I love this song “kai baar yuhi dekha hai….’’ from the Hindi film ‘’Rajnigandha’’ released in 1974. The film was directed by Basu Chaterjee. Rjanigandha was based on the short story “Yahi Sach Hai” by noted Hindi writer Mannu Bhandari. The movie starred Amol Palekar, Vidya Sinha and Dinesh Thakur in the lead. The lyrics of the song kai bar yuhi dekha hai are powered by Yogesh. It is more like a song that reminisces about the past and takes stock of days gone by. The protagonists in the song Vidya Sinha and Dinesh Thakur have tender feelings for each other, but they are too hesitant to express themselves. During the song when the protagonists are sitting in the cab, the heroin’s saree pallu keeps falling on her friend’s (Dinesh Thakur’s) palm; it is suggestive of her again getting attracted to him.
The song is very classy; evocative lyrics, sung by great Mukesh and the evergreen music by Salil Chodhary have made the song eternal. The first stanza talks about mind crossing its boundaries in search of unknown. I think all of us go through situation like this: we cross the boundaries of our mind, to quench the thirst of unknown. We have so many unknown desires the mind sprints to fulfill those unknown aspirations. Its strange how life works: you want something and you wait and wait and feel like it’s taking perpetually your life for it to come. Then it happens suddenly and it’s over and all you want to do is curl back up in that moment before things change.
The second stanza expresses how mind indulges in unknown desires and fantasies. The imaginary, daydreams keep playing in our head. Most fantasies, whether conscious or unconscious, serve a specific purpose. They can be entertaining, distracting, frightening, or, in the case of getting attracted to somebody, sometimes thoughts of arousal etc. The lyricist Yogesh says further that our life is like a garden which blooms so many flowers…the variety are uncountable; among the bloom which flower should I pick and save it in my mind.
Though the song is sung by male singer Mukesh, it is picturised more on the emotions of the female protagonist of the movie – Vidya Sinha. In the last stanza the song lyrics are: I am not sure who to select as my mate, there is such a lot of dilemma. The song shows flashes of the heroin with her three mates. So, she is confused whom to select as her soul mate, who to marry for rest of life and whom to forget. After all, choosing a life partner is one of the most important decisions of life and the process is so confusing.
This song won the national award for the best song of the year in 1974.
