"Babuji Dheere Chalna" - More Than Just a Club Song
Tuli Research Centre for India Studies (Editor)
Document TypeIn-house Video
Date31 August 2026
Duration14 min 52 sec
FormatLong-form Video
Description
The iconic song "Babuji Dheere Chalna", from Aar Paar (1954), written by Majrooh Sultanpuri, composed by O.P. Nayyar, and sung by Geeta Dutt, unfolds as far more than just a club track. Through Shyama's performance, the song introduces a woman who occupies the fringes of society yet possesses agency and rectitude.
Experts Madan Gopal Singh, Ravikant, Antara Mondal, Juhi Saklani, and Neville Tuli examined the song across its music, lyrics, performance, and picturisation, as well as its place within the urban world that Guru Dutt created in his early films. The conversation explored Guru Dutt's use of lingering close-ups, O.P. Nayyar's eclectic musical range and his use of non-Indian instruments that lend the song its club-song character, and the effortless way in which the sequence weaves together romance, danger, humour, and social observation.
This session is part of the series, "A Musical Glue for Nation-Building: Deconstructing the Film Song,"presented by the Tuli Research Centre for India Studies (T.R.I.S.) at the 7th Self-Discovery via Rediscovering India Festival.