Dreamum Wakeupum Song – Aiyyaa

31 Comments
  1. Author
    aryan 12 years ago

    Lovely song on Southern Masala Its a surprise package.

  2. Ritz 12 years ago

    Some of the lyrics tries too hard to be funny and is lewd too. But enjoyed the song . Especially Prthiviraaj’s this avatar – havent seen him like this before. He seems to fully enjoy the dance. They have given his dark shade here btw to suit the story..whereas he is quite fair in real life.

    • sputnik 12 years ago

      “Some of the lyrics tries too hard to be funny and is lewd too. But enjoyed the song . ”

      Agree.

      The same song would be criticized for perpetrating South Indian stereotypes and mocking/ridiculing them if it involved some other stars 😉

      • Ritz 12 years ago

        “The same song would be criticized for perpetrating South Indian stereotypes and mocking/ridiculing them if it involved some other stars ”

        Yes sputnik – because they would not have been so authentic in actions and acting the Kuthu part (infact they would have made minimal effort to study these things as they think its “chalta – hai….south indian matlab aisehi karenge ” type ) .

        • sputnik 12 years ago

          Here is a good article on Southern stereotypes and covers movies like Padosan, RaOne, Agneepath (old) and also 3 Idiots.

          “A character from the very popular 1968 movie ‘Padosan’ is still able to cause grown men to squirm uncomfortably as they feel their South Indian pride trampled upon – I’m talking about Master Pillai played by Mehmood.

          Master Pillai was portrayed with epic insensitivity as an honourable and talented South Indian man forever fated to be the butt of jokes on account of his caricaturish South Indian accent, grooming and body language; To be unfeelingly used as a pawn by Saira Banu’s character to win the love of Sunil Dutt’s character – implying that he is sub-human and does not merit human consideration.

          If you are North Indian by birth or by breeding, this may sound like a non-issue. If you are a South Indian who has systematically suppressed rage at the machine, it will strike a chord.

          Ironically, Padosan means “neighbour” and sadly, the movie has top comedy billing. If you watch Padosan with anything approaching an egalitarian perspective, it is far from a comedy. The “comedy” in Padosan draws from a collective North-Indian disdain for South Indian sights and sounds that empowers the viewer to guffaw at anything south of the National Capital Region. For South Indians (and emancipated North Indians), the movie is mortifying to watch. Even the classical music of the South has not been spared this treatment, despite being similar to North Indian ragas and rhythms.

          Padosan has many popular songs, including one called “Ek Chatur Naar” which is a contest-cum-duet that pitches Carnatic style singing against a vaguely North Indian style of singing. While the song is a milestone in film music, it is also quite the Fascist Manifesto. The North Indian character prevails on the South Indian by sledging, heckling and insulting rather than clean battle. “Ek Chatur Naar” has several racist elements, two of which are listed below:

          Exhibit A. Colour superiority expressed by the North Indian:
          “Jaa re jaa re kaare kaga” – translated, “begone you black crow”.
          “kaala re gaare gaare..etc.” – translated, “blackie, sing if you can. Otherwise, go soil your face in drain water.”

          Exhibit B. Musical superiority expressed by the North Indian:
          “kaa kaa kaa kyun shor machaye” – translated, “stop the crow like cacophony you’re making in the name of music”

          Maybe I am reading too much between the lines, and maybe Padosan is not as annoying as I find it today. It was made in the cultural milieu of the 70s and a calibration is necessary when watching it now. But Ra.One?

          Dumb, and seriously annoying, partly because the movie was terrible, and partly because in this day and age a North Indian filmmaker has seen enough South Indians to know that the stereotype is not valid.

          Most Indians grow up feeling that it is fine to laugh at, or mock, a South Indian accent in spoken Hindi or English. The bias is in the media, and is so pervasive that even South Indians have bought into it – some think that they are worthy of derision. Another North Indian meme is to mock the sounds of a South Indian language with faux onomatopoeias like “bhandi kundi” or “akdam tikdam”, in an ignorant imitation of the consonant play. ”

          “Nothing is as patronising as a North Indian (or East Indian) playing a southie, and making it a slapstick hash. Witness Mithun’s Krishna Iyer MA from Agneepath. Even SRK’s “Enna Rascala” parodied Rajini’s screen presence in Om Shanti Om, but in the scheme of things, it was pretty harmless.

