आशा

Aasha belongs to the brimming masala-musicals of the 1950s, where romance, intrigue, comedy and song-and-dance were served on one platter. At the story's centre are Kishore Kumar's guileless-mischievous hero and Vyjayanthimala's Nirmala — and opposite them Pran, whose scheming eye is on both property and heroine. Moving through misunderstandings, accusations and dramatic turns, the tale breathes in the glow of stage performances and dance numbers that gave Vyjayanthimala's gifts full room. Director M.V. Raman, who came from the Madras studio tradition, joins the South's tight entertainment craft to Bombay's stars. But the film's real immortality is its music — C. Ramchandra's exuberant score and Rajinder Krishan's peppery words. Kishore Kumar's explosive 'Eena Meena Deeka' caused a sensation on release: Hindi cinema's first great rock-and-roll blast, echoing to this day. The second version sung by Asha Bhosle became just as famous.

C. Ramchandra at his most playful, with Rajinder Krishan's nonsense-rhyme genius: 'Eena Meena Deeka' — India's first full-blooded rock-and-roll number — exists in twin Asha Bhosle and Kishore Kumar versions, both anarchic, both irresistible.

M.V. Raman's Vyjayanthimala–Kishore entertainer is remembered for one recording session: C. Ramchandra improvising scat syllables until 'Eena Meena Deeka' emerged — pure sound before sense.

One song wrote Aasha permanently into the history of Hindi film music — 'Eena Meena Deeka'. Over nonsense words sprung from a children's counting rhyme, C. Ramchandra built such a bouncing rock-and-roll number that the world-beat of the Elvis era was heard at full strength on the Hindi screen for the first time. It is counted foremost among Hindi cinema's first rock-and-roll songs. Kishore Kumar's unbridled energy and the sparkle of Asha Bhosle's version gave it a double life. This meeting of western rhythm sections, scat-like delivery and desi playfulness opened the door to the next decade's experiments, from Shankar-Jaikishan to R.D. Burman. It is the most mischievous triumph of the C. Ramchandra–Rajinder Krishan partnership.

'Eena Meena Deeka' opened the door for rock-and-roll in Hindi film music and prefigured the Shammi Kapoor era; it remains the reference point every Indian rock-n-roll retrospective starts from.