‘Ranjha’ Explained: Love, Loss, and Longing in Shershaah’s Hit Song

“Ranjha,” the unforgettable and deeply moving song from the movie Shershaah (released August 5, 2021), performed by Jasleen Royal and B. Praak, speaks volumes about heartbreak, separation, and intense longing. The song takes its name from “Ranjha,” one half of the legendary tragic lovers Heer-Ranjha, instantly signaling a story of profound love and pain. It paints a picture where everything feels shattered – the night is upset, the heart is upset, and life seems broken into pieces (“bikhra bikhra”).

Amidst this sorrow, there’s a heavy silence. The beloved, referred to as “Mahi” and “Ranjha,” is quiet, and the person singing feels unable to even utter the words “don’t go.” Instead, there’s just a desperate, repeated cry for the loved one to return (“Aaja aaja”). The song captures the feeling of being utterly alone even when surrounded by people, holding onto the pain (“peed”) of separation. It also touches on questioning fate, feeling like God is playing games, and finding a strange solace in fully experiencing the sorrow of being apart (“hijr”). Coming from Shershaah, a film about a soldier’s life and sacrifice, these themes of separation and longing hit even harder.

When Everything Feels Broken: The Pain of Separation

The song immediately sets a mood of deep sadness and disarray. It begins by describing how the night itself feels upset or angry (“shab roothi”), and the heart mirrors this feeling, also being upset (“dil bhi hai rootha”). This personification of the night and heart shows how pervasive the sorrow is – it feels like the whole world, both internal and external, is grieving.

Everything in life seems scattered and broken (“Sab kuch hai bikhra bikhra”). This isn’t just physical messiness; it represents an emotional state where life has lost its structure and meaning due to the beloved’s absence or distance. Things feel out of place, disjointed, and fundamentally ‘wrong’. This feeling of brokenness creates a powerful image of the impact that separation has had, making the listener feel the weight of the singer’s grief right from the start. The world has lost its colour and coherence, reflecting the inner turmoil.

Silence Speaks Louder: The Unspoken Plea

A striking aspect of “Ranjha” is the theme of silence and the inability to communicate deep feelings. The song mentions that the beloved (“Mahi,” “Ranjha”) is silent (“Chup”). This silence could mean many things – emotional distance, physical absence, or even the final silence of loss. Parallel to this, the person singing also struggles to speak, specifically finding it impossible to say the words “don’t go” (“Bolein kaise ve na ja”).

This inability to speak highlights a profound sense of helplessness. Perhaps the moment to say it has passed, perhaps the words feel inadequate, or perhaps the separation feels inevitable, rendering any plea useless. This shared silence, where neither the beloved speaks nor the plea is voiced, creates a heavy atmosphere thick with unexpressed emotions. It suggests a point where words fail, and only the pain remains, unspoken yet overwhelmingly present. The silence itself becomes a testament to the depth of the sorrow.

A Cry for Return: “Aaja Aaja”

While words might fail when trying to prevent the separation, the song is filled with a raw, desperate plea for the beloved to return. The repeated phrase “Aaja aaja,” meaning “Come, come,” echoes throughout the track. It’s a simple but incredibly powerful cry from the heart, expressing the core longing of the song.

The beloved is also referred to as “Dhola,” another affectionate term common in Punjabi folk music. The lament that “Mera dhola ni aaya” (My beloved didn’t come) reinforces the pain of absence and unanswered longing. This constant calling out for the loved one shows that despite the silence or the feeling of brokenness, hope for reunion, however faint, still flickers. It’s the soul’s primary desire – for the beloved to simply come back and end the suffering. This direct plea makes the listener feel the emptiness left behind and the intense yearning for presence.

Questioning Destiny: When God Seems to Play Games

In moments of deep pain, it’s natural to question why things happen. “Ranjha” touches upon this feeling of questioning fate or even God. The lyrics suggest that God (“Rabb”) also seems to play games (“khel hai khele”) and sets up daily gatherings (“roz lagave mele”) – perhaps hinting at the chaotic, unpredictable nature of life and meetings that don’t last.

There’s a sense of bitterness when the song mentions God saying nothing has changed, but it feels like a lie (“Jhooth bole har vele”). This reflects a feeling that reassurances, whether from faith or fate, feel hollow in the face of real suffering. It’s like saying, “How can you say nothing has changed when my whole world has fallen apart?” This questioning adds a layer of raw honesty to the grief, acknowledging the struggle to reconcile faith or destiny with personal tragedy. It’s a moment of feeling let down by the forces that are supposed to guide or protect.

