Holi Hai!
Recently I got thinking about the festivals that attract Bollywood. Yes, thanks to Karan Johar and Yash Chopra, Karva Chauth has become synonymous with the silver screen. But the one festival that really pulls in the crowds is Holi!
Maybe it has something to do with the nature of the festival itself. The gay abandon, the colors, the madness, the intoxicating fun – all this help make Holi ‘the’ festival for the silver screen.
The film industry is also famously known for its Holi celebration off screen as well. Celebrations at Yash Chora’s house, the Kapoor’s, Amitabh Bachchan’s place, and of late, Shah Rukh Khan’s bunglow – all these are the Holi hotspots of the filmi gang.
Talking about on screen celebrations, can one forget AB’s Rang Barse? Impossible! Holi is just not Holi without it!
So here on the eve of Holi, is a list of my top favorite Holi songs of all times –
#9 – Ang se ang lagana from Darr
A typically naughty Holi song. With couples busy flirting and playing with each other. But amidst all this fun and good times, hangs the shadow of evil – Shah Rukh Khan, the obsessed lover, who taking advantage of the festive moment joins in with the dholwaales with color smeared on his face so that he is not recognized.
#8 – Nadiya se dariya from Namak Haram
It’s the perfect song for a drunken Holi afternoon! After getting tired with playing around with the colors, it’s time to sit with friends with glasses full of bhang for company!
#7 – Holi aayee re Kanhayee from Mother India
This gem of a song shot on an innocent looking and happy Rajendra Kumar and a sullen looking Sunil Dutt, still manages to hold its own amidst the new crop.
#6 – Jai jai Shiv Shankar from Aap ki Kasam
I know this is not a Holi song, but it sure is pretty close to it. Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz’s bhang induced gay abandon can only be depicted during Holi!
#5 – Holi khele Raghubeera from Baghban
When it comes to Holi, AB is unbeatable! Holi is not Holi without AB belting out a song in his famed baritone! Add to that the on screen chemistry with Hema Malini – marvelous! At 60 too AB rocks!
#4 – Holi ke din from Sholay
The typical gaon wala song and dance. The song had all the more impact as it was preceded by Gabbar Singh’s famous dialogue “Kab hai Holi?”, and his attack on the village soon after the song. Another shot not to be missed – when an otherwise brooding AB breaks into an impromptu dance!
#3 – Aaj na chodenge from Kati Patang
A beautiful track! Again Rajesh Khanna with his charm on full throttle and a white sari clad Asha Parekh standing out so amazingly from within the colorful frames of the song.
#2 – Rang barse from Silsila
Probably the unofficial mantra of Holi. No Holi celebration, however big or small is complete without Rang Barse! AB and Rekha’s hot chemistry, Sanjeev Kumar’s stunned realization, and Jaya Bachchan’s silent protest, make it even more memorable.
#1 – Arrey ja re hat natkhat from Navrang
It’s I guess one of the oldest and also one of the most popular Holi songs to hit the silver screen. Aided by Sandhya’s wonderful dancing, this song tops my list hands down!
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Don’t forget to add the food associated with the occasion! :D
‘Holi aayee re Kanhayee…’ at no. 7! :O
“chhoote na rang aise rang se chunariya
dhobaniya dhoye chaahe saari umariya
mohe bhaae na harjai rang halke”
@Neeraja: hv listed d songs on a cmpletely personal top favs basis – u mite or mite nt agree – no issues!
happy holi!
Oh ya sure, just expressing my surprise. Happy holi to you too and to everyone on PFC.
Oops..I missed initally that the ranking was upside down….pretty much agree Medha…specially the Kati Patang one which is a bit under-rated i feel.
One of my favs…probably coz of the nostalgia factor…is the one from Zakhmee(Sunil Dutt)in it…Aayee re aayee re holi..
“Are o Sambha..holi kab hai..kab hai holi”
:”>
I know this is not a song but i remember this, withot fail, along with any song listed above, when there is a mention of holi..
Happy holi…
Holi is a festivals of colours and fun and hence becomes synonymous with our cinema. Do not forget, there was a movie called HOLI by Ketan Mehta starring a certain Aamir Khan and a certain Ashutosh Gowariker too!
