Tune in to timeless melodies

Cinema Bollywood’s music enchants the world. Here are the 10 best Hindi songs, according to S. R. Madhu

“Iam bewitched by Bollywood and its music,” says Richard Corliss of Time magazine. Bollywood songs and dances — once an object of mirth — have stimulated academic visits to India, books and PhD theses, and a boom in Hindi language learning. Hindi film music unites our diverse country, as nothing else does. During the past 80 years, thousands of songs have enthralled millions of fans. (Indian cinema was born in 1913, but movies began to talk and sing only in 1931.)

Here’s a list, entirely subjective, of the 10 best Hindi film songs of all time. The main criteria applied:-
the quality of the lyric, 
the melody and the singing; 
the visual appeal of the song; and 
its social impact. 

The list is arranged by chronology, not rank.

1938 ‘Babul mora’

sung by K. L. Saigal

in Street Singer

Music director: R. C. Boral

When Bollywood’s first music icon K. L. Saigal yearned for his screen sweetheart Kanan Devi in the 1938 Street Singer , all of India hummed — and they have been doing so for 75 years. For the recording of the song, Saigal insisted that he would sing live on the street, like street singers, not in a studio. A harmonium was strapped around his neck and the orchestra followed him. Music director Boral was astounded at the impact. The song brings out Saigal’s strengths as a singer — a powerful voice, amazing clarity, phenomenal range and understanding of music.

1947 ‘Awaaz de kahan hai’

sung by Nur Jehan and

Surendra in Anmol Ghadi

Music director: Naushad

Noor Jehan’s voice sounds like a temple bell as she sings ‘Awaz de kahan hai’, a sensational hit of the 1940s. Naushad’s haunting melody is enhanced by Noor Jehan’s rare ability to infuse zest and sparkle into every song. She was Bollywood’s most charismatic singing star between 1942 and ‘47, before she migrated to Pakistan. This song is a duet with singing star Surendra, but he is eclipsed by Noor Jehan’s brilliance.

1952 ‘Man tarpat Hari darshan ko aaj’

sung by Mohammed Rafi

in Baiju Bawra

Music director: Naushad.

This song begins with a resounding ‘Hari Om’, and holds you spellbound with Naushad’s melody and Rafi’s electrifying intensity. It is said that Hindu priests wept on listening to this song. They were amazed that three Muslims — writer Shakeel Badayuni, composer Naushad and singer Rafi — could convey such devotional fervour in a Hindu bhajan. The song and the film inspired a classical music revolution in Hindi cinema.

1955 ‘Pyar hua ikrar hua hai’

sung by Manna Dey and

Lata Mangeshkar in Shri 420

Composers: Shanker-Jaikishen

Hailed as the epitome of romance in Hindi cinema, this Lata-Manna Dey gem is the best of all the Raj Kapoor-Nargis songs in their 16 films together. The doting Raj and the radiant Nargis look like the real-life lovers they were. Close-ups — of Raj’s smile, Nargis’ eyes and the lovers drawing close — highlight the chemistry of the lead pair. So do the famous shots of Raj and Nargis sharing an umbrella in the rain.

1960 ‘Pyar kiya tho darna kya’

sung by Lata Mangeshkar

in Mughal-e-Azam

Music director: Naushad

Hindi cinema’s most splendid paean to love has a luminous Madhubala swirling and swaying to Lata’s immortal voice in the court of emperor Akbar. The song is a triumph of music, technology, choreography and acting (it’s a Madhubala show, but histrionic powerhouses Prithviraj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar are wordlessly eloquent). The shots of Sheesh Mahal’s mirrors reflecting the image of a defiant, dancing Madhubala are fabulous. The song illustrates the “divine madness” of producer K. Asif who made this epic of a movie.

  

1965 ‘Aaj phir jeene-ki tamanna hai’

sung by Lata Mangeshkar

in Guide

Music director: S. D. Burman

Never has the spirit of joyous abandon come across so beautifully in a film song. Liberated from marital tyranny in Dev Anand’s Guide and free to pursue her dancing dream, Waheeda, enacting dancer Rosy, celebrates with song and dance, lip-synching to Lata’s vocals and S. D. Burman’s enchanting melody. She rides a camel, romps in a hay-laden truck, poses with a temple sculpture, pretends to jump off a cliff. Vijay Anand’s choreography is a treat, The low-angle tracking shot of Waheeda dancing along the ledge of a temple is etched in the viewer’s memory. A song that’s sheer perfection — or very close to it.

 1971 ‘Dum maro dum’

sung by Asha Bhosle

in Hare Rama Hare Krishna

Music director: R. D. Burman

“This song is so powerful that it can make a dead man come to life,” said Kishore Kumar once. Composer R. D. Burman’s instrumental prelude — with the guitar, the transicord and drums — is hypnotic. A sinuous and sexy teenage Zeenat Aman sways to the sultry vocals of Asha Bhosle and the rhythm of many instruments, while an intoxicated young gang gyrates in an ecstasy of pot and smoke. This cult song became the anthem of the Hippie movement, and revolutionised Hindi film music of the 1970s.

1971 ‘Chingari koi bhadke’

sung by Kishore Kumar

in Amar Prem

Music director: R. D. Burman

Composer R. D. Burman was known for his empathy with western beats and his genius with new instruments and earthy sounds. But he was a revelation in the 1971 Amar Prem , particularly in its song ‘Chingari koi bhadke’ — which is quiet and drenched in classicism. The song shows Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore enjoying a tranquil boat ride on the Ganga under the Howrah bridge. R. D. Burman combines unforgettable melody, the power of the violin, the guitar and the flute, and the voice of Kishore Kumar, to produce magic.

1994 ‘Ek ladki ko dekha’

sung by Kumar Sanu

in 1942 A Love Story

Composer: R. D. Burman

Cinema is said to comprise many arts in a single art: this song is proof. It’s based on Anil Kapoor’s love-at-first-sight reaction to Manisha Koirala. Visually, it’s a procession of painting-quality pastoral images (such as Kapoor mobbed by a flock of sheep shepherded by Koirala blowing a temple conch). The song and the film infused new life into Bollywood melody which almost died during the 1980s. But ironically, Burman died before the release of 1942 , giving the film a cult status.

2002 ‘Dola re, dola re’

sung by Kavita Krishnamurthy,

Shreya Ghoshal and Kay Kay

in Devdas

Music composers: Ismail Darbar

and Nusrat Badr

If you are fond of spectacle, glamour and grandeur, this song is a dream. Producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali presents a dance duet by Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai (the two stunners featured together in a song for the first time), along with a few score others in a seductively lavish setting, for the 2002 version of Devdas . The song is charming, but the feast is visual rather than aural. An extravaganza without a soul or wonderful entertainment? The public thought it was the latter.

(The Hindu, Metroplus, 31:07:2012)

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