Golden Era Bollywood Review: Manna Dey - Aao Twist Karein (Come and let's Twist)

Over the last past few days, I have worked on building that Bollywood once was a self-reliant industry with serious music, well this song crashes that opinion a bit.

Currently, the biggest problem in Bollywood is the over-saturation of remakes. Many forget that this problem actually originated in the golden era. Legendary music composer R.D. Burman often re-interpreted western tunes with a newer arrangement. Aao Twist Karein is a remake of Chubby Checker's Let's Twist Again, it is even lyrically similar. Face it, it is an outright remake. Still, that does not mean it is weak.

During his life, Manna Dey's classic vocal abilities were commonly underestimated, and he was forced to sing songs used for comic relief characters in the movies, often requiring much less ability than he could procure. Aao Twist Karein was released dead-center in this era, and I am genuinely surprised Manna Dey agreed to sing it.

Rock and Roll was trendy back then, but R.D. Burman also added some other trendy western elements. The vocal harmonies could be taken from gospel or soul, and the saxophone riff (which's melody was ripped off from Speedy Gonzales by Pat Boone, of all things), and the trumpets are classic jazz. Manna Dey's ad-libs add to the package, making this feel more like a definitive western hit from the 60's, rather than a Bollywood track.

Still, there is no denying that beneath all the trend-chasing and copying, there just is a good song here. Also, the wonderfully dated video deserves praise, such as the terrible fake instrument playing, the overdone facial expressions, and Mehmood thinking he is the next Elvis from the way he dances.

Rating: 9.25/10