Oh, for the things we loved to hate: Judwaa songs reveal big truths in politically incorrect fun
David Dhawan's 1997 Judwaa — a film Tarkovsky never lived to see, though I like to imagine he shook a leg to Disco Dancer tunes like other Russians. The clip in question had the 'Chalti hai kya nau se baara' line.
I was sucked right in. I must have listened to the full song a few dozen times between then and now — and watched the scene, which has two Salman Khans performing increasingly manic dance steps.
I loved the tune, rhythm, lyrics with their evocation of old-world memories like iced Mangola, but also the visuals. The audacity of it, the crass maleness, the Salman-ness, and the fantasy scenes in the police station where Anupam Kher and other cops are both moral-policing and dancing along (because multiple possibilities can co-exist in this sort of sequence).
I love how politically incorrect the scene is, from the pelvic thrusts to the suggestion in the lyric, 'Samajh na mujhko aisa waisa/Mere batuwe mein hai paisa,' that the girl can only be interested in the guy for his ability to show her a good time — and how this lowest-common denominator approach can capture universal truths about the human experience.
(The scene where Salman sings 'Gupchup pyaar karenge yaara', and backup dancers suggestively bounce his and Karisma's 'chairs' up and down, reminds me of two amorous adventures in a dark film hall, 20 years apart -including in the sophisticated confines of IIC auditorium. We, non-tapori types, also do these things when the old hormones kick in.)
I have never watched Judwaa. I missed it when it came out