          And now onto a movie that goes around in the guise of being very liberated, but still does a number on the South Indian – yes, 3 Idiots and Chatur Ramalingam. Rajkumar Hirani tried some obfuscation by making Uganda Chatur’s country of origin, but ultimately played to the worst South Indian stereotypes – geeky, nerdy and ignorant of Hindi.

          That final aspect actually makes for the biggest gag in the movie, in which the comedy comes from the fact that Chatur does not understand the language.

          Apart from the lopsided qualities (awkward, geeky, stunted) that always seem to go with a South Indian’s portrayal is the issue of casting. Madhavan is a Tamilian born and raised in Jamshedpur. It is almost as if not conforming to the stereotype disqualifies him from being a Tamilian! Proof – why wasn’t he cast as Chatur the Tamilian in 3 Idiots, where he could have played it without dripping slapstick and stereotype? What about Siddharth Narayan, someone with Tamil/Telugu lineage being cast as Karan Singhania (fawgodssakes!) in Rang De Basanti, thereby missing an opportunity to present a proper mainstream South Indian character free of the usual hooks, tics and accent. I can’t say how Abhay Deol did with his Tamil in Shanghai, but I daresay it is totally unnecessary. If it has to be Abhay, why does it have to be a Tamilian – if it has to be a Tamilian, why Abhay? ”

          https://thegabbar.com/stereo-nation/

          • Ritz 12 years ago

            The author is seriously reading too much between the lines

            1) He says its sad that Padosan is big hit. And he says its all about north-south ..making fun of south. Padosan had awesome acting by others too which does NOT have making fun of south etc ( the way Sunil Dutt plays his bhola bhaala character). Next, why is he angry if southies are called “crow” or teased by their color? Its a fact that they are black and its a color – one should take a leaf out of Americans.

            2) He says why Madhavan was not made to play southie or Siddharth – then where is the fun? Its all based on language and Madhavan knows hindi damn well – better than many hinglish actors of today. So he cant play.

            My only point is – its fun when u play it authentically. Ra.One or some other films actors are lousy and they dont mimic properly – they just go like “chalta hai” etc…I am not saying they have to be perfect like Mehmood etc – but atleast try to observe few things and take some pains to entertain genuinely.

            Its only when its not genuine the southies feel offended these days. Gone are the days when a authentic fun made by Mehmood also offended them. This is true about the majority now – few ppl like this author still exist.

  3. cr7 12 years ago

    catchy tune..ppl complaining about the lyrics ..good that i couldn’t understand it at all 🙂 liked it

  4. Suprabh 12 years ago

    absurd–both song and picturization

  5. sputnik 12 years ago

    @Ritz,

    “The author is seriously reading too much between the lines”

    May be. Even he says that he may be doing that.

    Stereotype vs authentic is a very thin line.

    On Padosan, I liked the song duel and Kishore singing for Sunil Dutt part but I did not like the movie. I did not find the movie funny. I don’t think Mehmood was authentic. He was playing a caricature, a stereotype.

    His Hyderabadi character that he played in some other movie was also totally inauthentic. And this has become a template for anyone playing Hyderabadi character. I think it was Well Done Abba where they were adding “aa” to so many words thinking that it will make it Hyderabadi.

    Now The Angrez is authentic Hyderabadi made by Hyderabadis and acted by Hyderabadis. Salim Pheku can also be called a stereotype or caricature but Hyderabadis love it because it is so accurate and played so accurately. A North Indian actor would have probably not got it right and Hyderabadis may have hated the same character.

    “Next, why is he angry if southies are called “crow” or teased by their color? Its a fact that they are black and its a color – one should take a leaf out of Americans.”

    You are generalizing. Not all Tamilians are black. There are lot of Tamilians who are fair.

