Amitabh Bacchan marries a village girl with a golden voice in Abhimaan (1973)
Today, we present the lyrics and English translation of an evergreen duet from Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Abhimaan (1975): terii bi.ndiyaa re . Starring Amitabh Bacchan and Jaya Bhaduri, Abhimaan narrates the story of an ill-fated love between two singers that eventually approaches it breaking point when a husband’s masculine ego suffers a wound from his wife’s overwhelming professional success.
Given that this film revolves around a playback singing couple, the composition of its soundtrack naturally demanded a music director par excellence. In this case, director Hrishikesh Mukherjee chose veteran composer S.D. Burman to do the job–and what a job he did! Aside from the duet presented here, the Lata solos “nadiyaa kinaare,” “ab to hai tum se,” and “piyaa binaa,” the Kishore solo “miit na milaa re man kaa,” and the Lata-Kishore duet “tere mere milan kii yah rainaa” are still cherished by fans today. S.D. Burman’s compositions in this film won him his last Filmfare Award for Best Music Director before his death in 1975.
The duet terii bindiyaa re is sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi at a point in the film where Amitabh Bacchan introduces his newly wedded wife Jaya Bhaduri at their wedding reception. In response to a request, they sing this duet for the guests at their party. Here, Majrooh Sultanpuri’s lyrics describe the allure of a woman’s ornaments, specifically her bi.ndiyaa (beauty spot), jhumkaa (earring), and ka.nganaa (bangle). Voiced by Lata Mangeshkar on playback, Jaya Bhaduri offers an on-screen performance that illustrates a wife’s admiration and respect for her husband. Since this song takes place before Amitabh Bacchan’s tragic descent into insecurity, he is able to reciprocate with affection and warmth. However, after this performance, a classical musician (played by David) in the audience recognizes that Jaya is the technically superior singer and expresses concern about the couple’s future…watch the film to see how the drama unfolds!
Those of you who are more musically inclined may have noticed that this song is based in rupak taal, a 7-beat rhythmic cycle that was used far less frequently by Bollywood composers than kaharva taal (8 beats) or dadra taal (6 beats). Interestingly, S.D. Burman has also used this unconventional rhythmic pattern skillfully in the film’s other popular duet tere mere milan kii yah rainaa.
What are some of your other favorite Hindi songs that describe female ornaments? Feel free to share with us in the comments! Until next time…
– Mr. 55
Jaya Bacchan gives a Filmfare Award-winning performance as a humble and talented singer whose success in the music industry ultimately hurts her husband’s ego.
Teri Bindiya Re: Lyrics and Translation
terii bi.ndiyaa re, re aay haay!
Your beauty spot, oh!
sajan, bi.ndiyaa le legii terii ni.ndiyaa
Oh beloved, my beauty spot will steal away your sleep.
re aay haay! terii bindiyaa re
Oh, your beauty spot!
tere maathe lage hai.n yuu.n jaise chandaa taaraa
It clings to your forehead like a star to the moon.
jiyaa me.n chamke kabhii kabhii to, jaise koii a.ngaaraa
It shines in my heart from time to time, as if it were a glowing ember.
tere maathe lage hai.n yuu.n
It clings to your forehead.
sajan, nindiyaa le legii, le legii, le legii merii bi.ndiyaa
Beloved, my beauty spot will steal away your sleep.
re aay haay! teraa jhumkaa re
Oh, your earring!
chain lene na degaa sajan tum kaa
It will not let you be at peace, beloved.
re aay haay! meraa jhumkaa re
Oh, my earring!
meraa gahnaa balam tuu, tose saj ke Doluu.n
You are my jewelry, beloved. Adorning myself with you, I will dance.
bhaTakte hai.n tere hii nainaa, mai.n to kuchh na boluu.n
Your eyes wander, yet I say nothing at all.
meraa gahnaa balam tuu
You are my jewelry, beloved.
to phir yah kyaa bole hai, bole hai, bole hai teraa ka.nganaa?
