Dum Maro Dum
Encyclopedia
Dum Maro Dum is an India
n Hindi
song from the 1971 Bollywood
film Hare Rama Hare Krishna. It was sung by Asha Bhosle
along with Usha Iyer and chorus
. The song was picturized on Zeenat Aman
. It was written by Anand Bakshi
and composed by Rahul Dev Burman
. It has been remixed and sampled by many other artists.
The song was a hit in the 1970s, and gained cult status in India.
Hare krishnaa hare ram
Duniyaa ne hum ko diyaa kyaa
Duniyaa se hum ne liya kyaa
Hum sab ki parvaa kare kyon, sab ne hamaraa kiyaa kya
Aa...
Dum maro dum, mit jaaye gham, bolo subhaa shyam
Hare krishnaa hare ram
Chaahe jiyenge marenge
Duniyaa se hum nahin darenge
Humko naa roke zamanaa, jo chaahenge hum karenge
Aa...
Dum maro dum, mit jaaye gham, bolo subhaa shaym
Hare krishnaa hare ram
and Usha Iyer, (now Uthup). The sound aa..aa..aa.. at the end of each stanza is that of Usha Iyer. Along with the chorus
, she also chants Hare Krishna Hare Rama. The parts of the song sung and spoken in English are also sung by Usha Iyer.
The song presented the lyricist Anand Bakshi
as a versatile lyricist and shaped his career. It also boosted the composer Rahul Dev Burman
's career. Bhupinder
played the guitar
for the song.
charts. In Binaca Geetmala
, a song could appear for a maximum of 18 weeks, after which it was called a Sartaj Geet. On March 15, 1972, Dum Maro Dum became a Sartaj Geet while it was at #1 payddan (position). It had remained at #1 position for 12 weeks.
Daniel Shiman, a reviewer wrote about the song, "It's a montage of creaking synthesizers, psychedelic guitars, and, of course, vocals nailed by Asha Bhosle in an ear-piercing exposition of sound." Kishore Kumar
once said that the song is powerful enough to bring a dead person to life.
attire, smoking drugs
and swaying under the effect of drugs while hypnotically crooning the "Dum Maro Dum", encouraging one to 'take another toke'. She dances with a look of ecstasy on her face.
Later in the movie, Dev Anand
replies to the song by singing Ram Ka Naam Badnaam Na Karo ("Do not desecrate the name of Rama
"), sung by Kishore Kumar
.
did not include the complete version of Dum Maro Dum in Hare Rama Hare Krishna, as he was worried the song would overshadow the film.
Usha Uthup
(who sang the song "I Love You" with Asha Bhosle in Hare Rama Hare Krishna) has performed the song many times. British DJ, San-j Sanj has used the infectious guitar hook and created a dance track featuring Natty A called "So Real So Right". DJ Ritu and Bally Sagoo
compiled the song for their collection The Rough Guide to Bollywood in 2002. In 2004, the hip-hop artist Method Man
sampled the song in his third album Tical 0: The Prequel
(What's Happenin').
The song was featured in the Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories soundtrack
. It was also featured in the 2003 Bollywood movie Boom
, where Zeenat Aman once again sings and dances to Dum Maro Dum. The song was re-recorded for the album You've Stolen My Heart (August 2005) by Kronos Quartet
and Asha Bhosle
. The album was a tribute to Rahul Dev Burman
.
Dum Maro Dum has been covered by Soul Funk Band Botown
on the album 'The Soul of Bollywood'. Like the original, Botown's version was recorded completely live. It builds on the originals psychadelic soul leanings with a hypnotic laid back groove.
The song has recently been covered by Indian film enthusiasts "The Knockouts", from Luton, England, on their 4-track EP, The Remarkable Sounds of India. The Knockouts, who usually record lo-fi garage punk/surf instrumentals, have for this release only engaged the services of fellow Asha fan, Mick Sheridan, who has lived for several years in India.
The iconic song has also been remixed as an Item Song and picturized on Deepika Padukone
in the Hindi film Dum Maaro Dum.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
song from the 1971 Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
film Hare Rama Hare Krishna. It was sung by Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle is an Indian singer. She is one of the best-known and most highly-regarded Hindi playback singers in India, although she has a wider repertoire. Bhosle's career started in 1943 and has spanned over six decades. She has done playback singing for over a thousand Bollywood movies...
along with Usha Iyer and chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
. The song was picturized on Zeenat Aman
Zeenat Aman
Zeenat Aman is an Indian actress who has appeared in Hindi films, notably in the 1970s and 1980s. She was the second runner up in the Miss India Contest and went on to win the Miss Asia Pacific in 1970...
