Leela Chandavarkar and Rajesh Khanna flirt through fabricated barriers in Mehboob Ki Mehndi (1971).

Today we present the lyrics and English translation of “Yeh Jo Chilman Hai” from Mehboob Ki Mehndi (1971). If you need a strong pick-me-up, this is your song. I just finished a series of harrowing exams at school, and nothing but Mohammed Rafi singing for Rajesh Khanna in a decadent Muslim social could really bring me back to life. It’s Rajesh Khanna at his finest. For anyone uninitiated, his signature, devastating wink is usually the much-anticipated climax of any of Rajesh Khanna’s songs. In Mehboob Ki Mehndi, Rajesh Khanna plays the handsome hero Yusuf: Lucknowi college student by day, winking hero by night. Blessed with the seduction-engorged vocals of Mohammed Rafi, he charms the “sharmilee” out of Leela Chandavarkar on the eve of their wedding in “Yeh Jo Chilman Hai” so deftly, I dare you to try watching it all the way through without blushing with delight!

Did I mention Leela Chandavarkar is perfection itself in this film? Her doll-like face almost steals the show–and that’s no easy feat with Rajesh Khanna in the room!

A complement to genre favorites “Chaudhvin Ka Chand” and “Mere Mehboob Tujhe,” this song is the swoon-worthy achievement of a rare Rafi-Rajesh Khanna merger. So to lift the spirits, I present to you a complete gallery of Rajesh Khanna’s inimitable winks from this gem of a song, a bouquet of mid-wink glimpses of our favorite lady-killer. Click each wink for more detail. I counted a total of 15 winks throughout the song! You do the math, folks. That’s about a wink every 17 seconds. It’s exhausting!

Rajesh Khanna Wink Bouquet:

Rajesh Khanna starts us off nice and easy.

With a devastating close-up shot, Rajesh Khanna displays the full range of his eyelashes.

Rajesh Khanna strikes a manly pose for his third wink of the song.

Moving in for the kill, Rajesh leans forward whilst winking.

Rajesh Khanna gets caught in the philosophical moment of the song mid-wink.

A rarely seen behind-the-pardah wink!

That’s right, come a little closer.

Shy winking is where Rajesh Khanna really shines.

With a perfectly oval coiffe, Rajesh Khanna winks his heart out as the song climaxes.

The giggly wink, another Rajesh Khanna speciality.

Rajesh Khanna flutters those legendary long eyelashes once more, causing earthquakes across the sub-continent.

Leela Chandavarkar can only play coy for so long with those moves.

A peaceful wink to find himself again, Rajesh Khanna’s closing efforts are as powerful as his starting ones.

Although his target is locked in a hot embrace and cannot make eye contact, Rajesh Khanna continues to wink unabated.

Rajesh Khanna finishes strong as always, reeling in the song with a final, bittersweet wink.

As if that wasn’t enough, “Yeh Jo Chilman Hai” reprises at the very end of the film on their wedding night–and the final shot is of Rajesh Khanna breaking the fourth wall to give a scintillating wink straight to the audience! Now that you’ve got the moves, come master the lyrics written by Anand Bakshi! We hope you enjoy our full English translation of “Yeh Jo Chilman Hai” below!

Yeh Jo Chilman Hai Lyrics and Translation:

Yeh jo chilman hai dushman hai hamaarii
This curtain is my enemy
Kitni sharmiilii dulhan hai hamaari
My bride is so shy
Yeh jo chilman hai…

Doosraa aur koii yahaa.N kyuu.N rahe?
Why must there be anyone but us here?
Husn aur ishq ke darmiyaa.N kyuu.N rahe?
Why is there a barrier between beauty and love?
Darmiyaa.N kyuu.N rahe?
Why is there a barrier?
Yeh yahaa.N kyuu.N rahe?
Why is this here?
Haa.n ji haa.N kyuu.N rahe?
Yes, why is this here?
Yeh jo aa.Nchal hai shikwaa hai hamaaraa
I have a complaint against the end of your saari
Kyuu.N chhupaataa hai chehraa yeh tumhaaraa?
Why must it hide your face?

Kaise deedaar aashiq tumhaaraa kare?
How can your lover steal a glimpse of you?
Rukh–e roshan ka kaise nazaaraa kare?
How can he behold the splendor of your face?
Ho nazaaraa kare
How can he see?
Ho ishaaraa kare
How can he make a signal?
Haa.N pukaaraa kare
How can he call to you?
Yeh jo gesuu hai.N baadal hai.N qasam se
I swear, your hair is like a cloud
Kaise bikhre hai.N gaalo.N pe sanam ke
How it billows across my beloved’s cheeks!

Rukh se pardaa zaraa jo sarakne lagaa
The veil is beginning to fall from your face
Uff yeh kambakht dil kyuu.N dhaDakne lagaa?
Oh, why has my accursed heart started to beat?
Ho dhaDakne lagaa
Oh, it has started beating
Haa.N bhaDakne lagaa
Yes, it is beating faster
Dum atakne lagaa
I have started to lose my breath
Yeh jo dhaDkan hai dushman hai hamaarii
This heartbeat has become my enemy
Kaise dil sambhale uljhan hai hamaarii?
How can my heart bear such entanglement?

Yeh jo chilman hai dushman hai hamaarii
This curtain is my enemy
Kitni sharmiilii dulhan hai hamaari
My bride is so shy
Yeh jo chilman hai…

Glossary:

chilman: curtain, screen; dushman: enemy; sharmiilii: shy; dulhan: bride; husn: beauty; ishq: love; darmiyaa.N: in-between; yahaa.N: here; aa.Nchal: the end of a woman’s saari; shikwaa: complaint; chhupaanaa: to hide; chehraa: face; deedar karna: to see, to steal a glimpse; aashiq: lover; rukh: beautiful face; roshan: shine, splendor; gesuu: hair; baadal: hair; qasam se: to swear by; bikhrnaa: to billow, to spread; gaal: cheeks; sanam: beloved; pardaa: veil; saraknaa: to fall; kambakht: accursed; bhaDaknaa: to increase; dum ataknaa: to stop breathing; dhaDkan: heartbeat; uljhan: entanglement, confusion

The only thing I love more than a classy aadab arz gesture is Rajesh Khanna doing a classy aadab arz gesture.

As a filmi gossip aside, did you know angel-faced Leela Chandavarkar was really a rebel? She became widowed at the age of 25 and quickly re-married a then much-senior Kishore Kumar against her father’s wishes! She joined the illustrious ranks of Ruma Guha Thakurta, Madhubala, and Yogeeta Bali (all former wives of Kishore Kumar) when she became his 4th one-and-only soulmate. Did she ever react to Kishore Kumar songs they way she reacts to Mohammed Rafi here? I’m curious!

– Mrs. 55