I have tripped and fallen over a theme song of my very own! There are two reasons, no three many reasons why I cannot resist it:
- The lyrics “Lo Memsaab Salaam, Salaam Memsaab Salaam”
- Rafi sings it, and I love him; plus, he yodels!*
- It’s from Reporter Raju which was made in 1962 (so it’s *almost* as old as I am)
- The film is a Wadia Brothers production, and I love the Wadias
- Even though Shammi isn’t in it, Feroz Khan does his level best to channel Shammi; and I can close my eyes and pretend it’s Shammi, since it is a very Shammi-like song (Shammi Shammi Shammi!)
- It’s lively and fabulous (is there an Indian instrument that sounds like an accordion, or is it an actual accordion? either way, too much fun)
- It’s short, like my attention span!
Here it is: “O Chale Ho Kahan Kaho” from Reporter Raju, sung by Rafi, music by S.S. Mohinder:
*Edited to add: My very reliable and informed friend Sunny has informed me that Kishore actually does the yodeling here for Rafi, which makes no material difference to it remaining my theme song, but good to know!
*Edited again to add more: Now more people are on board the it’s-Rafi-yodeling boat, see comments if you are interested! It’s still my theme song, no matter who yodels, even if it’s a Swiss farmer who was imported just for the task.
MemsaabStory 