Who can forget the iconic scene of Raj Kapoor and Nargis frolicking in the rain in Shree 420? That may have set the ball rolling for rain songs in Bollywood, but after that there was no turning back. Raj Kapoor pioneered the trend of rain songs in Hindi cinema and his heroines from Nargis to Mandakini were all drenched to the bone singing love ditties.

While in Western cultures, the rain is used to connote pathos and gloom, rain for our poets and lyricists has always been a harbinger of good times, a symbol of hope and strength. The songs of the love play between Radha and Krishna in the rain on the banks of Yamuna have carved the cornerstone of our folk songs and classical music traditions.

Could something that so effectively epitomised romantic reunions fail to seep into the love-hungry landscape of Bollywood? Ever since filmmakers in Bollywood got a firm clutch of the rain theme, they haven’t let it drip away. “How could they when rain provides the perfect opportunity to get the heroines wet and voluptuous?” asks ad filmmaker Adi Pocha.

He might have a point there. Those eternal images of Zeenat Aman in Roti Kapda Aur Makan or Smita Patil in

Namak Halal gyrating and crooning love songs in their wet and clinging saris will forever be etched into the memories of Bollywood lovers.

“Monsoon is when the land grows fertile. Therefore it is a symbol of fertility and by extension—sex,” says ad man Prahlad Kakar as he attempts to unravel Bollywood’s fascination with rain. “Even among animals, it is the mating season.”

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