Movie: This song appeared in 1958 hit rebirth drama Madhumati (a name) produced and directed by Bimal Roy. The movie starred Dilip Kumar, Vaijayantimala, late Pran, late Jayant, late Johnny Walker, late Tarun Bose, etc.
Devendra (Dilip Kumar) is an engineer and drives on a hill road with his colleague (Tarun Bose) to receive his wife and child at the railway station. Their path is blocked by a landslide and they take refuge in an old mansion. Devendra finds the familiarity of the house uncanny. Then he finds an old portrait in the large front room, which he recognizes. Devendra remembers incidents from another life. The old caretaker of the mansion and Devendra’s friend sit together with Devendra as he tells his story and the storm is raging outside.
Anand (Dilip Kumar again) is the new manager at Shyamnagar Timber Estate. Anand is a sketch artist when he does not work in the estate and roams the hills. He meets a tribal girl Madhumati (Vaijayantimala) and falls in love with her. Her songs haunt him from a distance. They meet often in the wilderness.
When the owner of the lumber estate the Raja Sahab – Ugra Narayan (Pran) gets to know about their meetings; one day, he detains Anand to work overtime after 5 PM, the official closing time. Madhumati is waiting for Anand and sings a song. By the end of the song, Ugra Narayan has seen Madhumati and he is besotted with her. He tries to molest her. But, she escapes.
The next day, Anand sings a song to grab the attention of Madhumati. She also replies to his beckoning via the same song. After the song, Madhumati asks the reason for not coming the meet her the previous day. He replies that his employer had detained him for some work.
Soon, Ugra Narayan comes that way to eavesdrop and Madhumati realizes it. She tactfully convinces Anand to go away from that place. They soon reach Madhumati’s village, where a get-together is happening. The girls there insist that Madhumati also joins them. It is at this time that she sings this song.
Song: The music of this song was composed by Salil Chowdhury and the lyrics were penned by Shailendra.
The girl says that she has been stung by a scorpion. Actually, the scorpion sting is nothing but her love for her beloved. A magician tries his trick. But, that does not work. The pain due to the sting or the pain due to love could only be reduced when she sees her beloved.
Video: Cinematography is by Dilip Gupta. Dance choreography is by Sachin Shanker-Sohanlal-Satyanarayan.
The video opens with the beginning of the music and some extra dancers beginning the dance. Vaijayantimala and Dilip Kumar enter the location. She is pulled toward the dance area by one of the girls. Vaijayantimala comes out of a hut carrying a mud pot. She has already begun to dance in tune with the rhythm of the music.
Dilip Kumar is seen enjoying the dance. In the middle of the dance, Vaijayantimala stops dancing and acts as if she is hurt. She also begins the song. She places the pot on the path sloping from the hut to the dance area and runs toward the dance area. She sits within the circle of the other dancers and continues the song and dance.
A magician comes and tries to use a trick to bring down the pain. But, it doesn’t work. Johnny Walker comes into the dance area to perform a few steps. Vaijayantimala goes to the place where Dilip Kumar is standing and covers her face with her dupatta. Johnny Walker is now watching from a hut near the dancing area. He has placed a cigar in his mouth. 2 men come and block his vision. But, he bangs their heads together and pushes them away.
A man blowing a large wind instrument comes and plays it. Vaijayantimala says that the pain has gone now that she has seen her beloved. The music achieves a crescendo with all the girls including Vaijayantimala playing the dandia and the men playing drums. Thus, the video ends.
The cinematography is excellent taking into consideration the fact that this is a black and white film.
Artists: The playback of this song has been sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Manna De and the onscreen performances are by Dilip Kumar, Vaijayantimala, Johnny Walker and others.
Cultural Influence: This is typically a song with double-meaning. The heroine is a village girl. There are a lot of scorpions in that village. When this creature stings, the pain spreads to the brain rapidly. The heroine says that the love between her and the hero had spread similarly in her. The song is good and the video is watchable for the song and the artists.
