Surreal And Sweet – Main Shayad Tumhare Liye Ajnabi Hun – Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi

The black-and-white cinema had a tremendous appeal when creating suspense thrillers. The dark shades on the screen added to the creepy sensations in theatres. An abandoned mansion with creaking doors, car breaking down in a desolate spot, a weird figure, a haunting voice, a thick blanket of mist….. we have seen so many of them in suspense thrillers. ‘Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi’ is a sleek and racy depiction of one such film. The unseen driving force of the story holds the aces. Obviously you know the curtain has to come down and expose the surreal but the director manages to hold your attention until the stunning climax.
At an excavation site, the workers unearth an ornately decorated room with a life-size statue of a dancer as its centerpiece. There is also a skeleton wearing bangles that exactly match the statue’s. Prithviraj Kapoor takes the bangles for safekeeping. Biswajeet hears the haunting strains of a song and follows the sound to its source, there is clearly trouble. The mysterious beauty (Sharmila Tagore) tells him that she’s been waiting for him, and seems to expect that he knows her too. He hosts a party to which he invites Sharmila. And she shows up dressed exactly like the antique statue, even wearing the same jewels right down to the bangles, sending everyone present at the party in a frenzied dilemma. She takes to singing instantly, her voice as haunting as the situation. The evocative timbre in Asha’s voice does the trick of mesmerising the audience.

Main shayad tumhare liye ajnabi hoon
Magar chand taare mujhe jaante hain
Ye saare nazaare mujhe jaante hain

I might be a stranger for you, but the surroundings here, including the stars and the moon, know me so well.
She thus creates a haunting atmosphere. The small aalap by Asha Bhonsle sounds as surreal as the situation with a poignant sitar backing her belief!! The tabla beats add to the speculation of the people present at the party.
The soul stirring taar shehnai at the interlude increases the mystery in the atmosphere while the santoor, violins and Asha’s inimitable aa aa aa, have a story to narrate further.

Patta patta yahan raazdaan hai mera
Zarre zarre mein rakh di hai maine zabaan
Poochhate hain sabhi, aaj mujh se yahi
Bhool baithe hain kyun, pyaar ko meherbaan
Bhool jao bhi tum to mujhe gham na hoga
Ke sab gham ke maare mujhe jaante hain

Every leaf here, every tiny particle of this surrounding know my secret. They are my confidantes. But even they ask me as to why you forgot our love? But I do not grieve even if you forget, because those in grief know me well. The sadness around doesn’t bother me, I have an answer to every body’s sorrow.

The mystery shrouds the people present there including Mumtaz, Som Dutt and Prithviraj Kapoor. Characters weave in and out of the canvas at different points to enhance your anxiety. Prithviraj Kapoor gives a towering performance as the archaeologist. He has got a tremendous screen presence.

Bewafai ki raahon mein tum kho gaye
Har kadam par hain meri wafa ke nishaan
Tum gaye chhodkar, har kasam todkar
Reh gayi ban ke chaahat meri daastaan
Apne waade ke jinko nibha na sake tum
Wo waade tumhaare, mujhe jaante hain

You have tread along and lost on the path of treachery while my faithfulness will be found in every step you take. You went away breaking my trust, breaking every promise, leaving my love for you just a mere fallacy. But never mind, at least the promises you broke know me very well.

Asha Bhonsle and O. P. Nayyar once again weave magic. This score has got all the sweetness of that magic. The music does not interrupt this suspense thriller….but takes you to a further level of suspense in the story. It is like a canopy spread all over the film. A canopy which blankets the listeners in a surreal and sweet way.