#retro bollywood

[the-devi-wears-prada]

~🗡️~

[kajra-re]

Shabana Azmi, Swami, 1977.

[biharanbitch]

Jitna chahe Taylor swift, kanye, Ariana sunlo par....

🌷🌷🌷🌷🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌷🌷🌷🌷

Babu pyaar to tumko Hindi cinema k gaano se hi hoga, tum roge bhi to isike gaano pe zyada. Urdu Hindi mei gaane nhi sune to mehsoos kya kiya? Agar wo shabd aasun na laade to dard jiya kya?

[forever70s]

Saira Banu and Manoj Kumar in "Purab Aur Pachhim" (1970)

[desi-ambivert-nerd]

Madhubala 💗💗💗

Madhubala was manifestation of cuteness itself. Of course, if 'cuteness overloaded' ever had a face, it was Madhubala.

She was one of remarkarble actress of in 50's and 60's and was very much successful due to her beauty, talent and charm. However she died at a very young age of 36.

Her real name was Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi. She was born in Delhi. Later she shifted to Bombay with her family. Here, she began her acting career as a child actor.

Her remarkable movies include Chalti ka naam gaadi, Kaala pani, Mughal-e-azam etc.

She later married Legendary singer Kishore Kumar. However their marriage didn't last long as she died very young.

She is still known for playing the role of Anarkali in Mughal-e-Azam and other movies too.

[arctic-bandar]

When she's a "I've got a blank space baby and I'll write your name" kinda girl

but im a "Kora kagaz tha ye man mera, likh Diya naam ispe Tera" kinda boy

[tumharimummykibahu]

एक प्यार का नगमा है

मौजों की रवानी है

जिंदगी और कुछ भी नहीं

तेरी मेरी कहानी है

[aadhiskanmani]

[luciferslilith7]

"Jhumka Gira re Bareli ke Baazar mein"

Picture credit~ 📍 pinterest

[bishh-kanya]

[youremyheaven]

Sufi Love Through the Lens of Bollywood Music

Bollywood music is heavily influenced by Sufism and Sufi notions of love permeate the lyrics of most romantic songs. I want to explore some important Sufi concepts and how they manifest themselves in these songs and within the context of these movies.

Chand Sifarish from the movie Fanaa

"Zid hain ab toh hain khud ko mitaana, hona hain tujh mein fanaa"

trans: "I insist on ridding myself of me, I want to annihilate myself in you"

Bollywood romantic songs often emphasize on yearning, seeking and longing for the lover and Sufi poetry which speaks of a soul's yearning to unite with God serves as a useful metaphor to speak of the same. The intense, maddening, spiritual kind of love, although seldom portrayed accurately on screen is ever present in song lyrics. The concept of "twin flames" has been popular in the West for the last couple of years and is by and large, very misunderstood. From a purely spiritual perspective, The Lover and The Beloved are in each other all along (similar to the Jungian concept of anima & animus but slightly different) and yearn to unite with each other. In order for union to be possible however, one must first destroy their "ego" which they call "self".

2. Raabta from Agent Vinod

"Tera milna hai us rab ka ishaara maanu, Mujhko banaya tere jaise hi kisi ke liye"

trans: Meeting you was a signal from God, that he had made me for someone like you

There is a lot of emphasis on the soul's innate knowing and its longing for love which is its longing for God and how seeking union with the Beloved is the inner knowing to realise one's God nature and unite with God in Sufism. This song captures that feeling of things being "destined" and how God has always guided your union.

3. Katra Katra from Alone

"Khud se khaali ho jaoon, aaja tujhse bhar jaoon. Tinka, tinka jal jaoon. Aise jala do"

trans: "let me empty myself, let me fill myself with you. i want to burn up, twig by twig and you burn me."

This is a very erotic song and speaks of love in a very carnal way. However, this idea of dissolving yourself in your lover is a very Sufi one. What is love, if not absolute submersion in the object of your desire?

4. Satrangi Re from Dil Se

This movie itself is very deeply spiritual and I suggest watching it. However this song beautifully captures the 7 stages of love and two people going through it, in a very poetic and profound way. Go watch it!!

Some poignant lyrics include:

Dil ka saaya humsaaya

trans: The shadow of my heart is your shadow

(In my post about twin flames, I had touched upon this but I'll make another post about how the Jungian concept of shadow work and integrating your shadow is to understand your twin and merge them within your consciousness)

Koi noor hai tu (Are you a light?)

Kyun door hai tu (Why are you so far away)

Jab paas hai tu (When you're near me)

Ehsaas hai tu (Then you're a feeling itself)

Koi khwaab hai ya parchai hai (Are you a dream or a shadow?)

These lines alone capture the bittersweet, all consuming, indescribable and maddening feelings that a twin triggers in us.

I also highly suggest reading the lyric translation of this song as a whole because it captures the twin flame experience so exquisitely.

5. Tujh mein rab dikhta hai from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

"Tujh mein rab dikhta hai

Yaara main kya karoon

Sajde sar jhukta hai

Yaara main kya karoon"

trans: I see God in you my beloved, what do I do? My head bows down in worship to you my beloved, what do I do?

in my post I had mentioned the 7 stages of love, one of which is worship for the beloved. this song beautifully captures that feeling, of being absolutely devoted and enraptured by the beloved, that nothing less than worship could equate to how you feel for them. its beyond love, beyond admiration, its a holy kind of emotion, its devotion.

🧜🏼‍♀️🦢🦋👼🏼🧚🏼‍♀️🕊🐳👸🏼🧚🏼‍♂️🦋🦢🧜🏼‍♀️🕊🧚🏼‍♀️🦋👼🏼🐳🕊🕊🧚🏼‍♀️👸🏼🧚🏼‍♂️🧜🏼‍♀️🦢🦋

i wanted to keep this post brief so that it can be an accessible entry point but lmk if you want more posts of this kind!! i hope this was interesting💛💛

[the-devi-wears-prada]

~ 🪕~

[kajra-re]

Shabana Azmi, Swami, 1977.

[forever70s]

Saira Banu

[itsfookingloosah]

let's say, hypothetically, ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si. And for the sake of drama, let's add, soti raaton mein jaagi si. Now, if we were to conclude, mili ek ajnabee se koi aage na peeche.

Tum hi batao yeh koi baat hai?

[vintageindianclothing]

Follow the link for a breakdown of the retro styles of Aaina (1993)