Because music is an integral part of the reason for Falling in Love with Bollywood, this series highlights a Bollywood music video from my YouTube Bollywood playlist and why it makes me smile.
About the Music
Song: "Ae Aa O"
Film: Billu (2009)
Composer: Pritam
Lyrics: Neeraj Shridhar
Singer(s): KK, Suraj Jagan, Rana Mazumder
Performed by: Shah Rukh Khan (SRK)
About the Story of the Film So Far
Bollywood superstar Sahir Khan (SRK) is coming a small village to shoot some scenes for his upcoming movie. Billu (Irfan Khan), a poor barber, has told his family that he knew Sahir personally in the past, but doesn't provide details. This item number shows Sahir Khan's travel from Mumbai to the village of Budbuda, beginning with a ride into an amphitheatre on his motorcycle where he takes the main stage for a concert to the accolades of thousands of his fans.
Why I Love This Song
The more you watch Bollywood films, the more you notice the self-references and cameo appearances. In this case, scenes from previous SRK films are flashed throughout the video to highlight Sahir Khan's career (see how many films you can identify) and serves to remind us why we love SRK so much. The energetic song has enough English words that you can't help but sing along. During the initial verse of the song, Sahir Khan performs on stage for the crowd and seems to be loving every moment. The video concludes with Sahir Khan's arrival in the village with his entourage which highlights the difference between life as a megastar and life in a small town. And throughout the item number, Khan is incredibly gracious to his fans. By the end of the video, I feel as if I'm there in the crowd shouting "We love you!" along with everyone else.
The film version of the song includes snippets of films from Shah Rukh Khan's career to highlight the career of Sahir Khan. For a rundown of all of those film clips, see the post "Shah Rukh Khan as Hero: A Bollywood Career in a Song ('Ae Aa O', Billu)".