Sadhana’s ‘jhumka’ in Mera Saya to be immortalised in Bareilly

Often films immortalise places and people. One has seen how Rome’s Trevi Fountain still celebrates a scene from Italian master Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita. The 1960 movie, which went on to clinch the Palm d’Or at Cannes, has this seductive scene of a curvaceous Anita Ekberg playing with the devastatingly handsome Marcello Mastroianni in the waters of the Fountain. Visitors to Rome are still haunted by the memory of this wonderfully romantic frame.

Similarly, one is told that visitors to Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh look for the jhumka or ear-rings that Bollywood star Sadhana dropped at the bazar in the town as she lisped “jhumka gira re Bareilly ke bazar mein” from the 1966 film, Mera Saya. A captivating song rendered by Asha Bhosle, ‘jhumka gira re” still brings back memories of a pretty Sadhana as she danced in the midst of lecherous men.

Read: Remembering Sadhana: A playlist of her most popular songs

Read: Bollywood mourns veteran actor Sadhana’s death

Sadhana has gone, but the saucy imagery of the song and the pulsating beat of Bhosle’s number will be acknowledged by Bareilly through a huge replica of the jhumka at the town’s Delapir tri-junction. About 14 metres have been earmarked for the jhumka that will hang there in memory of a enchanting song, a remarkable dance and a lovely actress -- whose work in movies like Love in Simla, Ek Musafir Ek Hasina, Mere Mehboob, Arzoo, Woh Kaun Thi, Asli Naqli, Waqt and Mera Saya (where she had a dual role) are still remembered. And so too her hair style, called Sadhana cut, which became a rage among teenagers in the 1960s and 1970s.

As the vice-chairman of the Bareilly Development Authority, Shashank Vikram Singh, said in a press note: When people from all over the country come to our town, they look for the jhumka (which Sadhana loses during the song), and are disappointed when they find no landmark to commemorate the song and dance”.

So, Bareilly will soon have this wonderful replica in the tri-junction, which will be widened and beautified at a cost of Rs 6.50 crores.

From Jhumka Gira Re to Lag Jaa Gale, she has featured in some of the most popular songs of her times. (YouTube grab)

Well, Sadhana in particular will turn iconic through her jhumka, and the sizzling steps she took to seduce the dacoits will come alive at Delapir.

Interestingly, a couple of years before Sadhana died in 2015, a garden outside her bungalow became a bone of contention between her and Bhosle. The house belonged to the singer and she wanted Sadhana to vacate it. Bhosle planned to demolish the building and erect probably a multi-storey complex there. This led to a court battle over Sadhana’s 50-year tenancy.

Watch: Sadhana in ‘jhumka gira re’ from Mera Saya

Well, would Asha and Sadhana have even dreamt of such rancour when one sang “jhumka gira re” and the other danced to its beat and melody?

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