The Nature of Philosophical and Materialistic Existence in Raj Kapoor's "Jeena Yahan Marna Yahan"| Mera Naam Joker (1970)

"Jeena Yahan Marna Yahan" from Mera Naam Joker (1970) was penned by Shailendra, composed by Shankar-Jaikishan, and sung by Mukesh. The song is situated at the philosophical heart of Raj Kapoor's most personal and ambitious film.

The film was a commercial disaster on release, and as Neville Tuli notes, both the song and the film found the audiences' acknowledgement only years later.

Filmmaker-Lyricist Amit Khanna reveals a lesser-known detail about its making: the song was shot in Delhi at the Gemini Circus, but it had become extremely difficult to gather all the stars, who by that point had become huge in their own careers, at one point of time. The scenes featuring them were shot solo and then later assembled in Bombay to be inserted into the song sequence.

Ravikant, Professor, CSDS (The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies), reads the song as both a philosophical and a deeply materialistic reflection on existence. There is a continuity in the persona that may take rebirth, he argues, but it is not the same person who returns. The world itself is one's heaven and hell simultaneously, and that, he suggests, is why we return to this song whenever life demands reflection.

This clip is from the workshop "A Musical Glue for Nation-Building: Deconstructing the Film Song," conducted by the Tuli Research Centre for India Studies (T.R.I.S.) at the 7th Self-Discovery via Rediscovering India Festival, featuring Madan Gopal Singh, Amit Khanna, Ravikant, Juhi Saklani, and Neville Tuli.