Govinda Week 2010!

Because all the cool kids are doing it, here's a post inspired by Govinda, that whacky lovable dancing wonder.  Sadly I don't own any of his films or there'd be a review here instead, but what I can offer are a couple of my favorite Govinda songs!


 "Usne Bola Kem Chhe" from Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hai is a song I first came across while watching SaReGaMaPa a few years ago.  Mauli Dave did an outstanding version, and it became one of my favorite songs.  It was only a few months ago that I thought to myself, hmm...maybe I should check out the original. (Be patient, the guy who posted this vid did a bit of self promotion in front of it!)





My only other exposure to Govinda (besides his brief bit in Om Shanti Om, which follows) comes from his appearance with Salman Khan at the 2007 IIFA Awards, where he performed to the hit song "Soni De Nakhre" from the film Partner.  I love love love him in this video.  He almost makes up for having to watch Salman and Katrina "dance."



And lastly, a very brief glimpse of Govinda in "Deewangi Deewangi" from Om Shanti Om.

Some Things Need Improving...

I fell in love with Penn Masala when I heard their renditions of "Mere Sapno Ki Rani" and "Aap Jaise Koi" on the American Desi soundtrack, and got one of their CDs just for those songs.  A month or so ago I decided to expand my horizons a bit and listened to the rest of the album.  I'm in love with the whole thing, naturally, and was especially thrilled to find their take on "Om Shanti Om," which I had only heard in Farah Khan's "Om Shanti Om."  (By the way, how did I not realize, in a film full of homages, that even the choreography of that song was a perfectly done copy of the same song from "Karz?")  But the song that really stood out to me was "Ek Pal Ka Jeena," from Hrithik Roshan's (and Amisha Patel's!) debut film "Kaho Na Pyar Hai."  I listened to it over and over and over, to the point of obsession (ask my sister).  The original, though, was crap.  Maybe not crap but...it was slow, and looked like something out of the early 90s (not uncommon for a Bollywood film made in 2000, but still).  I was unimpressed.

So what do you think?  I'm giving you the original (complete with Hrithik's delicious..well...everything) and the new version.  Enjoy!




And Penn Masala's version: