How Kaate-Nahi-Katte Was Ok But Jalebi Bai Is Not!
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Did you know that item songs have been a staple of Bollywood movies since the 1930s? That’s just a couple of decades after the inception of Bollywood! That’s how long our filmmakers and our society at large have been presenting women as “items”— of lust, love, and desire. Azoorie, a Bollywood actress in the 1930s was probably the first one to gyrate in a somewhat sexual manner on screen.
Since then, item numbers have come a long way. Gaining immense popularity in the 1970s. Item numbers at that time were given to the ‘vamp’ in the movie— the ‘evil’ woman who was characterized by her intense sexual desires. I think we all remember the iconic Helen and her cabaret performances in movies like the cult hit, Don or Caravan (read: Piya Tu Ab Toh Aaja). Those were some iconic numbers!
Now that we’ve got the history lesson out of the way, let’s come to the topic of today’s discussion, which as you can tell is going to be an interesting one!
Source: “>YouTube
Kaate Nahi Katte and Jalebi Bai are two very famous songs in their own rights. While the former is now recognized as a classic love ballad, the latter is a popular dance floor and wedding song that people still tap to! And on the surface, these songs are as opposite as chalk and cheese! I mean the comparison doesn’t even make sense, does it? Well, if you look at it closely, it does.
Source: “>YouTube
Both these songs are immensely sexual. Yes, both of them! Jalebi Bai is an out and out item number in which Mallika Sherawat is seen very fondly making ‘air jalebis’ with her hands (honestly, to me it looks like she’s doing something entirely perverted). While in Kaate Nahi Katte, the beautiful and late Sridevi is wrapped in a thin green saree fantasizing about her love, the ever elusive, Mr. India.
Moreover, in both videos, the two respective women are clearly portrayed as highly sexually charged beings! I mean take a look at Mallika’s in-your-face booty and bosom shakes. That’s pretty obviously vulgar. And so is Sridevi’s tight grip on multiple bamboo poles as well as her intense big O on a pile of hay!
Yet for some unfathomable reason, Mallika’s song is chastised for its vulgarity, while Sridevi’s number is celebrated for its “love” and sensuality. How exactly that happens is beyond me! Both are so similar. But, because Kaate Nahi Katte’s lyrics or theme are not as obviously sexual as Jalebi Bai’s, the former gets a clean chit and the latter is subjected to heavy criticism by the moral police!
And who is this moral police, by the way? It’s mostly the older generation who are always complaining about how obscene and perverted today’s songs are and how clean and innocent the tracks of yore used to be.
To be honest, I think that’s a very thin argument. Bollywood was, by no means, innocent or any less vulgar before. Let’s go back to the history lesson I gave at the start. Item numbers have been around forever with very obvious sexual innuendos in them. Kaate Nahi Katte is no exception to that. Sample these lyrics below:
“Mahaka Mahaka Tera Badan
Bahaka Bahaka Mera Ye Man
Mahaka Mahaka Tera Badan
Bahaka Bahaka Mera Ye Man
Chhalka Chhalka Roop Tera
Chhalka Chhalka Roop Tera
Halka Halka Nasha Mera Nasha Mera Nasha Mera Nasha Mera”
These lines, coupled with the video, very clearly hint at an intense desire for sex. But just because the song is from an era gone by, its vulgarity is largely left unnoticed. On the other hand, in Mallika’s item number, lyrics such as these are trashed as soon as they are sung:
“Poochho yahaan sab se poochh lo, deewano ka main passion
Sab ki zubaan par hoon main, love ki main definition
Koi dekhe, koi chhoo le, jo chhoo le, woh jhoole
Sab mujhse poochhte hain, tu kaun des se aayi (naam)”
Now I’m not saying that Jalebi Bai shouldn’t receive flak for the way it is. It’s just another trashy, obscene item number in a long list of them. But then so is Kaate Nahi Katte! Granted it’s not as apparent as a song in which Mallika herself and the men are seen pointing at her chest, but then there’s a close-up shot of Sridevi’s heaving chest in the video too.Then, why should one song be considered any cleaner than the other?
Yes, the present crop of Bollywood movies is full of songs that are extremely sexual in video and lyrics, but so were songs of the past. So, I don’t really see why Kaate Nahi Katte was okay but Jalebi Bai isn’t. Right?
The only difference between the two is that Kaate Nahi Katte was a veiled attempt at vulgarity while Jalebi Bai is honest about what it is. So, if songs like Kaate Nahi Katte were acceptable, tracks like Jalebi Bai should be as well. Don’t you think? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
