Beedi is picturised on Bipasha Basu, Viveik Oberoi and a bunch of drunk guys. Whoops, guffaws and shouts punctuate the song, the air is high on testosterone, the excitement rises with every line Billo sings, every swirl she makes, every smile she gives out. The lyrics are risque and full of double entendres but the song delivery is perfect. A far cry from Sapna Awasthi screeching her lungs out with ‘Main aayee hoon UP Bihar loot ne…’ in Shool. Ugh. Sunidhi Chauhan and Sukhwinder Singh are a perfect duo, their voices metallic and high-pitched, yet perfectly matched with not a note jarring or out of pitch. Bipasha is a bit too glamorous to be Billo Chamanbahar – never mind. The music is wonderful, just the kind that would get people dancing and I imagine it’d be playing in the pubs and discotheques in the metros as well.
Naa ghilaaf
Naa lihaaf
Thandi hawa bhi khilaaf Sasuri
Itni sardi hai kisi ka lihaaf lei lay
Jaa padosi ke chulhe se aag lei lay
(Not a pillow cover, not a quilt,
the cold wind is also against (us), evil one (a harmless expletive?)
’tis so cold, go grab some one else’s quilt,
get the fire from the neighbour’s hearth…)
Beedi jalai lay
Jigar se piya
Jigar maa badi aag hai
(Light a beedi
from my heart,
there is such fire in my heart…)
A pitiful attempt at translation – the language is Haryanvi. Lyrics are highly suggestive, almost bawdy and yet not vulgar. Is a bit difficult to articulate why – guess one needs to hear and watch the song to know what I mean. That’s true about the entire film. Dialogues are laden with expletives and some of the phrases used would make you blush (if you understood what they meant!) – yet it strikes you as utterly natural and totally keeping with the situation. Some thing I noted – almost all actors in the film are portrayed as Brahmins. Brahmins by birth, not my action certainly…
nithya says:
the songs from omkara have been running on an endless loop for a while now..
its just wierd that everytime i listen to beedi i somehow picture madhuri’s face ( i totally luv Bipasha ) but for some reason that raunchiness comes across perfect on madhuri’s face
August 11, 2006 — 10:01 pm
latelyontime says:
I completely agree…I was just commenting down under that bipasha, inspite of the fact that I like her, was just not ‘it’ for the song.
August 12, 2006 — 8:59 pm
Lakshmi says:
Madhuri and raunchy? That does not make sense to me – she is grace personified even in the raunchiest of situations…:-) Raunchy is all those *item-number* ladies.
August 14, 2006 — 5:47 pm
nithya says:
remember the class with which she rendered the choli ke peeche number??? ( dance i mean )
i was talking about that… she carried it off so well..
bipasha somehow seemed too sophisticated for the role
August 14, 2006 — 5:56 pm
latelyontime says:
I loved the song…but I really did think that Bipasha was a terrible misfit. she was just too urban escort instead of the rustic slut that the character was supposed to be.
As for the blushing…i think this was one of the first times in a movie where I did not cringe. the language was not there for the shock effect. it was such an integral part of the characters.
Ok, Ok, as you can see, I have still not stopped raving about Omkara 🙂
August 12, 2006 — 8:56 pm
Lakshmi says:
instead of the rustic slut that the character was supposed to be.
Ouch, that hurt…:-) Yeah, Bips was a wee bit too glamorous but then I don’t know about the modern-day *dancers* in UP. For all you know, they may be quite glam and hip…:-)
August 14, 2006 — 5:49 pm
bhuvi says:
The language is not Haryanvi, its Bhojpuri Hindi. And ‘jigar’ stands for heart 🙂
August 13, 2006 — 6:34 am
Lakshmi says:
I actually confirmed this with another North Indian pal. Maybe the language is different from what is spoken in other parts of UP but it is the same as that spoken in Haryana, I understand.
August 14, 2006 — 5:52 pm
Lakshmi says:
Made the correction, thanks!
August 14, 2006 — 8:58 pm
jayasankarvs says:
Haryanvi?
Brahmins by birth, not my action certainly…
Matlab?
August 14, 2006 — 6:20 am
Lakshmi says:
Have you seen the movie yet?
August 14, 2006 — 5:52 pm
jayasankarvs says:
No, but..
August 15, 2006 — 6:18 am
Lakshmi says:
Don’t want to spoil the movie for you… once you watch it, you’ll know what I mean. Will do?
August 15, 2006 — 7:07 pm
jayasankarvs says:
Just back from the movie. You are right about the Haryanvi thing. But why would UP Brahmins speak in Haryanvi Jat dialect?
August 20, 2006 — 4:56 pm
Lakshmi says:
Supposedly that dialect is spoken in parts of UP as well.
August 21, 2006 — 7:06 pm
jayasankarvs says:
Ghaziabad, Eastern UP areas? I still have my doubts.
August 22, 2006 — 7:47 am
Lakshmi says:
Liked the film?
August 21, 2006 — 7:07 pm
jayasankarvs says:
Okay movie. Unnecessarily hyped, especially Saif. He was just about ok, I thought. The book was better.
August 22, 2006 — 7:48 am
Anonymous says:
Bipasha can’t carry off this role or one like it – she is too urbane.
and the song was totally unnecessary. That’s what I felt. Too crass.
The language is understandable – and if u r from Bombay – no fuss to be made. 🙂
Bharat
August 18, 2006 — 6:12 pm
Lakshmi says:
Crass kya? Crass is all those useless item numbers that showcase the *item girl* – this song was a perfect introduction to Billo, yaar…:-)
August 18, 2006 — 6:52 pm
Anonymous says:
I love the way Sukhwinder scrunches Sassuri.
There’s a distinct appeal in movies who make use of the actual dialect, no unnecessary mush-mash and suave coats.
There was this tamil movie, 7G rainbow colony, there too was no embellishing, hit straight and hit right types. And man, it hits.
August 21, 2006 — 10:29 am
Lakshmi says:
Yes, Sunidhi does a good job of Sasuri as well!
August 21, 2006 — 7:07 pm