Main Toh Raste Pe Ja Raha Tha

Song: Main Toh Raste pe Ja Raha Tha
Movie: Coolie No. 1 (1995)
Singers: Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik

Govinda- Too cool for western bitchez

The song “Main toh Raste se Ja Raha Tha” may seem like a nonsensical song about pretty much nothing. But DTL believes it was written with deeper, more profound meanings in mind that reflected the problems and changes that occurred in Indian Society in the 90’s.

The 90’s may seem just as the time we were too young to know anything, but it was the time of liberalization.  The world and its cultures had opened up to young and impressionable Indians, and it was causing numerous changes to our ways and customs. Those were the heady times of strange Boy Bands, F.R.I.E.N.D.S, and ‘Who Let the Dogs Out’ on endless loop. Chacha Chaudhary received a dose of teenage angst to evolve into Archie and Indian artists like Devang Patel were suddenly popular.  Indian youth were globalizing, aping western traditions, and discarding the ‘uncool’ Indian sanskaars. The song highlights how the youth were moving away from a life of sanskariness to a more open lifestyle like that of the west.
The song opens with a boy, trying to court a girl. Enter boy, crooning-

M-”main to raste se ja raha tha 

main to bhel puri kha raha tha 

main to ladki ghuma raha tha 

raste se ja raha tha, bhelpuri kha raha tha, 

ladki ghuma raha tha, 

tujhko mirchi lagi to main kya karoon” 

Then enters the girl he is trying to ‘ghumao’.

W-“main to raste se ja rahi thi 

main to aais-kriim kha rahi thi 

main to naina lada rahi thi 

raste se ja rahi thi, aais-kriim kha rahi thi, 

naina lada rahi thi 

tujhko mirchi lagi to main kya karoon”

Notice how the boy and girl and eating different food items. Through this subtle difference, the songwriter has so much. The man, still Indian and unaffected by western culture, eats ‘Bhel Puri’, a street food that symbolizes the Indian heritage. But the woman, she has been exposed and influenced by Western Culture, she instead choses to go out, and in her own sophisticated manner, eat Ice Cream, symbolizing the dilution of her Indian Sanskaars. She could have eaten Pani Puri, or Vada Pav, but no, she is eating Ice Cream, not even Kulfi, or Falooda. Her obvious attraction to foreign customs and culture is apparent simply by her choice of food. The mirchi, of course, refers to the fire of attraction between the man and woman. 

M- “Jale chahe saara zamaana 

chahe tujhe tera deevaana” 

W-“sang tere main bhaag jaaoon 

nazar kisi ko bhi na aaoon” 

As the man then goes on to profess his love for the women, the Westernized women, as clearly depicted by the songwriter, takes things to a new level, saying she wants to run away with the man, circumventing the traditional family set up and the marriage procedure. She discards all her notions of customs and traditions and the lyricist aims to highlight how westernization leads to the degradation of Indian morals. By running away from home, she risks bringing her family into disrepute for some cheap thrill, all because of what Western Culture has taught her. She sets aside family for a brief attraction, and the songwriter can barely disguise his disgust at her moral disintegration.

M-“main to gaadi se ja raha tha 

main to seeti baja raha tha 

main to topi phira raha tha 

gaadi se ja raha tha, seeti baja raha tha, 

topi phira raha tha 

tujhko dhakka laga to main kya karoon”

The songwriter, through this next verse, highlights all the great things about Indian Men, such as whistling and harassing random women on the street, those ‘Jai Mata Di’ bandanas and rash driving followed by accidents and fights. He shows what is truly being degraded by this liberalization of India.

W-“koi pikchar dikha de 

mujhe kahin khaana khila de”

The lyricist underlines the strange practices of going on a date and getting to know someone before marriage or a relationship that the foreign lands of the West practice. The woman proposes that the man take her on a date, so as to get to know him better, a suggestion he clearly finds blasphemous. Thus, it is only natural the man retorts with-

M-“zara nigahon se pila de 

pyaas mere dil ki bujha de”

Obviously it is only natural that before a date, he forces himself upon her, consummating a relationship where the couple don’t know each other, like the good ‘ol days. It is only natural. 
Throughout the song, he fires pot shots at Indians aping the West. A strong critique of the liberalizations, the songwriter, has, through the guise of a harmless love song, critiqued in detail the degradation of our culture and morals. He cannot resist taking a parting shot at Western Culture, saying it is all about affairs, loose morals and strange, sexual dance moves. Oh, and the utter disregard for the dead. 

