Sing me back home

As we entered the house, it was dark. My younger daughter has just opened the door. It was Friday the 13th. It was pitch-dark, and I was enquiring about what had happened. She said she was watching a movie with all the lights off just to get a cinematic experience. I was curious. Which movie? Her exams had been over, and it was time to chill out. I knew she would be watching some of the latest genre movies, for which she would have waited for her exams to get over. I had gone to my room and was settling down. That was when I heard a line from a movie I remembered having seen before. I was shocked that she was seeing this movie. The movie had cast a spell in those times. I asked what had happened to you that you would see such an old romantic movie. It reminded me of the days I had been to the theatre twice to see this movie. After all, that was 1998. I was in Mumbai, and I believe it was at the Goregaon Theatre that I saw this popcorn entertainer. I knew some of the scenes, particularly when Rahul meets Anjali after a long gap, I could foretell to my daughter when the bag would fall out of Shah Rukh’s hand. Such was my sharp remembrance of that movie. I could even tell how much time has elapsed in the movie. My wife and I could remember the sequence of scenes and some of the dialogue. Udit Narayan’s one particular song was refreshing, and I used to hear it every now and then.

Hum ek baar jeete hai, ek baar marte hai, shaadi bhi ek baar hoti hai … aur pyar ek baar hi hota hai

By this time, my daughter understood she had company in two of us, watching the rest of the movie. My wife and I prepared her for all the upcoming scenes. This movie had both Shah Rukh and Salman. My wife gave some trivia as well. My daughter would pause to hear it. One such trivia was that Salman Khan’s special appearance was not in the teaser; it was kept as a surprise. In fact, she went to the extent of describing the beauty of the headshot where he was introduced into the picture. All this made my daughter very enthusiastic. I came into my room after a quick shower and then sat down for dinner. That is when my daughter paused the movie and replayed those scenes between a Dad and Daughter. Daughter is going against Dad’s wishes. I was checking my daughter’s facial reaction. She kept turning her head to check if I was leaning in and seeing the movie. I was chewing a chappati with Drumsticks. Then came the big moment.

My wife was busy in the kitchen with her chores, and I was busy in my soul space, about to pick up a book. My daughter came to us and asked whether we could join her to watch the remaining 45 minutes of the movie. We did not hesitate as if we were waiting for a request. My wife went and sat next to her. I took a corner place from where the screen was visible. After a few minutes, I sat on a sofa next to her, removing the blanket which my daughter was using to get a cosy feel. There was a lot of emotional outpouring along the way, as Salman had already made it clear that Anjali would be hers at one point, my daughter thought Shararukh wasn’t getting the Girl. We calmed her down and asked her to wait till the end. After all, we didn’t want Friday the 13th to cast its spell. I was reminded of Don Williams’s song “Sing Me Back Home” after watching this movie for the third time, 28 years later.

Sing me back home
A song I used to hear
Make my old memories
Come alive

Sing me away
Turn back the years
Sing me back home