Mohini — the forever enchantress
Tezaab released in 1988, and gave the world Madhuri Dixit — one of the most prolific dancers in the Indian film industry. The song ‘Ek Do Teen’ begins with the crowd screaming “Mohini! Mohini! Mohin!”
Mohini also means an enchantress. Dixit was no less. Her choreographer for ‘Ek Do Teen’, and several iconic songs, was the legendary Saroj Khan. In an interview, Khan had said this was a make or break moment for Dixit, who had practiced for 17 days non-stop. In another interview, Alka Yagnik, who sang this song, recalled being down with the flu (or was it a bad throat?) the day of the song recording.
These three women birthed a generation of Madhuri lovers. Even a movie got made, called Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon [2003]. All, after THE song, where a woman is waiting for her lover.
Given the times we live in and just how lucky one has to be to land a CoWIN slot, I thought we could use Madhuri’s famous songs to depict our emotions, our thoughts, our feelings — with India’s vaccine strategy, our health infrastructure, and the like.
- Tezaab [1988]: For when you’re waiting to get the OTP so you can log into CoWIN
“Deewani dar-dar main phirti hun, na jeeti hun na main marrti hun, tanhayee ki raatein sehti hun, aaja, aaja, aaja aaja aaja, aaja ke din ginti rehti hun”
2. Sailaab [1990]: For when you’re hoping for slots to open for your age category
“Uljhi hai, kis chaal mein tu, hai aaj kal kis haal mei tu”
3. Beta [1992]: For when you finally get your first dose
“Jaadoo tera chhaane lagaa, meri nass-nass mei samaane lagaa…rishta ab ye rishta, saathi tootega na todey kabhi”
4. Khalnayak [1993]: For when you don’t get any slots in your city despite being logged into CoWIN for hours
“Aashiq milaa na aisa, meri pasand jaisa, bedil sheher ye aisa, kya karun, kya karun”
5. Saajan [1991]: For when you keep refreshing the CoWIN portal and app to get slots that make sense
“Apni betaabi ka main kaise tujhse izhaar karun, kaise batlaaun tujhe jaan-e-jaana kitna main pyaar karun, lab pe koi, naam nahi, tere siwaa mere saajan”
6. Anjaam: For when you’re afraid, almost petrified of needles
“Pehle to zulmi ne pakdi kalaai, phir usne chupke se ungli dabaai”
7. Yaraana [1995]: For when you’re reeling with the after-effects of the vaccine dose
“Dhadakta hai dil mera, na jaane kya karun main, kuch hone wala hai ji, na jaane kyun darrun main”
8. Pukar [2000]: For when your booked slot gets cancelled
“Pyaar rog hai, pyaar dard hai, pyaar todey dil ek din, yehi hai pyaar ka silsila”
9. Devdas [2002]: For when you get Telegram alerts of vaccine slots near your home
“Ye kiski hai aahat, ye kiska hai saaya, hui dil mei dastak, yahaan kaun aaya”
10. Aaja Nachle [2007]: For when your parents and aunts and uncles are all fully vaccinated
“Sabko bhulaake nachle, aaja nachle nachle mere yaar tu nachle, jhanak jhanak jhankaar, o nachle nachle mere yaar tu nachle, ab tou luta hai bazaar”
11. Ye Jawani Hai Deewani [2013]: For when the CoWIN portal wants to mock every desperate individual
“Haan dhal gayi re dhal gayi, tu shaam ki tarah dhal gayi/ Haan khal gayi, tujhe khal gayi, meri beparwaahi khal gayi/ Mohtarma tu kis khet ki mooli, hai zaraa bataa”
As Madhuri’s Mohini continues to enchant her subjects, and the availability of vaccines continues to baffle Indians, a decent alternative might be to put on them dancing shoes because “kabhi tou aaegi bahaar”.