W- “main to thumka laga rahi thi 

main to geet koi gaa rahi thi 

main to chakkar chala rahi thi 

thumaka laga rahi thi, geet koi ga rahi thi, 

chakkar chala rahi thi 

teri naani mari to main kya karoon”

The writer clearly is outraged as to how the woman can sing and dance so freely, while indulging in one too many affairs. A sharp eye for detail, this lyricist has made his feelings clear on the notion of globalisation of Indian Culture and Morals. Usko toh Mirchi zaroor lagi hai.

Chaar Botal Vodka

Song: Chaar Botal Vodka
Performer: Yo! Yo! Honey Singh
Release Date: Feb 25, 2014 (YouTube)
Film: Ragini MMS 2

One of the highlights from the pre-release publicity campaign for the critically acclaimed Ragini MMS 2 was the song Chaar Botal Vodka, performed by Yo! Yo! Honey Singh (henceforth referred to as YoYo). Once again bringing to the table his unique ability to highlight issues that the common people of India are afflicted with, YoYo dispassionately discusses both sides of the argument around whether a ban should be imposed on government owned liquor stores in Kerala.

The song begins with YoYo taking up the cause of the worker who fronts these liquor stores. With lyrics that are bound to elicit strong emotions from listeners, the worker prostrates himself in front of the decision-makers, and recounts how his livelihood depends on the freedom to sell four bottles of Vodka a day.

Chaar botal Vodka

Kaam mera roz ka

Na mujhko koi roke

Na kisi ne roka...

Before your brain can settle, YoYo in trademark Honey Singh fashion, presents the counter-argument in the very next verse in which he highlights the dominant culture of over-consumption amongst many in the state.

Main rahoon saari raat in the bar

Daaru piyun lagaatar

Ek aadhi sab pee lete hain

Main to piyun botal chaar

Never one for facile analysis of complex issues, YoYo then highlights his mental acuity by not committing to the common pitfall that all guilt lies in the drink and none in the drinker. With seemingly simple yet actually profound lyrics, YoYo encourages you to entertain the possibly improbable yet definitely possible explanation that the drinker is in fact a masochist who craves not the high but rather the hangover.

I want a hangover tonight

I want a hangover tonight

I want a hangover tonight

I want a hangover tonight

The beauty of the song lies in the tact with which YoYo, on realizing that the listeners are being swayed towards one train of thought, quickly balances the scales by reintroducing them to the plight of the soon-to-be-unemployed worker at the liquor store.

Chaar botal Vodka

Kaam mera roz ka

Na mujhko koi roke

Na kisi ne roka...

YoYo then slips into the zone he is most comfortable in – that of the responsible adult who admonishes youngsters who drink too much. But at the same time, YoYo ensures that the decision-makers don't cite these drunkards as a reason to shut down shops by highlighting the importance of alcohol sales to the wellbeing and profits of another indigenous industry – one that makes lemonade.

Saari raat daaru, subah nimbu-paani

Party karne waalon ki hai yehi kahaani

Having satisfied the capitalists, YoYo goes on to satirize how some of these youngsters don't respect the privacy of couples at the club, and eve-tease unassuming ladies.

Pet bhar ke jitni bhi pee lo

Kisi ki bandi ko bhi hello

Hello baby how do you do?

Ek minute ko khad jaa tu

He describes how despite their unkempt, rustic nature, these hooligans are often perplexed by why no girl would go out with them, and tacitly takes a jibe at them by highlighting how a little introspection would go a long way.

Pata ni mujhe yeh samajh ni aata

Mere saath kabhi koi club nahi aata

Apne palle se koi ni pilaata

Main pee loon zyada phir koi munh ni lagata

Kyun ki, kyun ki, kyun ki, kyun ki...

YoYo then tries to tell the authorities that a simple ban would not deter the alcoholic by citing the example of a lecher who continues to gawk at girls despite having been punched in the eye on previous occasions.

Sooji-sooji aankhein meri yeh phir bhi dekho

Ladkiyon ko kaise yeh nihaarein, nihaarein..

Agle din uthu main hangover me phir bhi dekho

Liver mera Vodka pukaare

The song ends with an insightful foreshadowing in which YoYo repeats the refrain several times to depict the helplessness of the worker whose cries are falling on deaf ears, as the government in the months that followed the song’s release, would go ahead and enforce the ban being discussed.

Chaar botal Vodka

Kaam mera roz ka

Na mujhko koi roke

Na kisi ne roka...

I was certainly won over by YoYo’s profound verses and nuanced handling of a complicated issue. How about you? Let me know in the comments. Cheers!