"Chaiyya Chaiyya" (" alkin shade") is an Indian pop-folk song, featured in the soundtrack of the

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

film '' Dil Se..'', released in 1998. Based on

Sufi music Sufi music refers to the devotional music of the Sufis, inspired by the works of Sufi poets like Rumi, Hafiz, Bulleh Shah, Amir Khusrow, and Khwaja Ghulam Farid. Qawwali is the best-known form of Sufi music and is most commonly found in the ...

and

Urdu poetry Urdu poetry ( ur, ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the cultures of South Asia. According to Naseer Turabi there are five major poets of Urdu which are Mir Taqi Mir (d.1810), Mirza Ghalib ...

, the single was composed by A.R. Rahman, written by

Gulzar Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...

, and sung by

Sukhwinder Singh Sukhwinder Singh (born 18 July 1971) is an internationally acclaimed Indian playback singer who primarily sings Bollywood songs. He is famous internationally for singing " Jai Ho" from the film ''Slumdog Millionaire'' which won an Academy Awa ...

and

Sapna Awasthi Sapna Awasthi Singh is a Bollywood playback singer best remembered for her "Chaiyya Chaiyya" from '' Dil Se..'' and "UP Bihar Lootne" from '' Shool'' (1999). Early life and career Sapna Awasthi started training in classical music at a young age ...

. The accompanying music video was directed by

Mani Ratnam Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six Nat ...

and picturised on

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...

and

Malaika Arora Malaika Arora (born 23 October 1973) is an Indian actress, dancer, model, VJ and a television personality who appears in Hindi-language films. She made her debut as a film producer in 2008, with her former husband Arbaaz Khan, founding the co ...

, where they perform the song on top of a moving train. "Chaiyya Chaiyya" was a critical and commercial success, selling over six million units in India and earning a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

internationally, and is often cited as an influential track in

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

. In 2002, the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

conducted an international poll to choose the ten most popular songs of all time: "Chaiyya Chaiyya" finished ninth.

History

The lyrics of "Chaiyya Chaiyya" are based on the Sufi folk song "Thaiyya Thaiyya" with lyrics by poet

Bulleh Shah Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri ( pa, ; ; 1680–1757), known popularly as Bulleh Shah ( pa, ; ) and Bulleya, was a Punjabi philosopher and Sufi poet during 17th-century Punjab. His ancestors had migrated from Bukhara (modern-day Uzbekistan) ...

. Singer

originally suggested the song to A.R. Rahman who was looking for a Punjabi devotional song to include on the soundtrack of ''Dil Se..''.

subsequently rewrote the lyrics and changed the name to "Chaiyya Chaiyya". "Chaiyya Chaiyya" reached the top of the charts in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and became popular in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. In an Interview with called "Sadhanai Tamilargal" with Mani Ratnam, AR Rahman and Vairamuthu, Rahman stated that the song was originally composed for his album

Vande Mataram ''Vande Mataram'' (Sanskrit: वन्दे मातरम् IAST: , also spelt ''Bande Mataram''; বন্দে মাতরম্, ''Bônde Mātôrôm''; ) is a poem written in sanskritised Bengali by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in the ...

. But as it didn't fit in, he decided to show it to

, who loves these kind of catchy tunes. The very first time hearing the song, Mani Ratnam decided to shoot the song on a train.

Music video

The video was filmed on top of the

Ooty Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore and so ...

train, powered by X-Class Steam Locomotive (the

Nilgiri Mountain Railway The Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) is a railway in Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu, India, built by the British in 1908. The railway is operated by the Southern Railway and is the only rack railway in India. The railway relies on its fleet of s ...

) in mountainous

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, southern India, while actor

Shahrukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...

dances with model/actress

and other dancers. The film was directed by

and recorded by

Santosh Sivan Santosh Sivan (born 8 February 1964) is an Indian cinematographer, film director, producer and actor known for his works in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi cinema. Santosh graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India and has to date co ...

. The choreography was completed in four and half days by

Farah Khan Farah Khan Kunder (born 9 January 1965) is an Indian film director, film producer, actress, dancer and choreographer who works predominantly in Hindi films. Khan has choreographed dance routines for more than a hundred songs in over 80 films, w ...

. No major back projections or post-production special effects were used in the music video.

, one of the performers, recalls: "Would you believe it? Well, the "Chaiya Chaiya" song was shot exactly as you see it on the screen: No camera tricks, no back projection, no post-production special effects!" She also said that "...One of the unit members tripped and hurt himself. Other than that, things were safe."

Popular culture

The song was featured in the opening of the second act of the musical ''

Bombay Dreams ''Bombay Dreams'' is a Bollywood-themed musical, with music by A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Don Black and the book by Meera Syal and Thomas Meehan, originally produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The London production opened in 2002 and ran for two ...

'', in which the train sequence from '' Dil Se..'' is recreated on stage.

