Aaja ab toh aaja ( Anarkali, 1953): The somewhat Arab-West Asian melody of Aaja ke intezaar mein finds an echo in Aaja ab toh aaja, not surprisingly, since Anarkali was a period film set during Akbar’s reign. Lovely music, and both Meena Kumari and Ajit (well before his days as a screen villain) look dishy. This song teeters on the brink of despair: the hero waits for his sweetheart, but will she come before his hope finally gives out? A song of longing, of waiting for the beloved to come. Aaja ke intezaar mein, from a decade earlier (not that the 50s lacked peppy music) is a world apart. Both Aaja aayi bahaar and Aaja aaja main hoon pyaar tera are upbeat, fast-paced songs, very modern and set firmly in the Technicolor (or Eastman Color, whatever) world of 1960s Hindi cinema. Aaja ke intezaar mein ( Halaku, 1956): Now for a complete change of pace, scene and tone. Sadhana is lovely, Shammi Kapoor is fun and the landscape (especially the cascades) is impressive but I personally don’t care for the costumes or the choreography.ģ. And spending her time calling to the man whom she’s certain awaits her. Sadhana’s Princess Sangeeta hasn’t the slightest idea that the love of her life is waiting around the corner (or, rather, deep in the water, with a reed sticking up as a makeshift snorkel): all she’s doing is having a swimming picnic with a bunch of friends. This one couldn’t be more different from Aaja aaja main hoon pyaar tera, despite the presence of Shammi Kapoor, some very hectic dancing, and a lovely leading lady. Aaja aayi bahaar ( Rajkumar, 1964): While on the topic of Shammi Kapoor, another song which features him, and begins with Aaja. But still: the quintessential dance floor song.Ģ. My only real crib with this one is that Laxmi Chhaya’s wasted. provide (despite none too great costumes for the girls) superb backup dancing, and Rafi and Asha are oomph and pizzazz and playfulness. The music’s pep at its best (RD Burman really, really shone in Teesri Manzil), and while Shammi Kapoor does look a little pudgy, he shows he can still shake a mean leg. Not that that should be the only reason-this song, even otherwise, is a favourite of mine. Aaja aaja main hoon pyaar tera ( Teesri Manzil, 1966): Considering the reason for this post, Aaja aaja main hoon pyaar tera deserves to be the first song on the list. Importantly, all of them begin with the word Aaja. So, here we go: ten of my favourite ‘ Aaja’ songs, from pre-70s films that I’ve seen. Just thinking over it the other day, I realized that there are several that don’t just include aaja in the lyrics they begin with aaja. Literally, ‘ Come!’ Though I’ve always puzzled over why aaja-which combines aa and jaa, and should create a paradox-and not simply aa? Does the imperativeness, the urgency (which is invariably a part of Hindi love songs that use aaja in the lyrics) come through more when the word is aaja and not aa? The very first time she heard it (and she hadn’t even started talking coherently yet), she joined in at the end: “ Aaja, aaja!” After that, every time she’d do a little wriggle and say “ Aaja, aaja!” we knew she wanted to listen to some dance music. When she began walking, the dancing became rather more vigorous-and the first song she totally fell in love with was Aaja aaja main hoon pyaar tera. All you had to do was turn on the music (or start singing) and she’d start wiggling her shoulders. My daughter, ever since she was a baby, has always had an ear for music. Or, to put that better: Hindi film songs that begin with the word “ Aaja”.