You watch the Rachel Maddow Show, which means, depending on how you watch it, you watch the commercials on The Rachel Maddow Show. You roll your eyes at the corny Cialias ads, you skeeve at those ones about lubricated catheters, you rage at the fracking ones, you turn the sound off at the occasional series of abused pets followed by Alissa Milano and starving children followed by that country singer and the wounded veterans. Even though the show has nothing to do with the commercials and in some cases we see different commercials depending on geography and cable provider, I know from tweeting with other viewers that the commercials are integral to the TRMS viewing experience.
That said, I finally broke down last night and tried to find the song that the Indian lady sings a snippet of in he commercial about calling her mother in India. This one.
I am well out of my element in searching the Hindi web, but here's what I figured out. Any additions you can offer are appreciated:
The actress in the commercial is Gita Setia. It's possible to find her singing online but not that song, as far as I can tell.
The song comes from a 1961 movie with a crazy plot called Hum Dono.
The title of the song, or the English-ized spelling of it, is Abhi Na Jao Chhodkar. So here it is from the original movie.
A little more helpful in hearing the song is this karaoke version so you can see the words as they're sung. And this translation of the song in English (which kind of contradicts the explanation in the phone commercial) is also helpful in appreciating the song's theme and beauty.
Having done all of that, I have to admit the versions I found didn't really suit my taste and didn't have the appeal of the little bit Ms. Setia sings in the commercial. Then in looking through random YouTube comments on related videos I found a lot of people talking about Shreya Ghoshal. I gather she's a popular singer in India. She has a version of Abhi Na Jao Chhod Kar from a different, more recent movie, that is really worth hearing.
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Will, you are a goof. Now, what sort of research are you willing to do to explore some of the finer points for stool softeners, for The Colon Lady? (I always miss her when she isn't on)
OTOH, there are plenty worse things than a fun run of Indipop and Bollywood dancing. That's always a fun rabbit hole to run down online.
I should remember to leave 15 minutes before I watch the show so I can fast forward. I keep on forgetting, so I'll point out something. The abused pets is sometimes Sarah McLachlan singing (I think she talks in all the commercials but they change out the songs). The one for UNICEF (starving kids) are Alyssa Milano.
Thank you for researching where that song comes from so I don't have to. I always smile at hearing that commercial too.
That Katy Perry movie rocks. What a dynamo.
Will,
Thanks for finding this song- I always listen to that commercial with my mom and wonder what movie it came from. Our ancestors lived in India.
:)
Not sure if you saw this one, the full song from the same movie (Mausam), but sung by Aakriti Kakkar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1Vg--XdIzw
The original song from Hum Dono is a huge classic of Bollywood, and the male singer (Mohammed Rafi) is considered to be the greatest Indian playback singer ever. I'm sure many Hindi music purists (my parents included) would flip if you said you liked some other version better than Rafi's :-)
And yeah, it doesn't say "I have a lot to tell you"!
I don't watch commercials. I'll flip over to the football game (on Mon & Thu), or search some of my other favorite channels whenever a commercial comes on. I pay for the damn cable channels.....do I have to watch the commercials too?
Ditto.
If they are so technologically advanced, why can't they target their commercials to me?
<cough>Cialis<cough>
Actually, I change the channel when that pet ad comes on. I don't always change back later.
Will,
I loved that song! Thank you for researching it! I need to get more into Indian music!
I am so glad you include these types of blogs, like the caterpillars and paper cutting and all the other "geeky" things along with the more serious political blogs! The world is so full of amazing and interesting things that we sometimes forget when we are bogged down in the political world!!
Not everyone who reads the blog watches the show. Me, for instance. I came here for Benen.
This post is fantastic. Its earnest whimsy makes me think of Nicholson Baker at his best. Will is clearly one of the secret ingredients that makes TRMS far and away the best news program on TV. Possibly the best news show ever.
I love this whole post. How did you know exactly how I respond to the ads?
Actually, I use the commercial time to go see what the clowns on Faux Nooz are bloviating about. I've got it pretty well timed and, frankly, it's about all I can stand of the Roger Ailes lie machine. But it sure makes me appreciate Rachel even more.