Before Gangnam Style, there was Tunak Tunak Tun. The song was initially produced as a response to all the critics who refused to acknowledge Mehndi’s talent and instead chose to credit his successes to the use of “attractive women” in his music videos.
Instead of getting demotivated or moving on, he created “Tunak Tunak Tun”, which was also India’s first music video to utilise CGI and green screens extensively. The video featured no sets, props, or backup dancers – only four different clones of Daler Mehndi himself, dancing and interacting with each other.
Daler Mehndi’s Global Hit That Still Gets Us Dancing
The song’s music video felt like it told a deeper story of the four elements (earth, fire, wind, and water), which are initially seen as comets that land on earth and transform into well-dressed human figures. The figures are then seen talking to each other by taking turns singing the song and dancing, as the background scenery changes to various locations, such as the desert and mountains. Towards the end of the video, the men turn back into comets to merge into a single, more powerful element.
The Rise of a Cultural Phenomenon
Owing to its catchy tunes and catchy chorus, however, the song soon became one of the biggest Indipop hits of all time in the country. Not that he needed to, but Mehndi more than proved his talent and the fact that he needed no one else to make a chart-topping song.
Global Recognition and a Cult Following
The song soon began gaining international recognition and a cult following, particularly among South Asian citizens in countries such as the United Kingdom and the USA. It also went viral in East-Asian countries like Japan and China because the song’s lyrics sounded like gibberish. It even got a unique name in China – “I’m playing clay in Northeastern China.”
Comparisons With Gangnam Style
This kind of international popularity reminds us of when Gangnam Style by Korean singer PSY went viral and was played at every single event. Even though most of us had no idea what tunak tunak tun meant, we had fun dancing to it and attempting the singer’s own moves. However, while “Gangnam Style” did go viral and was YouTube’s most-streamed video in 2012, “Tunak Tunak Tun’s” popularity remains unmatched.
The Viral Parody That Sparked a Trend
In 2000, the song went viral as American comedian Dannel Gomiller created a parody and posted it on his website. The parody, showing the comedian attempting Mehndi’s dance step across various rooms in his house, went viral almost immediately, garnering almost 20k views each day. Given that the usage of the internet was just gaining popularity, 20,000 daily views was a lot at the time.
YouTube’s Role in Tunak Tunak Tun’s Resurgence
By 2005, however, the song had reached its true popularity. With the launch of YouTube, Gomiller once again uploaded his previous parody, which gained millions of views. Seeing its popularity, many more parodies by various other people emerged over the years, each new video becoming more creative than the last one uploaded.
From Music Video to Gaming Culture
That is not where it stopped, though. The song – and Mehndi’s dance moves – became so loved that they were even incorporated in the popular fantasy game World of Warcraft in 2008. In the game, the characters are seen dancing to the song using their viral moves.
Still Relevant Decades Later
Even now, different parodies of the song keep showing up every once in a while because apparently, no one can get enough of it. In early 2016, it reached No. 28 on Belgium’s UltraTop 50 chart, where it remained for two weeks. Later in the same year, it also peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s World Digital Songs Sales Chart and stayed on for a week. And, of course, the song topped the India Hit Singles chart in 1998. The song continues to be a hit in South Korea, too, with even RM, the leader of the boy band BTS, expressing his admiration for it in an interview.
The TikTok Revival With Blackpink
In fact, the song went viral and became a TikTok trend in 2020, being mashed up with K-pop girl band Blackpink’s song “Ddu-du Ddu-du” due to its similarity to the original. The mashup of these two songs became a TikTok ‘dance challenge’ wherein millions of people attempted their versions of Daler Mehndi’s dance moves in creative ways. Many even had their pets dance to the song.
Tunak Tunak Tun: A Timeless Masterpiece
Tunak Tunak Tun🎶 is a masterpiece that’s probably never going to die out. The song became viral before the term “viral” was even a thing – in the early 2000s, the only kind of viral we knew was the fever. Today, almost 23 years later, it’s still as popular as ever and is played at almost every event that we Indians have, whether it’s a wedding, a birthday party, or even at a club.
The Critics Who Sparked a Legend
We all probably owe Daler Mehndi’s critics a huge thank you – without their insults and criticism, there likely wouldn’t have been a masterpiece like Tunak Tunak Tun🎶. Both the video and the song are incredibly iconic and remain relevant, even as the track nears its silver jubilee.
The True Meaning Behind the Lyrics
However, this song that we most popularly listen to and dance to at parties has a completely different meaning to what most non-Punjabi speakers may think.
Tunak Tunak Tun🎶 Lyrics Meaning Explained
Tunak Tunak Tun🎶, despite its catchy tunes and hip-shaking chorus, actually holds a pretty deep tunak tunak tun lyrics meaning. It was not created as a party song despite what its entertainment value may tell us. Because of the tone the Mehndi sings it in, it’s not very easy to catch, but the lyrics call out to the singer’s ‘sweetheart’ (Dholna).
He asks his Dholna to listen to what the heart says and requests her to love him. He further tells her that the world isn’t good or bad, but somewhat in-between and rather colourful, requesting her to tell him what’s in her heart, or it’s over between the two, probably because she refuses to give him a clear answer.
Mehndi further calls his Dholna the Moon and refers to himself as the bird who’s in love with the moon and is always admiring it (Chakor). He tells her that no one likes them and that their fate lies in the hands of God.