. It was written by Anand Bakshi
Anand Bakshi
Anand Bakshi was a popular Indian poet and lyricist.-Early days:Anand Bakshi was born in Rawalpindi, now in Pakistan, on 21 July 1930. His ancestors were from Kurree, near Rawalpindi, and had origins in Kashmir. His mother, Sumitra, died 1940, when he was 10...
and composed by Rahul Dev Burman
Rahul Dev Burman
Rahul Dev Burman commonly known as R. D. Burman and nicknamed Pancham da or simply Pancham, was an influential Bollywood music composer. He was the only son of singer and Bollywood music composer Sachin Dev Burman and his wife Meera...
. It has been remixed and sampled by many other artists.
The song was a hit in the 1970s, and gained cult status in India.
Lyrics
Dum maro dum, mit jaaye gham, bolo subhaa shyamHare krishnaa hare ram
Duniyaa ne hum ko diyaa kyaa
Duniyaa se hum ne liya kyaa
Hum sab ki parvaa kare kyon, sab ne hamaraa kiyaa kya
Aa...
Dum maro dum, mit jaaye gham, bolo subhaa shyam
Hare krishnaa hare ram
Chaahe jiyenge marenge
Duniyaa se hum nahin darenge
Humko naa roke zamanaa, jo chaahenge hum karenge
Aa...
Dum maro dum, mit jaaye gham, bolo subhaa shaym
Hare krishnaa hare ram
Personnel
Two stanzas of the song appear in the movie (Duniya ne and Chahe jiyenge). The song was sung by Asha BhosleAsha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle is an Indian singer. She is one of the best-known and most highly-regarded Hindi playback singers in India, although she has a wider repertoire. Bhosle's career started in 1943 and has spanned over six decades. She has done playback singing for over a thousand Bollywood movies...
and Usha Iyer, (now Uthup). The sound aa..aa..aa.. at the end of each stanza is that of Usha Iyer. Along with the chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
, she also chants Hare Krishna Hare Rama. The parts of the song sung and spoken in English are also sung by Usha Iyer.
The song presented the lyricist Anand Bakshi
Anand Bakshi
Anand Bakshi was a popular Indian poet and lyricist.-Early days:Anand Bakshi was born in Rawalpindi, now in Pakistan, on 21 July 1930. His ancestors were from Kurree, near Rawalpindi, and had origins in Kashmir. His mother, Sumitra, died 1940, when he was 10...
as a versatile lyricist and shaped his career. It also boosted the composer Rahul Dev Burman
Rahul Dev Burman
Rahul Dev Burman commonly known as R. D. Burman and nicknamed Pancham da or simply Pancham, was an influential Bollywood music composer. He was the only son of singer and Bollywood music composer Sachin Dev Burman and his wife Meera...
's career. Bhupinder
Bhupinder Singh (musician)
Bhupinder Singh is an Indian musician, chiefly a Ghazal singer and Bollywood playback singer.-Early life:Born in Patiala, Punjab to Prof Nattha Singh , a trained vocalist and his early music teacher. He was one of the 7 brothers and sisters...
played the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
for the song.
Charts and reviews
The song topped the Binaca Geetmala annual list 1972Binaca Geetmala annual list 1972
The following is an annual list of the year-end chart toppers of the Radio Ceylon radio show Binaca Geetmala for 1972. Binaca Geetmala was a very popular radio show that counted down the popular film songs from Indian cinema on a weekly basis, listened to by millions of Hindi music lovers, just...
charts. In Binaca Geetmala
Binaca Geetmala
Binaca Geetmala was a weekly radio countdown show of top filmi songs from Indian cinema listened to by millions of Hindi music lovers, that was broadcast on Radio Ceylon from 1952 to 1988 and then shifted to Vividh Bharati network in 1989 where it ran till 1994...
, a song could appear for a maximum of 18 weeks, after which it was called a Sartaj Geet. On March 15, 1972, Dum Maro Dum became a Sartaj Geet while it was at #1 payddan (position). It had remained at #1 position for 12 weeks.
Daniel Shiman, a reviewer wrote about the song, "It's a montage of creaking synthesizers, psychedelic guitars, and, of course, vocals nailed by Asha Bhosle in an ear-piercing exposition of sound." Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar , born Abhas Kumar Ganguly, was an Indian film playback singer and an actor who also worked as lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter.Kishore Kumar was one of India's greatest performers of the late 20th century...
once said that the song is powerful enough to bring a dead person to life.
Picturization
The song was picturized in Kathmandu. It shows Janice (Zeenat Aman) in her hippieHippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
attire, smoking drugs
Psychoactive drug
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior...
and swaying under the effect of drugs while hypnotically crooning the "Dum Maro Dum", encouraging one to 'take another toke'. She dances with a look of ecstasy on her face.
