Global Reset

Chaiyya Chaiyya

Posted by Scott Hughes Fri, 14 Apr 2006 16:56:00 GMT

A few weeks ago, I made a post to my delicious page referring to the Chaiyya Chaiyya song and dance routine from the Bollywood film Dil Se. Since then, I see at least 20 hits a day from google looking for information on Chaiyya Chaiyya. Since the post to delicious quickly scrolled off my sidebar (which only shows the most recent items), I’d thought I’d post it here for all to see.

I discovered the song (like many recent fans) through the recent film The Inside Man. It was the opening song, with a closing version that included some rap from Panjabi MC (whom I also enjoy). The song is immediately infectious. I was searching for more information about it and I discovered the full video on Google Video. It’s an amazing routine performed completely on top of a moving train. I’m not sure what safety measures they had in place, but those dancers sure look brave to me.

According to my friend Chowdary, Chaiyya means shadow. The fella in the red jacket is living in the shadow of love, as he’s obsessed with a beautiful woman. I got some of the song translated, but it kind of takes away from the magic without the lyrical poetry. He assures me that the lyrics are consistent with the video: a very uplifting example of romantic art.

• Chaiyya Chaiyya Bollywood Joint – from iTunes (Panjabi MC Remix)
• The train scene from Dil Se – from Google Video
• Dil Se – on DVD

Spoiler alert: Apparently, the girl the guy is in love with is a terrorist bomber. What a bummer…