Μιχάλης Βιολάρης goes to Bollywood

This is perhaps the strangest export of music from Cyprus.



Michalis Violaris recorded this song in 1973 (?). It is loosely based on the ishia fone (example 1, example 2), which is used in tshiattista improvisation. Violaris' rendition claims it is a traditional. It is likely that the popular incorporation of this song into the performance of tshiattista (i.e. singing 'τα ριάλλια ριάλλια ριάλλια, etc, in between improvised segments) was a by-product of the song's hit status.
It possibly owes its original popularity to its use of the word 'pezevengis' the Cypriot rendition of the Turkish word 'pezevenk', meaning pimp. It's claim that all who have money in their pockets are pimps ['ππεζεβέγκης που τα 'shει στην πούγκαν'] might be seen as a predecessor to the Cypriot hip-hop group Hardcore Heads' claim that everything is a cabaret (in Cyprus a kind of quasi-brothel).
It remains to this day the cliche Cypriot song known widely across the Greek world, as is exempified by this recording by Efi Thodi.

Surprisingly enough, Demis Roussos also released his own version of the song in 1973, replacing its Cypriot dialect with English lyrics. In fact, the song was released on the album which launched Roussos' international solo career following the split-up of Aphrodite's Child.



Even more surprisingly, Roussos' rendition of the song became quite popular, popular enough to reach India (uncannily reversing the trend of Indian songs moving westward to Greece). There it was found by R. D. Burman, who used it in the soundtrack of the hit Bollywood film Sholay, in this rendering as 'Mehbooba Mehbooba':



This made the song a hit once again, leading to various reinterpetations,* e.g.:




Among these is this one by the Kronos Quartet, accompanied by a Chinese pipa:



* Thanks to C. for pointing these out, as well as for mentioning the research on goat-theft in Crete that inspired the subtitle of this blog.