Later in the movie, Dev Anand
Dev Anand
Dharam Dev Anand , better known as Dev Anand , is an Indian Hindi Cinema actor, director and film producer. Dev is the second of three brothers who were active in Hindi Cinema. His brothers are Chetan Anand and Vijay Anand. Their sister, Sheel Kanta Kapur, is the mother of renowned Hindi and...
replies to the song by singing Ram Ka Naam Badnaam Na Karo ("Do not desecrate the name of Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
"), sung by Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar , born Abhas Kumar Ganguly, was an Indian film playback singer and an actor who also worked as lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter.Kishore Kumar was one of India's greatest performers of the late 20th century...
.
Other versions
The song has been remixed and sampled by a number of artists. It has also been included in many compilations. It is said that Dev AnandDev Anand
Dharam Dev Anand , better known as Dev Anand , is an Indian Hindi Cinema actor, director and film producer. Dev is the second of three brothers who were active in Hindi Cinema. His brothers are Chetan Anand and Vijay Anand. Their sister, Sheel Kanta Kapur, is the mother of renowned Hindi and...
did not include the complete version of Dum Maro Dum in Hare Rama Hare Krishna, as he was worried the song would overshadow the film.
Usha Uthup
Usha Uthup
Usha Uthup is a popular Indian pop, jazz and playback singer. She is well known for popular hits in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.She started her Bollywood playback career, when she sang an English verse in hit song, "Dum maro dum"" in Hare Rama Hare Krishna, and went on work with music...
(who sang the song "I Love You" with Asha Bhosle in Hare Rama Hare Krishna) has performed the song many times. British DJ, San-j Sanj has used the infectious guitar hook and created a dance track featuring Natty A called "So Real So Right". DJ Ritu and Bally Sagoo
Bally Sagoo
Bally Sagoo is a British Asian musician and DJ who was born in Ranjit Nagar, Delhi, India, but grew up in Birmingham, England, in a predominantly black neighbourhood, influenced by disco, rap and Motown music. In an interview "Re-mixing Identities: "Off" The Turn-Table," Bally said:"Indian music...
compiled the song for their collection The Rough Guide to Bollywood in 2002. In 2004, the hip-hop artist Method Man
Method Man
Clifford Smith , better known by his stage name Method Man is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man...
sampled the song in his third album Tical 0: The Prequel
Tical 0: The Prequel
Tical 0: The Prequel is the third studio album released May 18, 2004 by Hip-hop artist Method Man on Def Jam Recordings. The Album features production from Sean "Puffy" Combs and Rockwilder, among others, as well as guest appearances from Missy Elliott, Snoop Dogg, and Ludacris...
(What's Happenin').
The song was featured in the Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories soundtrack
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories soundtrack
The soundtrack of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories comprises radio stations that broadcast music and information to Liberty City, circa 1998. The only time a player can hear the radio is when the protagonist acquires a car...
. It was also featured in the 2003 Bollywood movie Boom
Boom (2003 film)
Boom is a Bollywood film that was released on 19 September 2003. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff, Gulshan Grover, Padma Lakshmi, Madhu Sapre, Katrina Kaif and Zeenat Aman. The film is directed by Kaizad Gustad and produced by Jackie Shroff's wife, Ayesha Shroff...
, where Zeenat Aman once again sings and dances to Dum Maro Dum. The song was re-recorded for the album You've Stolen My Heart (August 2005) by Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
and Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle is an Indian singer. She is one of the best-known and most highly-regarded Hindi playback singers in India, although she has a wider repertoire. Bhosle's career started in 1943 and has spanned over six decades. She has done playback singing for over a thousand Bollywood movies...
. The album was a tribute to Rahul Dev Burman
Rahul Dev Burman
Rahul Dev Burman commonly known as R. D. Burman and nicknamed Pancham da or simply Pancham, was an influential Bollywood music composer. He was the only son of singer and Bollywood music composer Sachin Dev Burman and his wife Meera...
.
Dum Maro Dum has been covered by Soul Funk Band Botown
Botown
Botown: The Soul Band Of Bollywood is a London based multicultural Soul band formed by musician, songwriter and producer Ajay Srivastav. It takes its name from the short form of 'Bollywood Town', itself a tribute to the classic Soul music record label Motown which is short for Motor Town.-Music:The...
on the album 'The Soul of Bollywood'. Like the original, Botown's version was recorded completely live. It builds on the originals psychadelic soul leanings with a hypnotic laid back groove.
The song has recently been covered by Indian film enthusiasts "The Knockouts", from Luton, England, on their 4-track EP, The Remarkable Sounds of India. The Knockouts, who usually record lo-fi garage punk/surf instrumentals, have for this release only engaged the services of fellow Asha fan, Mick Sheridan, who has lived for several years in India.
The iconic song has also been remixed as an Item Song and picturized on Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone is an Indian actress and a former model. She appears mostly in Hindi as well as Tamil and Kannada language films. Born to Badminton player Prakash Padukone, she chose to become an actress and not pursue a career in sports.Padukone made her acting debut in the 2006 Kannada film...
in the Hindi film Dum Maaro Dum.