Even the infamous "Deodorant laga ke rakhna baby" (Keep wearing deodorant, baby) is a cry about social survival. In the hierarchy of high school, smelling bad is a social death sentence. The song is a survival guide disguised as a dance track.
"Face to faceum dharti putram; top to baseum kama sutram..."
Even years later, the song remains a staple for dance covers and memes, recently resurfacing in fun promotional clips where even co-stars like Kajol have been seen reacting to the "quirky" performance. Making of Dreamum Wakeupum
In the pantheon of Bollywood party anthems, most songs follow a predictable formula. You have the exotic foreign location (Switzerland, then later London or Greece), the perfectly timed chorus clap, a hero in designer jeans, and a heroine in a wind-blown chiffon saree. But every so often, a song disrupts the matrix. It is so bizarre, so off-kilter, and so wildly self-aware that it transcends the film it was written for and achieves a second life as a meme, a statement, and a guilty pleasure rolled into one.
Interestingly, the song found a massive audience in drag and ballroom culture. The phrase "Dreamum Wakeupum" became slang for forcing yourself to snap out of a delusion and face reality with sass. DJs in Brooklyn and Los Angeles began remixing the track, stripping away the Bollywood visuals and leaning into the house beat. Suddenly, the "cringe" song was being played in underground clubs. Even the infamous "Deodorant laga ke rakhna baby"
, who captured the raw, "raw-bordering-on-vulgar" energy required for the track. Why It Still Works Today
The most fascinating element of the song’s making is its star: a very young, non-dancer actress named Riya Shukla, who played the fantasy version of Gippi. In any other production, a song of this nature would be handed to a seasoned item-dance specialist. Here, the director leaned into the awkwardness. "Face to faceum dharti putram; top to baseum kama sutram
Before discussing the nuts and bolts of the track, one must understand the film Gippi . Unlike the glamorous, adult-centric world Dharma was known for ( Kuch Kuch Hota Hai , Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna ), Gippi was a small-budget, teen-focused film about body image, high school politics, and growing up in the hills of Simla.
The song, often featuring in YouTube compilations of quirky Bollywood songs, saw a massive resurgence in popularity in the 2020s through Instagram Reels and TikTok. Making of Dreamum Wakeupum Key Facts Sowmya Raoh Music Director: Amit Trivedi Lyricist: Amitabh Bhattacharya Choreographer: Vaibhavi Merchant Stars: Rani Mukerji & Prithviraj Sukumaran
"Kyun uda raha hai teri neend? (Why is your sleep flying away?) Kyun gira raha hai tera weight? (Why is your weight dropping?) Math mein tu hai weak, weak, weak."
The song isn't just a random dance number; it’s a hallucination. In the film, the protagonist Meenakshi (Rani Mukerji) is obsessed with the Malayalam-speaking Surya (Prithviraj Sukumaran). Her teacher suggests she watch "Midnight Masala" TV to learn the language, leading her into a dreamland that parodies 80s and 90s South Indian cinema. 2. The Lyrical Genius: "Tanglish" and Gibberish