Movie: This song is a part of the movie Kabir Khan Films’ Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015). Produced by Salman Khan and Rockline Venkatesh, the movie was directed by Kabir Khan.
It starts with villagers in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir watching an India-Pakistan cricket match together. There is a pregnant woman, Rasia (Meher Vij) among these villagers. She gives birth to a daughter and names her Shahida after Shahid Afridi, who had won the aforementioned match for Pakistan.
When Shahida (Harshaali Malhotra) turns 6, falls from a cliff-top and lands on an overhanging tree, which saves her life. The girl is mute, so cannot call for help. Her mother gets concerned about her and takes her to the Sufi Saint Nizamuddin Auliya’s shrine in Delhi, hoping that Shahida would be able to speak again.
When they are returning from Delhi, the train has to be repaired, for which it stops. Shahida boards off the train to save a lamb. Unknown to her the train leaves and she gets into a freight train, landing in Kurukshetra, Haryana.
Shahida meets Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi alias Bajrangi (Salman Khan), a pious Brahmin and a fervent devotee of Lord Hanuman. Then, he begins his journey, to take Shahida, whom he calls Munni, back to her family. He first takes her to the police station where the police in charge refuses to keep her. He tells Bajrangi that he will call him when the girl’s parents come to complain about the girl.
Bajrangi, thus, has to take her with him. When they are on the bus returning to his home in Delhi, people in the bus insist that he tell his story to pass the time. In the flashback, he says that he failed several times before passing the 10th std. He graduates on the 11th try. It comes as a shock to his father and he dies! Bajrangi goes to Delhi looking for a job, fulfilling his father’s last wish. In Delhi, he meets his father’s friend Dayanand Pandey’s (Sharat Saxena) daughter Rasika (Kareena Kapoor) and falls in love with her. Dayanand has told Rasika to get a job for Bajrangi in the school she is teaching in.
A prospective groom comes to ‘see’ Rashika. But, she tells her father that she had chosen Pawan to be her husband. Rashika’s father approves of her selection, but only if he finds a separate home with his own earning. Pawan gets 6 months time. Then, they come back to the present and Pawan and Munni reach Dayanand’s home. Pawan assumes that Munni is a Brahmin because she is fair. That is the reason Dayanand approves of her stay at his home until they find her parents. The food that is served to her does not suit her palate and she goes to a Muslim’s home to eat the non-vegetarian food being served there. Pawan and Rashika find her and take her with force to a restaurant where non-vegetarian food is being served, with some comic hilarity.
There Pawan assumes that the little girl is a Kshatriya. When the camera turns to Munni, we see that she is crying looking at another girl being fed by her mother. Rashika goes to the little girl to cheer her. It is at that time that Rashika and Pawan sing this song.
Song: Lyricist is Mayur Puri and music composer is Pritam.
The gist of the song is, “I am feeling hunger pangs. The crowing of the cock sounds the cooing of the cuckoo. I want food.”
Video: Cinematography is by Aseem Mishra. Dance choreography is by Ahmad Khan-Remo-Adil Sheikh-Raju Sundaram.
The video opens with Harshaali Malhotra looking at a mother and child. She seems to be missing her mother. She has placed her head on the table crying. Kareena Kapoor moves to the little girl’s table and taps on the table to catch her attention. She also begins to sing the song. Salman Khan acts like a cock and cock-a-doodles.
Then he begins to dance and sing with a few other men. Salman Khan leans on a heated vessel and cringes because it burns his arms. Harshaali Malhotra laughs at him. At this moment, Kareena Kapoor joins Salman Khan. Soon, Harshaali Malhotra is served quite a few chicken in plates.
Harshaali Malhotra offers it to Salman Khan. But, he declines because he is supposed to be a Brahmin in the movie. The song peters out and the video ends as 2 rumali rotis are thrown up in the air in front of the name of the Dhaba.
Artists: The playback of this song was sung by Palak Muchchal and Mohit Chauhan and the onscreen performances are by Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Harshaali Malhotra and others.
Cultural Influence: This typically filmi children’s song shows how the hero and the heroine cheer the little girl. The song and the artists are good. The video is watchable for the same.
