Dev Anand reassures Waheeda Rehman that he’s the real deal singing “Tere Mere Sapne” from masterpiece film Guide (1965).

Today we present the lyrics and English translation to the love ballad “Tere Mere Sapne” from the film Guide (1965). I know, I know, we’ve been riding on a Guide high recently. But if you haven’t already relished in the provocative philosophy of this all-time masterpiece of Hindi cinema , cancel your Friday night plans right now.

“Tere Mere Sapne” is considered one of singer Mohammed Rafi’s finest moments–a romantic ballad that mingles gentle tenderness with unabashed passion. The song marks a transition point in the film as Guide’s hero (played by Dev Anand) re-invents himself from a tourist guide into a personal one, guiding a dancer with a broken first marriage (played by Waheeda Rehman) away from the fringes of society toward fulfillment (or, at least, so he wishes). Dev Anand will eventually undergo a final character re-invention that makes the multiple interpretations of the film’s namesake so famous.

Waheeda Rehman covers her head modestly, afraid of tainting Dev Anand with her dishonorable past in Guide (1965).

Shut your eyes. Listen to this song in its entirety, devoid of any of the film’s imagery, and you’ll feel yourself swaying. It’s because the song is written as a waltz–one of a handful of waltzes from classic Bollywood films that utilize the buoyant 3-beat meter that bursts with romance at every turn. That lilting instrument that fades in after the first chorus like a continuation of Rafi’s own heartbeat? It’s a saxophone, modernizing the classic waltz croon with jazz-like flair. Bollywood composers of this decade loved mixing styles and instruments from across the globe this way. Shout out to Guide‘s genius music composer S.D. Burman who helped usher in this golden era of Hindi film music!

Now open your eyes. Watch the choreographed way that Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman engage and disengage with each other during the song: their yearning approaches followed by tense rejections. Interestingly, like the 3-beat waltz itself, the entire sequence is filmed in 3 fluid shots. The song, therefore, has only 2 cuts–each marking a new stage in Waheeda’s acceptance of Dev Anand’s offer. The camera itself swirls between them with the grace of a seasoned dancer, eschewing the traditional shot-reverse-shot approach to fully embrace capturing in real-time the space between them–and, in doing so, highlighting its slow diminishment. For me, this kind of camerawork that gives flight to the emotional fabric of the sequence, so unique to classic Bollywood film songs, is one of the reasons I fell in love with Hindi cinema. Moments like these earned Director of Photography Fali Mistry the Best Cinematography Filmfare Award for Guide. Songs like “Dekhi Zamane Ki Yaari” from Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) or “Lag Ja Gale” from Woh Kaun Thi? (1964) come to mind as other exemplifications of this style.

We hope you enjoy our English translation of the lyrics to “Tere Mere Sapne” below. Follow along with the video here and let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Tere Mere Sapne Lyrics & English Translation:

Tere mere sapne ab ek rang hai
Your and my dreams are now the same colour
Jahaa.N bhii le jaaye raahe.N, ham sang hai.N
Wherever these paths take us, we are together

Mere tere dil kaa tai thaa ek din milnaa
It was decided that our hearts would one day meet
Jaise bahaar aane par tai hai.N phuul kaa khilnaa
Just as it is decided that flowers bloom with the coming of Spring
O mere jeevan-saathii…
O my life companion…

Tere dukh ab mere, mere sukh ab tere
Your sadness is now mine, my joy is now yours
Tere yeh do nainaa chaa.Nd aur suraj mere
Your two eyes are my moon and sun
O mere jeevan-saathii…
O my life companion…

Laakh manaa le duniyaa, saath na yeh chhuuTegaa
Society may appease us a hundred thousand times, but we will never be separated
Aake mere haatho.N mei.N, haath na yeh chhuuTegaa
Once you come to my hands, our hands will never be parted
O mere jeevan-saathii…
O my life companion…

Tere mere sapne ab ek rang hai
Your and my dreams are now the same colour
Jahaa.N bhii le jaaye raahe.N, ham sang hai.N
Wherever these paths take us, we are together

Glossary:

sapnaa: dream, rang: color; raah: path; sang: together; dil: heart; tai hai: to be decided; ek din: one day; milnaa: to meet; bahaar: Spring; phuul: flower; khilnaa: to bloom; jeevan–saathii: life companion; dukh: sadness; sukh: happiness; nainaa: eyes; chaa.Nd: moon; suraj: sun; laakh: 100,000; manaa lena: to appease; duniyaa: society; saath chhuuTnaa: to become separated; haath: hand

Dev Anand’s bouffant-to-forehead ratio exceeds all expectations in Guide’s beautiful “Tere Mere Sapne.”

This lovely Mohammed Rafi love song was requested by multiple fans: Naina Agnestia, Kiran, and Sunita! Thank you all for the touching request, you sentimental fools! For more on the music of Guide, check out our translation of “Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamana Hai!”

– Mrs. 55