    “2) He says why Madhavan was not made to play southie or Siddharth – then where is the fun? Its all based on language and Madhavan knows hindi damn well – better than many hinglish actors of today. So he cant play.”

    Yes Madhavan can speak Hindi very well – even better than some North Indian actors. I don’t think he has ever played a south Indian guy in a Hindi movie so don’t know how he will be. Siddharth was not bad with the accent in RDB but they could have made him a south indian guy to get away with any south indian accent.

    Now mostly South Indian characters in Hindi movie are for fun/ridicule. Rarely they are good characters like Mohan Lal in Company but then the director RGV is South Indian.

    I loved Chatur but I can completely understand if some south indians get offended. Chatur is the butt of jokes and object of ridicule. The point is critics did not complain about Chatur. That is double standards.

    Shekhar In Ra.One was also for fun/laughs/ridicule and he was also playing a good guy but uncool character from the POV of the kid. Now there was no need for him to be South Indian and all that going to South India bit with Satish Shah and all. His accent came and went but people got offended (or may be it was just critics and fans of other stars) when he was shown eating curd with noodles. Now I don’t think Tamilians eat curd with noodles. If they do its authentic and if they don’t then its a quirk of the character so why be offended?

    Now I lived with a Tamil roommate for a year. He was a very nice guy but he had some quirks. For example half of his plate used to have chips and the rest of it was rice and he needed sambhar/rasam with it and my other roommates used to playfully tease him about the chips. So if tomorrow there is a south Indian character in a movie modeled on him will that be a stereotype or authentic?

    • Ritz 12 years ago

      I was not at all referring to noodles with curd thing. Its about accent and saying just ayyo ayyo that too not in a convincing way.

      • sputnik 12 years ago

        Since you lived in Tamil Nadu may be you know better if Tamilians say “ayyo ayyo” but I have never seen any Tamilian say that. Saying “ayyo ayyo” is itself a stereotype which was made popular by Mehmood if I remember dialogues of Padosan correctly.

        • Ritz 12 years ago

          Again, My objection is not abt stereotype in all above comments 🙂 . You have to be convincing in the accent, mannerisms.

          Anyways, according to you SRK acted good. Fine . 😛

          • sputnik 12 years ago

            Nah. I said SRK’s accent came and went. He was trying to be south Indian in some scenes and speaking normally in others. And not to forget he was wearing that hideous wig.

            I am saying the accent, mannerisms are not authentic in all cases and all are stereotypes.

  6. Ritz 11 years ago

    really liked “Ijjat Papad” .

    The album is full of fun and brilliance in experimentation (fusion of Tamil + Marathi music)

    The pace and lyrics appeals more when you hear full songs than the video songs. Liked Dreamam-wakeppum more when heard fully.

    Liked starting of Mahek too.

    All other songs are good. This is really good work by Amit Trivedi.

  7. Ritz 11 years ago

    This is one of the best albums of the year so far for me. And very “AUTHENTIC” too.

    About Amit Trivedi – he is not only good in experimentation but he is very authentic too. Be it the way singer pronounces words like “mai” etc in song “Sava Dollor” – or a Dholki (dholak in hindi) at start of that song . The beat of Dholki is so authentic – a Rahman or others wud have given percussion synthetic sound there.

  8. Ritz 11 years ago

    Only one hitch in an otherwise brilliant album is the singer in “Ijjat Papad” pronounces words in very Tamil way than Marathi.

    • Ritz 11 years ago

      And its definitely Subodh Bhave and not Prithviraaj in this song because of word “Aai” (Mother)

  9. Ritz 11 years ago

    Sunidhi Chauhan is not a Maharashtrian/Tamil … so is not Rani / so is not Amit Trivedi…..but they have done fabulous job.

    Rahman has to come out of his shell and give something nice for a film out of his sphere… Kadal and Kochadaiyaan etc. where I am sure he will give a great score and ppl like me will love it because of the context/setting/as I am familiar with the region.

    He hasn’t given any worthwhile in Hindi after the magical “Dil Se” (where he got it right) – a song or two in Taal or Guru.

