Made famous in the movie Ghost World, the quirky, practically surreal "Jaan Pehechaan Ho" production number is from the 1965 Indian movie Gumnaam.Watch it in its original, head-bopping form here ... it's just as mesmerizing as Thora Birch made it look.
Is there an English translation for the song? I'm curious to know if all that head and arm shaking are part of the lyrics - similar to the hokey pokey :)
ReplyDeleteHere is the translation:
ReplyDeleteJan pehchaan ho
Jeena aasaan ho
Dil ko churaane waalon
Ankh na churao, naam to batao
(Let us get acquainted
It would make life easier
You who steal our hearts, do not avert your glances
Tell us your name)
The head and arm shaking are hallmarks of the choreographer Herman Benjamin. Amazingly, he is the man in the white suit who is singing this song! I should say lip syncing because Mr. Benjamin is doing that to the vocals of Mohammad Rafi. Right after the movie Gumnaam most of the same people made the movie Teesri Manzil. There is a dance number in it with the same crazy twitching. That song is Aaja Aaja Mein Hoon Pyar Tera. If you like Jaan Pehechaan Ho then Aaja Aaja is a must see. Not quite as good, but still extremely entertaining. I'm about to upload the clearest quality, best sound version of it that will be on YouTube (by far). The user name is hermanbenjamin. I'm a ho for Jaan Pehechaan Ho.
ReplyDeleteThanks Herman for the awesome background info!
ReplyDeleteHere's the link to the video he mentioned:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTgbq5vXJD8
- kch