Alone in a Crowd: Embracing the Pain of ‘Hijr’

The song paints a stark picture of loneliness, even amidst company. The feeling of sitting alone in a crowd (“Kalli bheedich baithi”) is a powerful image of isolation. It means that even if surrounded by people, the person feels completely alone, lost in their own world of grief. The only companion is the pain (“peed”) associated with the beloved (“Teri peed le baithi”). This shows how consuming the sorrow is, making connection with the outside world impossible.

Interestingly, the song also talks about fully experiencing or ‘celebrating’ the separation (“Ni main rajj rajj hijr manavan”). “Hijr” means separation from a loved one, often in a painful context. To “manavan” (celebrate or observe) hijr doesn’t mean being happy about it. Instead, it suggests a deep dive into the feeling of separation, perhaps because feeling that pain is the only way left to feel connected to the memory of the beloved. It’s a way of honouring the depth of the love by fully acknowledging the depth of the pain it has caused.

The line about being upset with oneself (“khud toh russ mud jaanvan”) and the feeling that the beloved Ranjha is also upset (“Ruseya Ranjha”) adds to this complex emotional landscape of shared sorrow and perhaps even self-blame or frustration.

“Ranjha” resonates because it captures the raw, unfiltered emotions of heartbreak – the sense of a shattered world, the painful silences, the desperate longing, the questioning of fate, and the isolating nature of deep grief, all wrapped in a haunting melody.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about “Ranjha”

Q1: What is the basic meaning of the song “Ranjha” from Shershaah?

A: “Ranjha” is a song about deep heartbreak and the pain of separation from a loved one. It expresses feelings of sorrow, loneliness, a world feeling broken, the inability to ask the person to stay, and a desperate longing for their return. Coming from the movie Shershaah, it strongly relates to love and loss, especially in the context of forces beyond one’s control.

Q2: Who is ‘Ranjha’ in the song?

A: ‘Ranjha’ refers to one half of the famous tragic Punjabi folk romance of Heer-Ranjha. In songs like this, ‘Ranjha’ (or ‘Mahi’ or ‘Dhola’) is used as a general term for a beloved male figure. Using this name immediately signals a story of deep, passionate, and often painful love.

Q3: What does the line “Roothi hai shab te rabba, Rabba dil bhi hai rootha” mean?

A: This line means “The night is upset, oh God, and my heart is also upset.” “Roothi” means upset or sulking. It shows that the singer’s sadness is so deep that it feels like even the night itself is grieving along with their heart. It paints a picture of complete sorrow affecting everything around and within them.

Q4: Can you explain “Chup mahi Chup hai Ranjha, Bolein kaise ve na ja”?

A: This translates to “The beloved (Mahi) is silent, Ranjha is silent. How does one say ‘don’t go’?” It highlights a painful situation where the loved one is silent (either emotionally distant, physically absent, or gone) and the singer feels helpless, unable to voice the plea for them to stay. The silence is heavy with unexpressed feelings and helplessness.

Q5: What does “Ni main rajj rajj hijr manavan” mean in the song?

A: “Hijr” means the pain and sorrow of separation from a loved one. “Rajj rajj manavan” means to observe or experience something fully, to one’s heart’s content. So, the line means “I will fully immerse myself in the pain of separation.” It’s not about finding joy in sadness, but about deeply feeling and acknowledging the sorrow, perhaps as the only remaining connection to the beloved or as a way to process the intense grief.

Q6: What is the meaning behind “Kalli bheedich baithi, Teri peed le baithi”?

A: This means “Sitting alone in a crowd, sitting with your pain.” It vividly describes the feeling of profound loneliness and isolation, where even being surrounded by people (“bheed”) doesn’t help because the person feels completely alone (“kalli”). Their only companion is the memory or feeling of the beloved’s pain (“teri peed”) or the pain caused by their absence.

Q7: Why does the song talk about God playing games (“O rabb vi khel hai khele”)?

A: The lines about God (“Rabb”) playing games or telling lies (“Jhooth bole har vele”) reflect a common human response to deep suffering. When faced with immense pain or loss, people sometimes question fate or a higher power, feeling confused, let down, or angry about why things happened the way they did. It expresses the struggle to make sense of tragedy and a feeling that perhaps destiny is unfair or deceptive.

Q8: Who sang “Ranjha” and which movie is it from?

A: “Ranjha” is sung by Jasleen Royal and B. Praak, with music also composed by Jasleen Royal. It is a very popular track from the soundtrack of the Bollywood movie Shershaah, which was released in 2021 and stars Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani.