You might be surprised to know that a casual remark led Anand Bakshi to write one of Bollywood’s most iconic songs, ‘Roop Tera Mastana,’ from the Rajesh Khanna–Sharmila Tagore starrer Aradhana.
There are very few songs in Hindi cinema that capture timeless romance the way ‘Roop Tera Mastana’ from Shakti Samantha’s Aradhana (1969) does.
Sung with effortless charm by Kishore Kumar, composed by S.D. Burman, and penned by Anand Bakshi, the track is still remembered for its sensuality, simplicity and Rajesh Khanna-Sharmila Tagore’s sultry chemistry. Adding to its legendary status is the fact that the entire song was filmed in a single take!
But the story of how this song was born is just as fascinating.
In his book ‘Nagme, Kisse, Baatein, Yaadein’, Anand Bakshi’s song Rakesh Anand Bakshi recounts an anecdote about his late father, sharing how a casual remark led him to pen the unforgettable ‘Roop Tera Mastana’.
According to him, one day, his father (Anand Bakshi) and his friend Hari Mehra stopped at a paan shop near Khar station. On their way back, they noticed a beautiful girl walking past. One of them, it’s unclear who, remarked, “Waah! Kya roop paya hai.”
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Bakshi immediately asked Hari to stay quiet, pulled the car under the shade of one of the gulmohar trees in Santacruz, and began scribbling lines in his notebook.
Months later, when Aradhana released, Bakshi and Hari watched the film together. Bakshi leaned over and revealed that the song he had written that day under the gulmohar trees was none other than ‘Roop Tera Mastana.’
Aradhana is the OG Bollywood romance- love, heartbreak, sacrifice, and Rajesh Khanna’s superstardom all rolled into one. No wonder it’s still iconic! The film revolves around Vandana’s (Sharmila Tagore) journey of love, loss, and sacrifice after secretly marrying an Air Force pilot.
