Ai ajanabī tū bhī kabhī āvāza dē kahīṁ sē
ऐ अजनबी तू भी कभी आवाज़ दे कहीं से
Recently, Shah Rukh Khan tweeted:
Ai Ajnabi tu bhi kabhie Aawaaz de kaheen se…roz roz resham si hawaa…plays in my car oddly yet pleasantly out of place in a strange land.
— SHAH RUKH KHAN (@iamsrk) December 30, 2013
Shah Rukh Khan was in Phuket, Thailand - celebrating the New Year with his family - when he heard this song playing on the car radio.
Music of "Ae Ajnabi" was written by A. R. Rahman with lyrics by Gulzar for the film Dil Se... (1998). Ten years after the release of Dil Se..., when Gulzar won the Oscar for "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire (2008), IBN Live asked him what he considered his finest work. He replied that it was "Ae Ajnabi" from Dil Se.... In an extended conversation about writing the lyrics for Dil Se..., Gulzar explained:
"Rahman, being a religious man, enjoyed composing for Dil Se... I could see that the Sufiana lyrics brought out the best in him. By then he'd also learnt a little bit of Hindi so he could understand my poetry. In Dil Se... there were three Sufiana songs. But my favourite remains 'Ae ajnabi tu bhi kabhi aawaz de kahin se'. I think it was a really beautiful song."
In the film, this hauntingly beautiful song is played twice by Amarkant "Amar" Varma (Shah Rukh Khan) on All India Radio.
He first plays it as background music while sharing a dramatic telling of the story about his meeting with the mysterious Meghna (Manisha Koirala) at the train station. At this point in the film, he is feeling the first flush of love for a enigmatic stranger. There is still some innocence in Amar. Listening to the story and the song on the radio, Meghna recognizes her story in his broadcast but keeps this to herself.
The second time Amar plays the song on the radio is after his pursuit of Meghna has introduced some major problems. Despite his forthcoming arranged marriage to Preeti Nair (Preity Zinta) and knowing Meghna may never be his, he cannot stop thinking about Meghna. Amar is more introspective and the sharing of the song seems a bit more intimate. This time Meghna reacts to the song on the radio.
Udit Narayan and Mahalakshmi Iyer performed the piece for the film. Udit Narayan received a Zee Sangeet Award nomination for best vocal performance.
The lyrics can be translated as:
Woman:
Oh wandering stranger, wandering stranger…
Wandering stranger, wandering stranger…
Wandering stranger, wandering stranger…Man:
Oh stranger, wherever you are, call out to me
Oh stranger, wherever you are, call out to me
Here I am, living life, broken into pieces
Here I am, living life, broken into pieces
Somewhere out there, you’re spending your life in pieces too
Oh stranger, wherever you are, call out to me
Oh stranger, wherever you are, call out to meEveryday, this silken breeze whooshes back and forth, asking me
This silken breeze keeps asking me:
“The one whose complexion is as fair
as if she bathed in pure milk, that innocent flower ...
Where is she? Where?
Where is that ray of light?
Where is my very life?"
I’m incomplete, and you too, are just half-aliveOh stranger, wherever you are, call out to me
Oh stranger, wherever you are, call out to me
Here I am, living life, broken into pieces
Here I am, living life, broken into piecesWoman:
Oh wandering stranger, wandering stranger…
Wandering stranger, wandering stranger…
Wandering stranger, wandering stranger…
Gulzar was nominated for best lyricist for "Ae Ajnabi" from Dil Se.., but he won for "Chaiyya, Chaiyya" from the same film.
The following playlist features the song "Ae Ajnabi" followed by the live performance of the song at an A.R. Rahman concert.
If you liked this, check out our other Music Monday or Dil Se... posts.
Update 25 Feb 2014 - Feedback from Twitter:
@DooleyBollywood I love this song and learned it by heart. I also made this translation. pic.twitter.com/kiS6MB24Pp
— Theresa (@rubyroo365) February 24, 2014
If you liked this, check out our other Dil Se... or Shah Rukh Khan posts.