    RDB , Rockstar, Swades to JA are so out of his comfort zone…

    Yes, he is in his comfort zone for “Kun faaya kun” or a “Khwaja mere Khwaja” – he is unbeatable in that zone – but that’s it. He does not understand the nuances of other regions like say a Amit Trivedi does.

    • hithere 11 years ago

      I like D6. Actually I rate it at par with Dil Se in terms of Variety. I am not particularly fond of Taal. I can listen but not by self.

      • Ritz 11 years ago

        @hithere

        The only time I started liking the masakkali …mattakkali mattakkali was when my was when my 3 years old was singing it loud in the plex while I was carrying him to the restroom …and girls and aunts were looking at him in “choo chweet” way… 🙂

        I dont know much about Delhi or Northern/ North-East India music …but “Genda Phool” was good in that album.

        • Ritz 11 years ago

          btw sorry I commented like SRK in above statement, referring to my kid ……to justify something which I believe in./ or don’t believe in

          Apologies.

          • hithere 11 years ago

            haha..
            I don’t like rap but found this quite good

      • sputnik 11 years ago

        I liked Delhi 6 too. I think it is Rahman’s best album in recent times and it had good variety. My favorite track was Dil gira Dafatan and it was very nicely picturized but I did not like the male singer’s singing and voice in it. Never liked Masakkali – the invented word of Prasoon Joshi.

        I think Dil Se is Rahman’s best Hindi album ever.

        I never liked RDB songs but everyone that I know of liked them a lot. I liked only Yeh Jo Des Hai from Swades which I liked from the very first time that I heard. I liked Chale Chalo from Lagaan from the very first time that I heard it. I started liking Radha Kaisa Na Jale more after hearing it multiple times and watching in the movie.

        I did not like Rockstar songs except Sadda Haq. I liked only Ranjha Ranjha from Raavan.

        LOL at Ritz’s statement of commenting like SRK 😀

        • Fearedsoul 11 years ago

          I am getting old. To me dil se is his best, next in line is lagaan, swades, roja, Bombay. Then come all the others

        • hithere 11 years ago

          “I think Dil Se is Rahman’s best Hindi album ever.”
          Agreed.

          RDB songs were good but helped by visuals.

  10. Fearedsoul 11 years ago

    Strange how music tastes differ. But I found this song to be vulgar and tasteless. This looks like a shabby attempt by rani to try and match up to vidya balan. Am totally turned off with this movie and the songs….kind of sad because prithviraj is such a fine actor.

    As for the topic of mannerisms, srk’s Tamil act in ra 1 was ridiculous. Somehow, people miss the subtlety in mannerisms and try to dumb it down for the audiences. If anyone has read 2 States, that captures the Tamil mannerisms in a much more funnier way

    • Ritz 11 years ago

      All you are talking above is about videos and images of actors / actresses (and that too from short promos for promotion) ..and not the about the music/ and authenticity of it.

  11. Fearedsoul 11 years ago

    ‘dreamum wakeupum…..critical conditionum…’ etc etc is music? And authentic? Different strokes for different folks. IMO the music of this movie sucks and these are just fad albums trying too hard. Amit trivedi did it with Delhi belly also….now no one listens or talks about that album. Less said about Amit trivedi the better. This ain’t music in my books….

  12. Ritz 11 years ago

    “these are just fad albums trying too hard.”

    I also thought same with lyrics and said so in above initial comments abt that ..but after listening to whole songs it is not trying too much. Give it a try.

    “Amit trivedi did it with Delhi belly also….now no one listens or talks about that album. Less said about Amit trivedi the better. This ain’t music in my books”

    Amit Trivedi didnt do score for DB. 🙂

    • Fearedsoul 11 years ago

      Ok will try…heard 2 songs…didn’t like either.

      My bad on Amit trivedi…I think it was ram sampath….somehow confused both of them 🙂

      Btw CNN IBM interview of amitabh is a damn good watch

Leave a reply

Log in with your credentials

Forgot your details?