There Is No Laila Like Zeenat Aman – Laila Main Laila

Laila main Laila
Aisi hun Laila
Har koi chaahe mujhse
Milna akela

Those tangy words echo in your mind after you hear the song. And they not only echo in the mind, they also recreate an image of a sensual Laila. No, I’m not talking about Sunny Leone, if it is Laila, it has to be Zeenat Aman!! There is no Laila like Zeenat Aman. Laila is all about sensuality. Sensuality definitely does not mean gyrating your body at every possible angle. It does not mean exposing oneself to the thinnest lines. Subtle is sensual. Wearing that long, white – silver gown with a long slit and carrying it effortlessly is sensual. A silver bandana on her forehead, a mic in her hand and a white feather stole thrown across her shoulders and neck, lavishly. She taps her silver heels to the exquisite drum beats, looks straight into your eyes and says –

Jisko bhi dekhun
Duniya bhula dun
Majnu banaa dun
Aisi main Laila

That’s the real Laila. She also sings about love and betrayal. Her heart and head is in the right place. So she follows the ethics of love and expresses it in a lucid way.

O mohabbat ka jisko tareeka na aaya
Usse zindagi ka salikha na aaya
Raah- e-wafa mein jaan par jo khela
Uske liye hai ye haseenon ka mela

Laila will be incomplete without the very handsome Feroz Khan by her side, looking like an explosive in those prim tuxedos. Unhesitatingly reciprocating Laila’s love. Encouraging her feelings and enlivened by her love. Inspiring her to say –

Mujhe dekh kar jo na dekhe kisi ko
Mere vaaste jo mita de khudi ko
Ussi deewane ki banungi main laila
Usse pyar dungi main pehla pehla

Laila will also be incomplete without the funny looking Amjad Khan, accompanying her on the drums and saying – O Laila – gulu gulu, gulu gulu, hey tubuk tubuk!!!
Rendered by Kanchan and Amit Kumar, this original disco number set by Kalyanji-Anandji and lyrics by Indeevar. The use of rabaab and tambourine give it an Arabic feel. Don’t your feet start tapping from the very beginning to the beats of those drums!!

https://youtu.be/-X_XyfCazt4

We now have a new Laila, they say (read Sunny Leone) who is said to set the stage on fire with the same Laila number and some extended lyrics by Javed Akhtar. Rendered by Pawni Pandey, the score is not a sizzler but a fizzler, including picturisation, dancing, singing et al. People might say I belong to the old school and my mind has been set in that way. But why shouldn’t I vouch for the old school if the new school is just about remixes and remakes. Why not something original? Why spoil anything that has been already made so beautifully previously? There’s a thin line between being sensual and vulgar. And the new Laila has crossed that line. She doesn’t look sensual at all (nowhere near Zeenat Aman).
If we’re talking about Shah Rukh Khan also, its a waste!! We loved the original SRK as Raj Malhotra (DDLJ) and we adored him as Kabir Khan (Chak De). Its time for him to change and do something original like that instead of wasting himself in these remakes and remixes. He is certainly above all these remakes.
Adding few extra beats for rhythm and extending the lyrics hasn’t enhanced this Laila’s beauty. Rather it has made Laila dull.
Sharing the so called new Laila, which is very much forgettable if at all you see it!!