- Zeenat Aman shared memories of Asha Bhosle and the song Dum Maro Dum nine days after Bhosle's death
- Dum Maro Dum was originally meant as a duet by Lata Mangeshkar and Usha Uthup but sung by Asha Bhosle
- The song was picturised on Zeenat Aman in the 1972 film Hare Rama Hare Krishna directed by Dev Anand
Nine days after Asha Bhosle's death, Zeenat Aman shared another post in memory of the legendary singer, opening the lid on a treasure trove titled Dum Maro Dum.
Sung by Asha Bhosle, composed by RD Burman and picturised on Zeenat Aman in the 1972 film Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Dum Maro Dum stands as a cultural milestone in Indian film music.
In her classic tidbits post, Zeenat Aman revealed that the song was originally meant to be a duet by Lata Mangeshkar and Usha Uthup. But RD Burman had “other plans”, and Asha Bhosle's “sultry” voice was ultimately chosen for the song.
“Oh, to be 19 and ambitious and experimental and on the brink of your big break!
“My goodness! Is it the years or the marijuana that cast my memory of shooting Dum Maro Dum in a sublime haze? I've told the story of the shoot before, so this throwback is in memory of Asha ji. As I mentioned in my previous post, she gifted me the soundtrack to my success, and it started with this song! Interestingly, Dum Maro Dum was originally meant to be a duet sung by Asha ji's phenomenal older sister Lata ji and the powerhouse talent that is Usha Uthup. But R.D. Burman had other plans, and felt that the song required that sultry voice that Asha ji possessed,” Zeenat Aman wrote in her post.
Not just the song, but Zeenat Aman's hippie attire, smoking cannabis or hashish while hypnotically crooning the number, swayed free-spirited youth across generations to their feet.
What Went Behind The Shoot
A few months ago, Zeenat Aman shared what went into creating the song on set. Directed by Dev Anand, the song was shot in Kathmandu, Nepal.
“Now Dev Saab wanted authenticity in this sequence. My character, the drug-addled Janice, had to really look stoned. And the easiest way to achieve this was to partake in the hippy offerings! So there I was, still in my teens, gamely taking long pulls from their chillum for take after take.
“By the time we wrapped the day's work I was high as a kite! I was in no state to return to the hotel in that happy, dizzy and slightly gormless haze. So some of the team members packed me into a car and took me on a drive to a beautiful vantage point. There in the cold mountain air, I contemplated the Himalayas and slowly, peacefully came down from my high,” Zeenat Aman recalled.
Zeenat Aman, who described herself as a “flower child” back then, later came to know that her mother was furious that she had taken “drugs” in the name of authenticity.
“I later found out that my mother was furious when she learnt what happened, and gave the senior crew members a sharp tongue-lashing for allowing her precious child to ‘do drugs'! Luckily, I was spared her wrath,” Zeenat Aman wrote.
The song topped the Binaca Geetmala Annual List of 1972. In Binaca Geetmala, a song could appear for a maximum of 18 weeks, after which it was called a Sartaj Geet. On 15 March 1972, Dum Maro Dum became a Sartaj Geet while it was at number one, having remained at the top position for 12 weeks.
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