"Main tujhe bita ke", Fakira (1976)

In part because of the trajectory of Shabana Azmi's career, and in part because of what's available on YouTube, my Shabana-gaana offerings are generally focused upon Shabana ji's earliest work. No matter, since the 1970s are full of adorable exemplars of proto-Shabana in her masala heroine avatar.

The 1976 masala potboiler Fakira is a rich source - the songs are cute and romantic, with lots of rolling in the grass and dancing around trees, and between the elfen young Shabana and the gorgeous Shashi Kapoor there is plenty of pretty to go around. Today you can watch "Main tujh ko bita ke," a tender song with a picturization that is humorous and even downright naughty for its time. Though the picturization doesn't shy away from the details of the couple's romp, the clip doesn't show you what the film does the next morning - the bed broken in two as a result of the evening's frolic!



Enjoy the song, and watch out for something that looks an awful lot like a real kiss ...