Harris Jayaraj Harris Jayaraj (born 8 January 1975) is an Indian composer from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He composes soundtracks predominantly for Tamil films, while also having composed for a few films in Telugu and two films in Hindi. He has been honoured with K ...

's "Orugalluke Pilla" song from "

Sainikudu ''Sainikudu'' () is a 2006 Indian Telugu-language political action drama film written and directed by Gunasekhar, with music composed by Harris Jayaraj. It stars Mahesh Babu and Trisha. Irrfan Khan, in his only South Indian film, plays the antag ...

" movie was based on this song Remixes of the song were used in the opening and closing credits of the 2006 film ''

Inside Man ''Inside Man'' is a 2006 American heist thriller film directed by Spike Lee and written by Russell Gewirtz. It centers on an elaborate bank heist on Wall Street over a 24-hour period. The film stars Denzel Washington as Detective Keith Frazi ...

''. The opening credits, set over shots of the robbery crew driving into Manhattan, feature an abridged version of the original with additional trumpet accompaniment, and the closing credits feature a hip-hop-inflected remix featuring

Panjabi MC Rajinder Singh Rai (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਰਜਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ), better known by his stage name Panjabi MC, is a British Indians, British-Indian recording artist, rapper, producer and DJ. He is best known for the worldwide 2002 ...

("Chaiyya Chaiyya Bollywood Joint"). The song was featured in the background in

episode 13 An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning t ...

of the American sitcom '' Outsourced''. The song was featured in the pilot episode of ''

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

''. A cover of this song was performed in episode 5 of season 5 of ''

CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...

''. The original track and a live version of "Chaiyya Chaiyya" are featured in AR Rahman's compilation album, ''A. R. Rahman – A World of Music''. The song was used during the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

on 3 October 2010. "Chaiyya Chaiyya" became famous in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

in 2011, after

Norman Kamaru Norman Kamaru (born 27 November 1985), formerly known as Briptu Norman, is a singer and former Indonesian police officer of the Mobile Brigade Corps. Prior to termination initiated by Indonesian National Police, his rank was the First Police Brig ...

, a policeman from

Gorontalo Gorontalo (Gorontalo language, Gorontaloan: ''Hulontalo'') is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia on the island of Sulawesi. Located on the Minahasa Peninsula, Gorontalo was formerly part of the province of North Sulawesi until its ...

recorded himself

lipsync Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated thr ...

-ing it and uploaded the video to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. The name of the video is "Polisi Gorontalo Menggila" (Crazy Gorontalo Police). On 17 May 2015, recording artist

Kurt Hugo Schneider Kurt Hugo Schneider (born September 7, 1988), sometimes referred to by his initials KHS, is an American video editor, producer, musician, singer and songwriter, whose primary medium is YouTube music videos. He has produced music videos for vari ...

with

Sam Tsui Samuel Tsui (born May 2, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter and video producer. He rose to fame as an internet celebrity known for doing covers and musical medleys of songs by pop artists. He has since released original songs and expanded t ...

, Vidya and

Shankar Tucker Shankar Tucker is an American clarinetist and music composer. He rose to fame with the popularity of his YouTube music channel "The ShrutiBox". He will be debuting as the music composer for the upcoming bilingual Indian feature film, 'Orey Nyabagam ...

, uploaded a mashup video on YouTube title
Chaiyya Chaiyya / Don't Stop MASHUP!! - INDIA EDITION ft Sam Tsui, Shankar Tucker, Vidya
It garnered 300,000 views in 3 days.

tweeted it, appreciating their work. As of July 2022, the YouTube video has nearly 7 million views. The

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

group

Penn Masala Penn Masala is an American a cappella group. It is the world's first and premier South Asian a cappella group. Formed in 1996 by students at the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Masala's music has been influenced by the Eastern and Western cultur ...

covered the song in their seventh album, ''Panoramic''. Eammon, one of the characters of

Kamila Shamsie Kamila Shamsie FRSL (born 13 August 1973) is a Pakistani and British writer and novelist who is best known for her award-winning novel '' Home Fire'' (2017). Named on ''Granta'' magazine's list of 20 best young British writers, Shamsie has bee ...

's novel Home Fire looks up the video and lyrics of the song in his attempt to learn Urdu. The Telugu version of this song was sung by Mano and Sahithi at ETV@20 Tenali, held at Tenali in February 2016 GrooveDev in the same year (2016) created the Remix of this song The song was used in a 2021 holiday commercial for

Ikea IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

https://youtube.com/watch?v=fVhWn5rjjB4, Ikea Canada - Assemble Together

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* English translation of this song is available a

* An English translation available a

{{authority control 1998 songs Hindi film songs Indian songs Sufi music Songs with music by A. R. Rahman Songs with lyrics by Gulzar Sukhwinder Singh songs Urdu-language songs Tamil film songs Sufi songs