Dil Se... is my absolute favourite movie - read more on why I love it, here. As is well known, the movie Dil Se... depicts the seven shades of love, namely - attraction, infatuation, love, reverence, worship, obsession, and death. And the one song that brilliantly conveys it - as the title indicates - is Satrangi Re. So how do we see the seven shades of love? The lyrics and the picturization of the song is what goes hand-in-hand to do it. So presenting to you, the seven shades...
...but wait, I'm confused as to how I'll put the lyrics, its translation and the images so that you'll get what it's all about! Nevertheless, follow me!
Credits -
Movie: Dil Se...
Song: Satrangi Re
Lyrics: Gulzar
Music: A R Rehman
Singers: Sonu Nigam, Kavitha Krishnamoorthy
Tu hi tu, tu hi tu satrangi re
You, it's you - you are the seven-coloured one
Tu hi tu, tu hi tu mann-rangi re
You, it's you - you are the one with a colourful spirit
You, it's you - you are the seven-coloured one
Tu hi tu, tu hi tu mann-rangi re
You, it's you - you are the one with a colourful spirit
Notice how they both are in black - even as the song begins on a 'colourful' note
***Attraction***
Dil ka saaya hamsaaya, satrangi re... mann-rangi re
The shadow on my heart is your many colours
The shadow on my heart is your many colours
Koi noor hai tu, kyon door hai tu?
You are the light; but why are you so distant?
Jab paas hai tu, ehsaas hai tu... satrangi re
When you are near, you are feeling itself (or he's continuing the comparison with light; and says when you are near, I can feel you - like I can feel the light)
Koi khwaab hai ya parchaai hai, satrangi re, satrangi re
Are you a dream, or a shadow?
Are you a dream, or a shadow?
Is baar bata muh-zor hawa thehregi kahaan?
Tell me, where will this forceful wind come to a halt?
Ishq par zor nahin hai yeh woh aatish Ghalib
Jo lagaye na lage, aur bujhaaye na bane
Ghalib was an Urdu poet. This is a shair, or verse, from one of his ghazals; a form of poetry in which the poet often finds a way to include his own name in the verse. The verse is brilliant because ghalib means 'overcoming', 'triumphant', 'dominant' or 'victorious'. And so the verse could literally reads:
"No one has control over love; it is a ghalib (triumphant) fire/firework;
"No one has control over love; it is a ghalib (triumphant) fire/firework;
It can neither be kindled on a whim, nor extinguished when you desire."
Notice how he's in black (in the dark) and she's in white (the light) and he's yearning to cross over - to traverse from darkness to light, perhaps?
Aankhon ne kuch aise chua
Her eyes, they touched me so...
Halka halka uns hua
...Gently, and gently I was infatuated
Dil ko ye mehsoos hua
My heart felt it
***Infatuation***
Tu hi tu, tu hi tu - jeene ki saari khushboo
You, it's you - you are the fragrance of living/life
Tu hi tu, tu hi tu aarzu aarzu
You, it's you - you are my longing
Teri jism ki aanch ko choote hi
As soon as I touch the flame that is your body
Meri saans sulagne lagati hai
My breath is ignited
Note the burning tree in the backdrop; a perfect prop to depict his fire
Mujhe ishq dilaase deta hai
Love consoles/calms/comforts me
Mere dard bilakhne lagte hai
But my pain sobs noisily
This is just to say that I love this 'twirling' technique! I've seen this in Alaipayuthey/Saathiya too - Mani Ratnam Trademark?
***Love***
***Love***
Tu hi tu, tu hi tu - jeene ki saari khushboo
Tu hi tu, tu hi tu aarzu aarzu
Chooti hai mujhe sargoshi se
You touch me like a whisper
Aankhon mein ghuli khaamoshi se
My eyes, with silence dissolved in them...
Can't you see it too? The reverence in his eyes!
***Reverence***
***Reverence***
Main farsh pe sajde karta hoon
On the floor, I offer my prayers to you
Kuch hosh mein kuch behoshi se
Kuch hosh mein kuch behoshi se
Some consciously, and some unconsciously
***Worship***
This bit is for the choreography - I am not sure, but to me, this appears like the 'two-bodies-one-soul' depiction. And this idea was (is?) pretty different.
My interpretation - she's like the water; leaving him thirsty for more
Teri raahon mein uljha-uljha hoon
I am entangled in your ways
Teri baahon mein uljha-uljha
I'm entangled in your embrace
The prop is (very aptly) the Rope. He's entangled by her.
Suljhaane de hosh mujhe
Let me disentangle my senses
Teri chaah mein uljha hoon
For, I'm so ensnared by your desires!
Mera jeena junoon, mera marna junoon
My life is submitted to your obsession; and so it'll be until death
Ab iske siwa nahi koi sukoon
Save this, there is no peace
A maddening frenzy and trance - the anticlimax
***Obsession***
Tu hi tu, tu hi tu satrangi re
Tu hi tu, tu hi tu mann-rangi re
Ishq par zor nahin hai yeh woh aatish Ghalib
Jo lagaye na lage, aur bujhaaye na bane
Mujhe maut ki god mein sone de
Let me sleep in the lap of death!
Teri rooh mein jism dubone de
Let me dip my body in your soul
Satrangi re... mann-rangi re
And note the end: both of them are in white (i.e. have found light; compare it to the initial scene). Death gave them salvation, perhaps?
***Death***
***Death***
If you didn't still realise, the seven colours do appear in the song (almost- and in the reverse VIBGYOR order, at that!)
For me the magnificence of the lyrics, the visuals, the choreography combined is an overwhelming revelation. Of course, I don't know if I'm reading too much between the lines, but I find this a perfect harmony - what was intended to convey has been beautifully interpreted and presented. The credits have to be given where it's due - Gulzar, Mani Ratnam, A R Rehman, Sonu Nigam - take a bow!
P.S. I do realise that it's a tad too long, and different in structure from my other posts. But I bet you agree that this song deserves this elaboration!
