A festival that unites people irrespective of gender, age, caste, creed and even religion, Holi is perhaps the most vibrant festival originating from India. And how colorful would our songs be if there was at least one new Holi song added on every year to the film oeuvre. But Holi numbers remain, sadly, only archival.
The 10 winners in the Holi department are:
Aayi re aayi re Holi (Zakhmee)
In the angry ‘70s, this Sunil Dutt title number signified his declaration of revenge on the wrong-doers in this Waqt–Yaadon Ki Baraat genre of lost-and-found brothers saga. The music was by Bappi Lahiri, and Zakhmee signified his entry into the big league. Kishore Kumar sang this Gauhar Kanpuri-written song that celebrated as well as took on serious overtones.
Balam pichhkaari (Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani)
Pritam got Vishal Dadlani and Shalmali Kholgade to belt out this spirited ode to the festival as well as love, filmed on Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone. The lyrics were written by Amitabh Bhattacharya and the song has come to rank as the primary Holi all-timer from the millennium.
Choodiyaan bazaar se (Suhana Safar)
This is probably the most unsung Holi gem, filmed on Shashi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore in the 1970 non-starter Suhana Safar. Written by Anand Bakshi and composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, the song was classily rendered with a subtle hint of mischief by both Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle, as the girl asks for new bangles and more before agreeing to hold her lover’s hand!
Ho meri hi pehle hi tung this choli (Souten)
A full decade before the landmark Choli ke peeche kya hai , filmmaker-lyricist Saawan Kumar went on to have a direct reference to tight cholis (blouses) in this Rajesh Khanna-Tina Munim duet composed by Usha Khanna and sung by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar. The lyrics had a decied hint of erotica along with the visuals.
Holi aayi re Kanhaai (Mother India)
Where would Naushad be without sedateness? Arguably the most chaste and sober of all Holi songs was this Shakeel Badayuni-written and Shamshad Begum-sung celebration in this landmark film, complete with the Kanhaai (Lord Krishna) element and a giant idol of Lord Shiva in the background. The song essentially has Nargis remembering her husband Raaj Kumar even as Sunil Dutt and Rajendra Kumar, as her two sons, playfully pull her into the colorful dance.
Holi khele Raghuveera Awadh mein (Baghban)
Aadesh Shrivastava and lyricist Sameer were both very close to Amitabh Bachchan, and they did their best for this ensemble song also recorded by him with Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan and Sukhwinder Singh, in which the wife (Hema Malini) even chides her husband (Bachchan) about being naughty at sixty, while their entire clan and friends join in the fun and frolic.
Holi ke din dil khil jaate hain (Sholay)
Sholay was as much about Gabbar Singh as about Thakur, Jai, Veeru and Basanti. And Veeru (Dharmendra) and Basanti (Hema Malini) celebrated this festival with gusto even as the shadow of the maniacal Gabbar Singh loomed tall over the village. R.D. Burman composed this Kishore Kumar-Lata Mangeshkar number written by Anand Bakshi.
Lahu munh lag gaya (Goliyon Ki RasLila—RamLila)
Released in the same year (2013) as Yeh Jawaani…, this is a Holi song that, while getting far less popularity, still ranks as a solid audiovisual experience. Shail Hada rendered this Sanjay Leela Bhansali composition penned by Siddharth-Garima, that spoke of sensual passion between Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone even as they teasingly test the waters of their passion for each other.
Mal de gulaal mohe (Kaamchor)
The scene was Holi, but the sequence was a dramatic turn in the narrative of this K. Vishwanath-Rakesh Roshan hit. What made the song score was a fresh and pulsating Rajesh Roshan tune decked up with superb orchestration and Indeevar’s classy lyrics, aided of course by the timeless vocals of Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar.
Rang barse (Silsila)
Considered by some to be the cult song in this genre, the song was the first to really bring in an erotic tenor to both the lyrics and the visuals. Sung and enacted by Amitabh Bachchan, it was penned by his father Dr. Harivanshrai Bachchan in his third and last outing with films and was composed by Shiv-Hari. It was filmed on Bachchan and Rekha, who played Sanjeev Kumar’s wife, while Jaya Bachchan, Bachchan’s wife, and Sanjeev look on, first indulgently and then helplessly.
(Used with permission)