Then, what is it that your bangle says?
re aay haay! meraa kanganaa re
Oh, my bangle!
bole re ab to chhuuTe na teraa a.nganaa
It says that it will not leave your courtyard.
re aay haay! teraa ka.nganaa re
Oh, your bangle!
tuu aayii hai sajaniyaa, jab se merii ban ke
Beloved, since you came to me and became mine,
Thuumak-Thuumak chale hai tu, merii nas-nas khanke
your strutting has made me feel a jitter in my veins.
tuu aayii hai sajaniyaa
Beloved, since you came to me.
sajan, ab to chhuuTe na, chhuuTe na, chhuuTe na, teraa anganaa
Beloved, it will not leave your courtyard.
re aay haay! teraa ka.nganaa re
Oh, your bangle!
sajan, ab to chuuTe na teraa a.nganaa
Beloved, it will not leave your courtyard.
re aay haay! teraa a.nganaa re
Oh, your courtyard!
*Female lines in red are sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Male lines in green are sung by Mohammed Rafi.
Glossary
bindiyaa: beauty spot; nindiyaa: sleep; jiyaa: heart; chamkaanaa: to shine, glow; angaaraa: ember; jhumkaa: earring; sajan: beloved; gahnaa: jewelry; balam: beloved; tose: from you, an archaic form of ‘tujhse‘; sajnaa: to adorn; Dolnaa: to swing, dance; bhaTaknaa: to wander; nainaa: eye; kanganaa: bangle; chhuTnaa: to leave, forsake; a.nganaa: courtyard; sajaniyaa: beloved; Thumak-Thumak chalnaa: to strutter; nas-nas: veins; khanaknaa: to jitter.
In her first major non-vamp role, Bindu plays the ‘other woman’ as a rich socialite who fawns over Amitabh Bacchan in Abhimaan (1973).
Mr. & Mrs. 55 - Classic Bollywood Revisited! 
Hello!! Firstly I have to say your blog is amazing! It’s refreshing to come across fellow classic-Bollywood-o-philes of today’s generation (which is a rare find in itself) and even more so seeing as you have preserved a lost collection for us, using our very own medium, the Internet. Thank you so much for helping to give hope and breathe new life to a collection of music that would have (sadly) otherwise been likely rendered extinct by the end of the decade.
Also I find your own commentary very funny! As a 20 year old who respects and values songs such as “Tumhi Meri Mandir” and “Aapke Nazron Me Samja” and can get lost in the magic of the music and the swirl of emotions… It has never really occurred to me that these songs were steps back in feminism, as opposed to profound declarations of love penned in poetry and coloured in melody. However I definitely had more than one chuckle at the thought of how such lyrics (removing the poetry and charms of the music itself) might be regarded as anathema today.
As I said, I thoroughly enjoy listening to these songs and almost every single number you have discussed here is in my personal list of favourites. I also enjoy singing them, despite my lack of the Hindi knowledge (I am Canadian born) and so I was extremely happy to find your treasure trove of translations which have allowed me to appreciate the music even more.
I have so many requests I would like you to translate, but at the top of my list is a black and white number, “Man Re Tumhi bata kya gaoun” as it is the saddest song I have ever come across and it always brings me to tears despite the fact that I don’t know what it means, save for a few words here and there.
I’m sure you have heard the song before but I will attach a YouTube link: http://youtu.be/xR_kGplmnWA
Thank you so much! It would mean the world to me if you could translate this!!
Thank you!
Zo
Thank you so much for your lovely comments! We love to meet other young individuals of the new generation who share our passion for vintage Hindi cinema and its music.
Stay tuned in the coming month for a post on your request “man re tu hii bataa kyaa gaauu.n”!
Beautiful response! Thank you.
Beautiful song & lyrics, …..
