The song that drove the country crazy
Twenty-three years have passed, but the mention of Saajan still gets Hindi film buffs humming at least one of its seven evergreen songs.
The film, starringSanjay Dutt , Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan , was one of the biggest hits of 1991 and it was no surprise that the Filmfare Award for Best Music went to its music director duo Nadeem-Shravan.
Interestingly, in an interview to the magazine soon after bagging the coveted Black Lady, Nadeem had admitted that Laxmikanth and Pyarelal were initially signed for the love triangle.
But the film’s producer Sudhakar Bokade was swayed when he heard the composition by Nadeem-Shravan. “The first tune we played for Sudhakarji was Mera dil bhi kitna paagal hain, yeh pyaar to tum se karta hain and he loved it,” he was quoted as saying.
Ask Kumar Sanu on this and the singer, speaking from London, admits that he does not know the details of the replacement. “All I can tell you is that the first time I heard the song in the studio I knew it will be a superhit,” he says.
Interestingly, in Saajan, Sanu had just one duet with Alka Yagnik, Mera dil bhi kitna paagal hain, yeh pyaar to tum se karta hain, and another which he sang along with Alka, SP Balasubrahmanyam and Anuradha Paudwal--Jiye to jiye kaise bin aapke.
The Lawrence D’Souza-directed film, partly inspired by the French play Cyrano de Bergerac, revolves around a disabled poet Aman who falls in love with his pen pal, Pooja, who only knows him by his pseudonym Sagar. Pooja is besotted by Sagar and his poetry, but Aman’s brother Aakash (the orphaned Aman was adopted by Aman’s rich parents)
falls for her and romances her under the guise of Sagar till the truth dawns on all three.
Since Salman Khan was playing the extrovert, exuberant Aakash, SP Balasubrahmanyam who had become his ‘voice’ after Maine Pyaar Kiya, got to sing most of the songs. However, it was Sanu’s Mera dil bhi kitna pagal hain that turned out to be the biggest hit.
“Each time, I stepped out of the recording room after completing a song which Nadeem felt would be a chartbuster, he would take out a bundle of Rs 500 notes and after waving it around my head would distribute it to the studio workers. So the workers were really happy to see me,” laughs Nadeem’s ‘Tiger’, admitting that this ritual was followed for this song too.
This was the first time Sanu was singing for Sanjay Dutt. Sanjay with his Lochinvar locks and sculpted physique had the image of an action hero. Saajan, which projected him as a romantic, sacrificing poet, was a turning point in his career.
“After the film’s release, Sanjay insisted that I sing for him in Sadak too,” says Sanu.
For the singer, Saajan was also made memorable by Madhuri whose remains his favourite heroine, alongside Sridevi, whose Sadma had a lasting impression on him. Sanu remembers arriving at the film’s premiere late and quietly slipping into his seat to watch his songs come to life on screen.
“Later, I saw the film again in the theatre and every time one of the songs came, there would be a shower of coins. Even today, at every show, I have to sing Mera dil bhi kitna pagal hain on public demand. It still drives people crazy.”
The film, starring
Interestingly, in an interview to the magazine soon after bagging the coveted Black Lady, Nadeem had admitted that Laxmikanth and Pyarelal were initially signed for the love triangle.
But the film’s producer Sudhakar Bokade was swayed when he heard the composition by Nadeem-Shravan. “The first tune we played for Sudhakarji was Mera dil bhi kitna paagal hain, yeh pyaar to tum se karta hain and he loved it,” he was quoted as saying.
Ask Kumar Sanu on this and the singer, speaking from London, admits that he does not know the details of the replacement. “All I can tell you is that the first time I heard the song in the studio I knew it will be a superhit,” he says.
After Aashiqui, Nadeem-Shravan and Sanu had become a hit team. During that period, Sanu recalls singing 10-12 songs a day. “I don’t think any other singer has seen that kind of phenomenal success. I sang as many as five-six songs in a film and each one was a super success,” he exults.
Interestingly, in Saajan, Sanu had just one duet with Alka Yagnik, Mera dil bhi kitna paagal hain, yeh pyaar to tum se karta hain, and another which he sang along with Alka, SP Balasubrahmanyam and Anuradha Paudwal--Jiye to jiye kaise bin aapke.
The Lawrence D’Souza-directed film, partly inspired by the French play Cyrano de Bergerac, revolves around a disabled poet Aman who falls in love with his pen pal, Pooja, who only knows him by his pseudonym Sagar. Pooja is besotted by Sagar and his poetry, but Aman’s brother Aakash (the orphaned Aman was adopted by Aman’s rich parents)
falls for her and romances her under the guise of Sagar till the truth dawns on all three.
Since Salman Khan was playing the extrovert, exuberant Aakash, SP Balasubrahmanyam who had become his ‘voice’ after Maine Pyaar Kiya, got to sing most of the songs. However, it was Sanu’s Mera dil bhi kitna pagal hain that turned out to be the biggest hit.
“Each time, I stepped out of the recording room after completing a song which Nadeem felt would be a chartbuster, he would take out a bundle of Rs 500 notes and after waving it around my head would distribute it to the studio workers. So the workers were really happy to see me,” laughs Nadeem’s ‘Tiger’, admitting that this ritual was followed for this song too.
This was the first time Sanu was singing for Sanjay Dutt. Sanjay with his Lochinvar locks and sculpted physique had the image of an action hero. Saajan, which projected him as a romantic, sacrificing poet, was a turning point in his career.
“After the film’s release, Sanjay insisted that I sing for him in Sadak too,” says Sanu.
For the singer, Saajan was also made memorable by Madhuri whose remains his favourite heroine, alongside Sridevi, whose Sadma had a lasting impression on him. Sanu remembers arriving at the film’s premiere late and quietly slipping into his seat to watch his songs come to life on screen.
“Later, I saw the film again in the theatre and every time one of the songs came, there would be a shower of coins. Even today, at every show, I have to sing Mera dil bhi kitna pagal hain on public demand. It still drives people crazy.”