The Musical Meaning of the Chorus
These same lines are repeated a few times, with the singer occasionally singing the chorus in between. The lines of the chorus, tunak tunak tun, refer to the kind of sound made by a tumba, which is a string instrument commonly used by Punjabi folk singers, but we have featured the Lyrics of tunak tunak tun English version for you.
More Than Just a Party Anthem
It’s a love song like any other, but with really upbeat tunes and a chorus that you can’t beat but dance along to. There’s no doubt that if you didn’t know the meaning of the song earlier, you’d definitely view it with a new perspective the next time you listen to the song (which is probably right after you’re done reading this).
Please take a look at the line-by-line tunak tunak tun translation of the lyrics here, and let us know what you think of this revelation in the comments!
| Tunak Tunak Tun Lyrics (Punjabi) | Tunak Tunak Tun Lyrics English Translation |
| Dholna, vaje tumbe val taar soode dil de pukar Aaja karle ye pyar (Dholna, vaje tumbe val taar soode dil de pukar Aaja karle ye pyar) Dholna, vaje tumbe val taar soode dil de pukar Aaja karle ye pyar (Dholna, vaje tumbe val taar soode dil de pukar Aaja karle ye pyar) Dholna… | Sweetheart, the strings of tumba* play Listen to what the heart says Come and love me, Sweetheart (Sweetheart, the strings of tumba* play Listen to what the heart says Come and love me, Sweetheart) Sweetheart, the strings of tumba* play Listen to what the heart says Come and love me, Sweetheart (Sweetheart, the strings of tumba* play Listen to what the heart says Come and love me, Sweetheart) Sweetheart…*tumba = a string instrument, commonly used by Punjabi folk singers |
| Duniya yaara rang-birangi’ naal Paidi naye changi (Duniya yaara rang-birangi’ naal Paidi naye changi) Duniya yaara rang-birangi’ naal Paidi naye changi (Duniya yaara rang-birangi’ naal Paidi naye changi) Soonn yaara bole ek tara Mehndi Da YaaraDholna Kadeh Mere Nal Hass Mainu Dil Valli Dass Nahin Taan Teri Meri Bass (Dholna Kadeh Mere Nal Hass Mainu Dil Valli Dass Nahin Taan Teri Meri Bass) Dholna Kadeh Mere Nal Hass Mainu Dil Valli Dass Nahin Taan Teri Meri Bass (Dholna Kadeh Mere Nal Hass Mainu Dil Valli Dass Nahin Taan Teri Meri Bass) Dholna…Duniya yaara rang-birangi’ naal Paidi naye changi (Duniya yaara rang-birangi’ naal Paidi naye changi) Duniya yaara rang-birangi’ naal Paidi naye changi (Duniya yaara rang-birangi’ naal Paidi naye changi) Soonn yaara bole ek tara Mehndi Da Yaara | The world is full of colours It’s neither good nor bad (The world is full of colours It’s neither good nor bad) The world is full of colours It’s neither good nor bad (The world is full of colours It’s neither good nor bad) Listen to what iktaara* says Mehndi’s beloved Sweetheart, come laugh with me sometimes Tell me what’s in your heart Otherwise, it’s over between you and me (Sweetheart, come laugh with me sometimes Tell me what’s in your heart Otherwise, it’s over between you and me) Sweetheart, come laugh with me sometimes Tell me what’s in your heart Otherwise, it’s over between you and me (Sweetheart, come laugh with me sometimes Tell me what’s in your heart Otherwise, it’s over between you and me) Sweetheart…The world is full of colours It’s neither good nor bad (The world is full of colours It’s neither good nor bad) The world is full of colours It’s neither good nor bad (The world is full of colours It’s neither good nor bad) Listen to what the iktaara* says Mehndi’s beloved*Iktaara = a one-stringed musical instrument |
| Dholna Tu Chann Mein Chakor Sadde Varga Na Hor Rab Hath Saddi Dor (Dholna Tu Chann Mein Chakor Sadde Varga Na Hor Rab Hath Saddi Dor) Dholna Tu Chann Mein Chakor Sadde Varga Na Hor Rab Hath Saddi Dor (Dholna Tu Chann Mein Chakor Sadde Varga Na Hor Rab Hath Saddi Dor) Dholna…Duniya yaara rang-birangi’ naal Paidi naye changi (Duniya yaara rang-birangi’ naal Paidi naye changi) Duniya yaara rang-birangi’ naal Paidi naye changi (Duniya yaara rang-birangi’ naal Paidi naye changi) Soonn yaara bole ektara Mehndi Da Yaara | Sweetheart, you are the moon and I am chakor* There is no one like us Our life is in hands of God (Sweetheart, you are the moon and I am chakor* There is no one like us Our life is in hands of God) Sweetheart, you are the moon and I am chakor* There is no one like us Our life is in hands of God (Sweetheart, you are the moon and I am chakor* There is no one like us Our life is in hands of God) Sweetheart…The world is full of colours It’s neither good nor bad (The world is full of colours It’s neither good nor bad) The world is full of colours It’s neither good nor bad (The world is full of colours It’s neither good nor bad) Listen to what iktaara* says Mehndi’s beloved*Chakor = A mythical bird that is believed to be always looking at the moon because it’s in love with it |
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