Besides the songs already mentioned in your earlier post & comments, here are a few more that I missed out :
One of my favorites – “Taaron mein sajke, apne suraj se” : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB1HvSosw2M
Another from the same film [jal bin machchli nritya bin bijli] – “kajraa lagaa ke bindiya sajaa ke…”
“Bindiya chamkegi, chuudi khankegi” from Do Raaste
“Chuudi nahin yeh mera dil hai” from Gambler — simply Love the metaphor
“Dhaani chunari pahen…” from Hare Kaanch ki Chooriyan — love the beat & pace
“Husn-e-jaana idhar aa” from Saathi – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHzQ5x-t0FU. I think this conforms to the sentiment expressed in the song from Abhimaan, even if not exactly about ornamentation, ….
There are a whole lot of songs on paayal & ghungroos, too.
Great additions, as usual! I especially love “bi.ndiyaa chamkegii” and the songs from JBMNBB. Such a weird film, but the soundtrack is lovely!
Great song.. as always good analysis.. ornaments always make great songs..who can forget “main to kar aayee solah shringar” from thade rahiyo.. Always made me wonder what solah shringar would be..?
Or perhaps on the other end of spectrum Paayaliya from Deewana by Sameer..!
Stay tuned for an upcoming post on your question about what “solaah si.ngaar” entails!
Loved this post- perhaps most people think like I do that this movie also mirrored in some ways the real life of the Bachans- Jaya was so much more talented than her husband but just like in the movie, put herself in the background, allowing Mr. Abhimaan, I mean Amitabh, flourish in his career.
Interesting observation about Jaya and Amitabh. Although , in reality the movie was based on the married life of Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar and his wife Annapurna Devi. Those who have had the privilege of listening to her live swear that she was better than Ravi Shankar.
You can read about this here :
A truly fascinating article. Thank you for sharing!
Another great song in rupak is piya tose naina lage re from Guide.
Your blog is really amazing by the way. Its become a habit for me to come here regularly and I kind of wait for the next update now. 🙂
Something about me , I am 31 yrs old , live in Noida and grew up listening to Lata/Rafi songs as my parents were big Bollywood music fans. On the downside , my knowledge of Asha/Kishore is slightly less. But i have tried to make up for that.
Nowadays ofcourse i am much more inclined towards pure classical music , trying to learn Hindustani vocal at such a late age. 😀
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Mathe Ki Bindiya Bole – Mohammed Rafi & Anuradha Paudwal – Lahu Ke Do Rang (1979) – Bappi Lahiri – Farooq Qaiser
Raat Lagaa Ke Aayi Chandaa Ke Bindiyaa – Lata Mangeshkar – Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1960) – Khaiyyaam – Raja Mehdi Ali Khan
Taaron Ki Chunar Chande Ki Bindiya – Suman Kalyanpur – Nai Maa (1960) – Ravi – P. L. Santoshi
Bani Teri Bindiyaa – Lakshmi Shankar – Do Boond Pani (1971) – Jaidev – Balkavi Bairagi
Kahe Bindiya Lagai – Mohammed Rafi & Anuradha Paudwal – Sharda (1981) – Laxmikant Pyarelal – Anand Bakshi
Bindiya tarse kajra barse – Lata Mangeshkar – Phir Wohi Raat (1980) – R. D. Burman – Majrooh Sultanpuri
Khanke Kangan Bindiya – Lata Mangeshkar – Dr. Vidya (1962) – S. D. Burman – Majrooh Sultanpuri
Thanks for the translation of an amazing song. What music! What lyrics!
Can you please add the other songs from Abhimaan too: “Tere mere milan” “Meet na mila” “Piya bina” and “Nadiyan kinare”?
Thanks!!
Continuing my earlier comment … the tabla in “Nadiyan kinare” is particularly good. It is set to a 3-beat cycle and I like the way the tabla plays a syncopated rhythm.
Your linked Youtube version gives only 3 min of the song and leaves out the last stanza. You may like to update it for a fuller version.
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I used to wonder if this song was taken in Rafi’s song to rub the fact that he no longer was the number 1 male singer in Bollywood after the Kishore wave. Pretty insulting for an artist to have his song picturised this way. But irrespective of Kishore wave or now, Lata was always technically superior to him or to any male or female songers.