First Take | Watching Kajra Re First Day’s Shoot Was History Being Made

Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan in a still from Bunty Aur Babli. YouTube

As the utterly silly sequel of the 2005 film Bunty Aur Babli hits theatres this week, I couldn’t help recall the film’s USP, the item song Kajra re kajra re composed by Shankar Mahadevan and sung by Alisha Chinai and Shankar. Kajra re created the kind of cinematic history that songs like Pyar kiya to darna kya (Mughal-e-Azam), Bindiya chamkegi (Do Raaste) and Jhumka gira re (Mere Saaya) had done prior to Kajra re; no item song has created the same impact ever since.

I am happy and proud to say I was a witness to the shooting of the Kajra re song. It was Abhishek Bachchan’s birthday in 2005 and I was in Mumbai.So I dropped in at the set with a cake. Abhishek and his father were both shooting and they suggested I join them on the set where a ‘very special song’ was being shot with a ‘very special guest star’. They didn’t tell me who the guest was, but father-son kept exchanging mischievous glances.

My curiosity was whetted. I went into the huge set which represented a dance bar. Shaad Ali and choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant were on the set. The song was playing in the background: Aankhen bhi kamaal karte hain/Personal se sawaal karte hain…

Then the special guest waltzed in with the father and son Bachchan. Aishwarya Rai (sans the Bachchan surname) looked like a dream. I have always maintained she is far more beautiful in person than on screen. No camera can capture her laughing eyes and dancing lips. The way I saw her dancing with papa and beta Bachchan that February afternoon(at that time she was not related to them) made everyone on the set gasp in wonderment.

I asked Shaad how the hell he made Gulzar Saab write lyrics like aankhen personal sawaal karte hain. Shaad laughed. “He is as young as you want him to be . Do you like the song?”

I wasn’t sure. I told Mr Bachchan I found the song a “a little dry.”

He laughed in my face and prophesied, “Do you want to bet, this would be the biggest chartbuster of my career. Much bigger than Mere angnein mein tumhara kya kaam hai.”

He was right. It changed the lives of those involved with the song. Alisha Chinai who was paid a paltry 15,000 rupees for it, never sang a bigger hit. Shankar Mahadevan never composed a bigger chartbuster. And Aishwarya Rai never danced to a more massy sassy tune.

Choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant told me it stamped her career.“Kajra re changed the course of my career. It’s become my signature tune and the steps are the signature steps that even random strangers ask me to perform for them. Bhaaaaaaago! But honestly, I don’t blame people for imitating those steps. After all, it had three of the biggest stars dancing together .Wow!”

Recalling the shooting of the song Vaibhavi said, “The first day of shooting was Abhishek Bachchan’s birthday, so we started shooting very late. I had Aishwarya Rai on the bar-room set with me. Before I knew it she had mastered the steps, and she was rocking it!! Last, and certainly not the least, it was time to make the one-and-only Mr Amitabh Bachchan dance. And it was a treat to give him my steps to do. Mr Bachchan warned me. He told me I’d get into trouble for making him and Abhishek dance on the bar. Mr Bachchan felt Jaya Aunty won’t like father and son dancing in a den of drunkenness. Lekin aise mauke ‘bar-bar’ nahin aate, ha ha. I plunged into the challenge. And guess what? Jaya Aunty loved the song the most!”

Kajra re was truly special for Vaibhavi. “A once-in-a-lifetime experience. I’ve a special bonding with the Bunty Aur Babli director Shaad Ali. I end up doing some of my most fun songs with him. Like me, he’s truly crazy! I remember I was tense when Kajra re came on in the theatre. How would audiences react to father and son dancing together with Aishwarya? When I saw the audience coming out of the theatre they were doing the signature steps from Kajra re. I knew we had a winner on our hands. I’ve to perform Kajra re at every show . And I love it.”

For Abhishek Bachchan, Bunty Aur Babli was like a picnic.”No, in fact, it was even better. All of us – dad, Rani and me – were getting paid for having fun. We should’ve paid them for giving us a chance to freak out, full-blast.”

“This was (director) Shaad Ali’s ode to the kitschy cinema of the 1960s and 70s. Kitsch can be very creative while being entertaining. Bunty Aur Babli proves it.It’s a movie that takes you on a journey. Bunty Aur Babli is about the dreams and aspirations of these two characters Rakesh and Vimi who become famous as Bunty and Babli. This was escapist cinema at its best. The average man and woman identify with Rani and me. We’re stifled by the environment that we’re born and brought up in. Our efforts to break away from the small-town environment will be understood by every member of the audience.We all have dared to dream. But few dare to implement those dreams. Bunty and Babli dare to do the outrageous and sometimes unlawful. It’s a wish-fulfilment flick.We shot in the heartland of Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal. This is almost home ground for the Bachchans. We loved mingling with the people in Uttar Pradesh. I had never been to that part of the country. Usually our films have the protagonists based in the big city. ‘Bunty Aur Babli’ is about their journey. It’s a film rooted to reality and yet it’s a fantasy. Rani and I are living out a dream. And both of us got to get into various disguises. It was very exciting to go on the sets and get to play different people every day.”

“Rani and I just freaked out. Shaad was so well prepared, Rani and I just had to get there and do it. It’s always great fun shooting with Rani. She is a very good friend and a wonderful co-star. A lot of the plot in ‘Bunty Aur Babli‘ depends on the chemistry between our characters. During the narration, Shaad had stressed the compatibility factor between the actors. Having Rani on the other side made it easy for me.”

Sorry, I just don’t see the same camaraderie between Rani and Saif. To replace Abhishek with Saif is the sequel’s biggest mistake. Come to think of it, the sequel is a mistake. Kajra re defined the spirit of the original Bunty Aur Babli. You can’t separate the song from the film and get away with it. Bunty Aur Babli without Kajra re is like Agra without the Taj Mahal.