Dum Maro Dum (

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

: दम मारो दम, "Puff, take a puff!") is an Indian

song from the 1971

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 '' Hare Rama Hare Krishna''. It was sung by

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...

and chorus. The song was picturized on

Zeenat Aman Zeenat Khan (born 19 November 1951), better known as Zeenat Aman, is an Indian actress and former fashion model. She first received recognition for her modelling work, and at the age of 19, went on to participate in beauty pageants, winning both ...

. It was written by Anand Bakshi and composed by

Rahul Dev Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work w ...

. It has been remixed and sampled by many other artists. The song was a hit in the 1970s, and gained cult status in India.

Personnel

The song was originally intended to be a duet, with

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her con ...

singing for the "good girl", and Usha Iyer (later Usha Uthup) singing for the "bad girl". However, due to some changes, the song ended up being a solo sung by

. The sound ''aa..aa..aa..'' at the end of each stanza is that of Usha Iyer, who also chants ''Hare Krishna Hare Rama'' with the chorus. The song presented the lyricist Anand Bakshi as a versatile lyricist and shaped his career. It also boosted the composer

's career. Bhupinder played the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

for the song. Charanjit Singh played the distinctive drone of the transichord that opens the song.

Charts and reviews

The song topped the Binaca Geetmala annual list 1972. In

Binaca Geetmala ''Binaca Geetmala'' was a weekly countdown show of top filmi songs from Hindi cinema. It was popular and had millions of listeners. ''Binaca Geetmala'' was broadcast on Radio Ceylon from 1952 to 1988 and then shifted to the Vividh Bharati Servic ...

, a song could appear for a maximum of 18 weeks, after which it was called a ''Sartaj Geet''. On 15 March 1972, ''Dum Maro Dum'' became a ''Sartaj Geet'' while it was at #1 ''payddan'' (position). It had remained at #1 position for 12 weeks. Daniel Shiman, a reviewer wrote about the song, "It's a montage of creaking synthesizers, psychedelic guitars, and, of course, vocals nailed by Asha Bhosle in an ear-piercing exposition of sound." Kishore Kumar once said that the song is powerful enough to bring a dead person to life.

Cultural Influence

The song was featured in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2005).

Picturization

The song was picturized in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

. It shows Janice (Zeenat Aman) in her hippie attire, smoking cannabis or hashish and swaying under the effect of the herbs while hypnotically crooning the "Dum Maro Dum", encouraging one to 'take another toke'. She dances with a look of ecstasy on her face. Later in the movie,

Dev Anand Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand (26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011), better known as Dev Anand, was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema, through a career that spanned over six decades. He was ...

replies to the song by singing ''Ram Ka Naam Badnaam Na Karo'' ("Do not desecrate the name of

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

"), sung by Kishore Kumar.

Other versions

The song has been remixed and sampled by a number of artists. It has also been included in many compilations.

did not include the complete version of ''Dum Maro Dum'' in '' Hare Rama Hare Krishna'', as he was worried the song would overshadow the film.

Usha Uthup Usha Uthup Iyer (born 7 November 1947) is an Indian pop, filmi, jazz, and playback singer who sang songs in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. "Darling", which she recorded with Rekha Bhardwaj for the film ''7 Khoon Maaf'', won the Filmfare ...

(who sang the song "I Love You" with Asha Bhosle in Hare Rama Hare Krishna) has performed the song many times. British DJ, San-j Sanj has used the infectious guitar hook and created a dance track featuring Natty A called "So Real So Right". DJ Ritu and

Bally Sagoo Baljit Singh "Bally" Sagoo ( Punjabi: ਬਲਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਸੱਗੂ, born 19 May 1964) is a British-Indian record producer and DJ. Born in Delhi, India, Sagoo was raised in Birmingham, England. He entered the recording and enterta ...

compiled the song for their collection ''The Rough Guide to Bollywood'' in 2002. In 2004, the hip-hop artist

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of ...

sampled the song in his third album '' Tical 0: The Prequel'', for the track "What's Happenin'" featuring Busta Rhymes. It was featured in the 2003 Bollywood movie Boom, where Zeenat Aman once again sings and dances to ''Dum Maro Dum''. The song was re-recorded for the album ''

You've Stolen My Heart ''You've Stolen My Heart'' is a 2005 studio album from the Kronos Quartet, featuring arrangements of the music of Indian composer Rahul Dev Burman, with vocals by Asha Bhosle, she sang the original versions of the album's songs and was married to ...

'' (August 2005) by

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...

and

. The album was a tribute to

. The song was also featured in the soundtrack to the 2005

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

'' Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories''. Dum Maro Dum has been covered by Soul Funk Band Botown on the album 'The Soul of Bollywood'. Like the original, Botown's version was recorded completely live. It builds on the original's psychedelic soul leanings with a hypnotic laid-back groove. The song has recently been covered by Indian film enthusiasts "The Knockouts", from Luton, England, on their 4-track EP, ''The Remarkable Sounds of India''. The Knockouts, who usually record lo-fi garage punk/surf instrumentals, have, for this release only, engaged the services of fellow Asha fan, Mick Sheridan, who has lived for several years in India. The song has also been remixed as an item song and picturized on

Deepika Padukone Deepika Padukone ( or ; born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in India, and her accolades include three Filmfare Awards. She features in listings of the nation's most po ...

in the Hindi film '' Dum Maaro Dum''. The song has also been played in KGF (Chapter 1) Movie for Heroine introduction In 2021, a version of the song was used as background score for the launch video of Apple iPhone 13.

Awards

Filmfare Best Female Playback Award The Filmfare Best Female Playback Award is given by '' Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a female playback singer who has delivered an outstanding performance in a film song. Although the award ce ...

(Asha Bhosle)

References

External links

Watch the song.
{{authority control 1971 songs Indian songs Hindi film songs Number-one singles in India Songs with music by R. D. Burman Asha Bhosle songs Indian works about cannabis