'Yeh Jo Thodese Hain Paise' — solace for cash-strapped lovers

At the moment, the demonetisation of high-value currency feels almost like the demonisation of currency. The drastic move by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left the country cash-strapped, with thousands queuing up for hours outside banks and ATMs to get their hands on a wad of currency notes. Largely, the adults in the house have been bearing the brunt of this well-intentioned, but badly planned move. That does not mean, however, that the young ones are not affected.

A few rich adolescents may have access to their parents’ plastic, but most middle-class collegians depend totally on parents for their expenses. So, when a collegian doesn’t get his pocket money, he can’t watch his favourite movie, attend a play, or, more importantly, go out on a date. After all, even the simple needs of life require some hard cash.

We wonder how many youngsters are seething with anger at not having enough cash to ride through this rough period. In this hour, one is reminded of the song 'Yeh Jo Thodese Hain Paise' from Mahesh Bhatt’s romantic film Papa Kahte Hain (1996).

Given that the film had tanked at the box-office, no one can blame you for not remembering it. The film's failure ended any hopes of a successful career of its lead pair, Mayuri Kango and Jugal Hansraj, too. The only thing that worked for the film was its music.

Javed Akhtar had penned some very simple lyrics, mostly like casual conversations. The equally simple and soft music by Rajesh Roshan turned a few of the film's tracks into chartbusters. And let us not forget the contribution of singer Kumar Sanu.

Twenty years on, many young lovers, most of whom may not have heard it, would find solace in the song whose lyrics went: 'Yeh jo thodese hain paise, kharch tumpar karoon kaise'. Translated, the song simply meant: 'What can I get you with these few coins left?'

Sweety (Mayuri Kango) is angry with Rohit (Jugal Hansraj) and the latter is trying to brighten her mood with the song. The 1990s music didn’t have girls craving for cool gadgets, clothes, and other materialistic things. So, Rohit is wondering whether these few coins can buy his love the moon/stars, or dreams.

If this track fails to mellow you down, then you can always tune into 'Kyun paisa paisa karti hai, kyun paison pe tu marti hai' from De Dana Dan (2009). But for now, let's tune into a bit of nostalgia.