Tundla Junction

Jatin-Lalit wouldn’t have guessed that the papa-son bonding song from their debut album “Yaara Dildara” would start making sense a full decade and half later. The song which went, “Hamare Papa aur hum, milaake rakhe jab kadam, to duniya apni kasam, maare salaam, maare salaam” has been used in two different contexts ten thousand miles apart last week. “Some songs that we have composed may take generations to comprehend. But we are glad that this song has finally got its due,” a smug Jatin Pandit said at his suburban Chinchpokli studio.

The song came into limelight last week when Mark and Andrew Madoff claimed that their father, Bernard Madoff, played it in the background while disclosing his Ponzi scheme to them. “It’s clear from the song played that the Madoff family knew of the scheme and Mr. Bernard Madoff intended to keep the sons away from any criminal liability,” Brad Friedman, a lawyer representing the defrauded investors said. Bollywood songs are inadmissible in the American court of law but considering the nature of this case, there might be an exception, claimed experts who wished to remain anonymous. “It was an album gifted to Dad by Anil Ambani, an Indian industrialist and an investor in the fund, who claimed it was his favorite song,” a visibly distraught Andrew Madoff said.

Just a couple of days later, in a coincidence that can only be termed cosmic, the song reverberated through the boardroom of Satyam Computers, India’s fourth largest software exporter. “We looked at the Maytas deal from all angles, including reading the name in reverse, and it made strategic sense. However, the valuations remained in question despite the recommendations of the anonymous ‘Big 4’ firm,” said Ram Mynampati, a whole-time director. “It was then that Mr. Raju played out this song from some old Hindi film song. It took us about four minutes to conclude the meeting from there on,” Mr. Mynampati claimed. “I made two plates of Maggi one after the other,” he replied when asked how could he be sure about the aforesaid four minute duration. An insider claims that Mr. Raju also played a video of him and his sons, Mr. Teja Raju and Mr. Rama Raju, jiving to the song to the doubting investors and analysts in the conference calls that followed the announcement. “The song and dance left us cold but you must admit it was a brave effort,” says Jignesh Shah, CIO of MeraPaisa Investment.

These events have caught the attention of social scientists the world over. “It is rare to see a 78-year old father take the rap to save his sons in today’s America. It’s the power of a song,” wrote George Bush Sr. in his weekly column in the New Republican. “It’s the culmination of the movement that Baghban, Waqt – Race Against Time and Babul started. Life imitates Art,” claimed noted anthropologist Suhel Seth. Jatin Pandit, however, remains unperturbed by it all. Rehearsing his steps for the new reality dance show (where he is a participant) “Dance Pe Chance Maar Le”, he takes it all in his stride, “It’s one more instance of the timeless nature of our songs. I am sure the title track of ‘Return of Jewel Thief’ is going to be next.”