Bollywood gets specific with its odes to 'daaru'

Drunken scenes and tipsy songs have played as much role in Bollywood as item songs  from times immemorial. Who can forget actor Amitabh Bachchan’s drunken jig in 'Thodi si jo peeli hai’ in Namak Halal?   Or ‘Jaha chaar yaar miljaaye’ in Sharaabi? But much before that it was bhaang that made the tinselville tipsy, the classic example being Rajesh Khanna-Mumtaz going berserk in the song 'Jai Jai Shivshankar' in the film Aap Ki Kasam.

B-Towners have suddenly re-discovered these moments of intoxication, and are not just writing songs on sharaab,  but are getting specific. For instance, actor Katrina Kaif as Chikni Chameli makes a mention of  pahua, while the quirky trio  of Cocktail — actors Deepika Padukone, Saif Ali Khan, Diana Penty — liken their friendship to  Daaru desi.  Actor John Abraham, a teetotaller in real life, had no qualms in doing an item number called Rum Whisky for his first film production Vicky Donor.

Commenting on the resurgence of the sharaab songs, a veteran filmmaker says, “The number of tipsy songs going up in the recent past, could be to keep up with the youth as they relate to the language better. Most words used like ‘pahua’ which essentially means quarter and ‘daaru’ are popular colloquial Hindi terms for intoxicants that most are aware of today.”

Another actor seconds it,  saying, “These songs are catchy and work well with people who want some masala in the film. Also these songs are projected as item numbers, which get played often on TV. This in turn works very well for the film as they get maximum publicity.”

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh feels that the trend of songs on drinks have always been there, except that they are now raunchier.  “I won’t call it a new trend because of three or four songs in the recent past. Having that one hit track in the film has always been the formula to lure the audience, and that is why they are called item numbers. However, I do think, these numbers are getting raunchier and more explicit."