired musicians Deep Blue Something and Simon & Garfunkel to write chart-toppers.
Applies for its reverse too -- often songs spark movie titles.
Back home, be it Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai, Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega, Pehla Nasha, Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai, Dil Vil Pyaar Vyaar, Koi... Mil Gaya, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya, numerous movies can find their name’s origins in a classic Hindi number.
What’s incredible is how SO MANY of these are composed by Rahul Dev Burman, showing the kind of influence he has on filmmakers even decades after he’s gone.
Take the soon-to-release Lekar Hum Deewana Dil for example. The upcoming romance, which launches Raj Kapoor’s grandson, Armaan Jain along with Deeksha Seth and director Arif Ali, also Imtiaz Ali’s brother, gets its name from a popular RD ditty of the same name from Nasir Hussain’s lost and found classic, Yaadon Ki Baarat.
On Panchamda's 75th birth anniversary, we look at RD-inspired Bollywood movie titles.
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Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani
One of the biggest blockbusters of 2013, Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone’s free-flowing chemistry in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani became the film’s talking point.
The rom-com pays tribute to the vivacious era of Hindi cinema with a title directly inspired by Kishore Kumar’s rendition of RD’s rambunctious title track in Jawani Diwani.
Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu
Little did Rishi Kapoor know when he whispered RD’s lilting Khel Khel Mein composition Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu in sweetheart Neetu Singh’s ears that more than three decades later it will catch director Shakun Batra’s fancy and he’ll christen his debut offering starring niece Kareena and Imran Khan just the same.
That aside, it’s a perfect title for a subject concerning a boy and a girl as different as chalk and cheese.
Jab Tak Hai Jaan
Sholay is celebrated for a lot of things, including its vibrant music by R D Burman. And Hema Malini’s intense dance on top of broken pieces of glass while vowing to go on Jab Tak Hai Jaan marks one of its iconic moments.
Yash Chopra liked her determined tone so much he decided it’s the perfect title for his swan song centered on a man “who cannot die.”
Jaane Tu...Yaa Jaane Na
Aa Gale Lag Jaa isn’t exceptional cinema but RD songs are timeless.
And one of them -- Tere mujhse hai pehle ka naata koi yunhi nahi dil lubhata koi, jaane tu yaa jaane naa -- appears frequently in the Shashi Kapoor-Sharmila Tagore melodrama.
Writer Abbas Tyrewala pays fond tribute to the song by naming his directorial debut Jaane Tu…Yaa Jaane Naa and building a romantic scene around it featuring Imran Khan and Genelia D’Souza.
Bachna Ae Haseeno
Dressed in a shimmering costume and winning smile, Rishi Kapoor stole hearts while RD sold records on the strength of the supremely infectious Bachna Ae Haseeno from his much-adored Hum Kisise Kum Nahi soundtrack.
Years later, his son Ranbir Kapoor romped to its remixed version in a movie of the same name where he plays an erstwhile casanova on an apology spree.
Pyaar Deewana Hota Hai
Another Govinda flick co-starring Rani Mukerji where he pretends to be a mute to win the lady’s sympathy drew its name from a silvery RD creation -- Pyaar Deewana Hota Hai.
Unlike the song, the film was a disaster.
Another hit track from Shakti Samanta’s Kati Patang picturised on Rajesh Khanna, Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai (produced by Samanta’s son Ashim) too tested its worth as a movie title through a poorly received 2012 release.
Chura Liya Hai Tumne
No Best of RD compilation is complete without Yaadon Ki Baarat’s iconic ditty, Chura Liya Hai Tumne.
Chura Liya Hai Tumne, the movie, however, is the alpha and omega of hokum.
A hopeless copy of Hollywood’s Charade, the forgettable thriller marks the debut of Zayed Khan opposite Esha Deol.
Dum Maaro Dum
And while we’re on RD hits, can Hare Rama Hare Krishna’s Dum Maaro Dum be far behind?
The legendary composer’s seductive tune gave Zeenat Aman one of the most definitive songs of her career.
In contrast, Rohan Sippy’s drug trafficking Goa caper with Abhishek Bachchan, Rana Daggubati and Bipasha Basu wastes a perfectly spunky title to realise a wishy-washy script.
Deewana Mujh Sa Nahin
Who can forget Shammi Kapoor’s charming pursuit of the impish Asha Parekh in Teesri Manzil’s gorgeous hill station melody, Deewana Mujh Sa Nahin?
To Aamir Khan’s credit, he too grabs eyeballs while monkeying around a disinterested Madhuri Dixit energetically/obsessively in a song and film of the same name.