One of the stand-out item numbers in the 2005 film Bunty aur Babli is the song "Nach Baliye". Its high octane beat, fast-paced dance moves, and addictive lyrics make it a fun entertainer.
The song was composed by the musical trio Shankar Ehsaan Loy with lyrics by Gulzar. In their Bunty aur Babli music review, glamsham.com wrote:
Throughout this zany zingy and zippy album the 70-year old Gulzar imbues a youthfulness that comes from being young at heart. Indeed that's the quality, which flows freely out of this album. You can't miss its zest for life ... or its lunge towards a luscious nirvana obtained from looking at life through rose-tinted glasses.
Several playback singers joined in the vocal fun, including: Sukhwinder Singh, Jaspinder Narula, Shankar Mahadevan, Siddarth Mahadevan and Sowmya Raoh.
Even choreographer Shiamak Davar - known for his talent for bringing contemporary jazz and other western styles to Bollywood - has a brief cameo appearance in the item number. In 2011, this award-winning choreographer received an honorary doctorate from London's Middlesex University for his contribution to the dance. According to Desiclub.com,
Shiamak started his Bollywood career on the right foot as he made his debut with the film Dil To Pagal Hai. The Madhuri Dixit, Shah Rukh Khan, and Karishma Kapoor trio is a film about dance. With a cast recognized for its ability to move, Shiamak played to their strengths and earned himself awards and recognition.
With the motto Have Feet. Will Dance™, Shiamak believes everyone and anyone can dance - and he has spent his lifetime as a dance educator bringing "Shiamak-style" to the world. As he has done for more than a decade, he will choreograph the dance performances for the International Indian Film Awards to be held in Tampa, Florida at the end of April.
This #IIFA Celebrations 2014 Tampa Bay will dance to the tunes of Bollywood. @Shiamakofficial will make it happen!! pic.twitter.com/40Mr94tv3o
— IIFA Awards (@IIFA) March 16, 2014
In Bunty aur Babli, Shiamak's choreography for "Nach Baliye" is as pumped as the music which glamsham.com described as a "kind of kaleidoscopic compulsion on the dance floor" - and the performers step into the routine with enthusiasm.
From the gyrations with giant elasticized white bands to the use of Rani Mukherjee as a human wave, this fun frenetic item number never pauses to take a breath. Even Abhishek Bachchan, known more for his acting than for ultra smooth dance moves, seems to be having such a great time that you are encouraged to get up on your feet and dance along.
The english subtitles on some DVD versions offer a simplified translation of the core lyrics:
Flap your wings, come on let's fly
Flap your wings, let's taste the sky
Balle-balle on a Sunday-Sunday
Balle-balleLet's set the streets of Juliet on fire.
Dance with Romeo in the streets of desire.
We explode with the light.
Burn the dance floor, girl.Nach Baliye ("Dance, my love")
Want bangles on your wrist, love? Nach Baliye.
Want jewels in your hair, love? Nach Baliye.
Run anklets around your feet, love? Nach Baliye.Nach Baliya
Give me bangles on my wrist, love. Nach Baliye.
Weave jewels into my hair, love. Nach Baliye.
Run anklets around my feet, love. Nach Baliye.The red carpet of dreams unfurls for us to walk on
Fate's now a little toy, to toss, to roll, to rock on
Take your bets now, game your life.
Fate's at my feet. Ready to ride?
But there is more to the translation than the DVD subtitles suggest. Bollynook.com offers the following translation of the core lyrics with some explanation:
Come on let's fly, let's fly away...
Come on let's fly, let's fly and seeBalle Balle On a Sunday Sunday
(Balle Balle is the phrase used to describe one's rejoice while doing Bhangra, famous Punjabi folk dance)Let's go and dance in the street of Ranjhna
(Referring to Heer-Ranjhna, a famous romantic couple in Indian History, similar to Romeo-Juliet)
Let's go and dance in the street of Heer
We're high on life now
On the dance floor Oh Girl!Dance, my love... should I put bangles on Your wrist?
Dance, my love... should I put henna on Your palm?
Dance, my love... should I put anklets on Your feet?
Dance, my loveDance, my love... Yes, adorn me with bangles
Dance, my love... Yes, put henna on me
Dance, my love... Yes, put anklets on me
Dance, my loveEvery step is like a carpet of dreams
Play with it, this luck is a toy
Keep on betting, Your destiny is standing on its feet
Come on now, come on my love, dance ceaselessly
However you translate this song, it is an item number you won't soon forget. Watch Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee burn the dance floor in "Nach Baliye" from the 2005 film Bunty aur Babli.