Hindi film songs have always adorned the mood of Holi like fragrant flowers or beautiful ornaments and will continue to do so for years to come. Lets hope that in the future too we have excellent new Holi songs coming our way.
Wishing all the bloggers and the crew at PFC
A VERY HAPPY AND SAFE HOLI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For me in my top ten..from 1 to 10 consists of only one Holi song – Maaro Bhar Bhar Pichkaari – film “Dhanwaan”…who else but Saahir can write such “dynamic” lyrics !!
The songs are beautiful!
But why they always wear white clothes or clothes of lighter shade. Always. I love Bollywood :-)
Happy & safe Holi!
KCP, tomorrow is Holi speical ‘K For Kishore’ and I reckon, that song will feature in the show.. :-D
(btw, I don’t like the
songcomposition..)I am sure that other than Amit Kumar, none of the singers, judges, Hosts, organizers would remotely be aware of this gem.
If Kishore Kumar has sung more than 9 holi songs in his career then there is a possibility that song won’t feature.. has he sung more than 9 holi songs?
yup…you corrected the song in the right place :P ( composition i.e. )
I am sure he has sung atleast 9 :-) some of them that come to mind are :
Mal De Gulaal Mohe
Holi Ke Din
Aaj Na Chhodenge
Kar Gayi Mast ujhe
Zakhmee Dilon Ka Badla Chukaane
Rang Bhari Rut – Wafa
Udaake Gori Gulaabi Ghungta
From recent Holi songs, I like “Ey Gori” from Delhi Heights. And strangely, I also like this POP Holi song ‘C’est La Vie’ from Dil Jo Bhi Kahey.
He must have sung that many songs for ‘K For Kishore’ to have a Holi Special. Anyway, still to see if the Kishore Bhakts will be only singing Kishore’s Holi songs.
dekho aai holi – mangal pandey
ae gori – delhi heights
They sang a few Holi songs ( Holi Ke Din was sung by Chetan and Nagesh :O )
There are a few more KK holi songs like Rang Doonga Sabko Main (Andhera…good for the show), Holi Aayi Re (Mashaal..again good masti), Gareebon Ki Holi (Ek Aur Ek Gyaarah), Rang Chala Bahaar Chali(Zamana), Dekh Ke Yaaron Ka Juloos(DeshDrohi), but they are unfortunately not that famous
Milind and Nayan sang regional Holi songs too !
Medha, u forgot one classic superb song from Paraya Dhan (balraj sahni, hema malini, Rakesh roshan)
Holi re holi, rango ki holi,
aayee tere ghar pe maston ki toli,
mukh na chhupa o gori saamne aa…
Mina T and Om prakash with toli of holi lovers dancing and singing on streets of some beautiful himachal pradesh village.
enjoyed ur article.
i like the holi song from waqt too .. its wierd but i stil lik it !!:d
Well u all guys forgot is one classic holi song.. its just not a bad holi song…. its less arguably worst song evr to grace indian cinema/music….its soooooo bad that me n my gang just love it..
DO ME A FAVOR, LETS PLAY HOLI…… from Waqt (Akshay-Amitabh one)
Well genius of Anu Malik lies in the fact that he could have saved the already flop number by giving it to Shaan/Sonu/KK…. but Annu decides to go by himself and just killllll it.. and now it is an unforgettable… i hav listend it just once or twice but Annu’s humming “wyow-wyow-wyow” dont make me forget…….
talking abt the movie ‘holi’, can anyone tell me where i can find or get hold of this movie. have been searching it for ages now :(.
]. but the reason for shaving his head was a completely different one – he was mourning the loss of his first love/crush… a school/college teacher. he had proposed to her and she rejected it ……
the movie never had a theatrical release, but i dont find a mention of it even in film festivals. i believe aamir had a bald look in that film [back to square one with ghajini
there is another song from yash chopra’s Mashaal
“Holi aayee holi aayee dekho holi aayee re”
Treat to watch Dilip kumar, waheeda rehman, beautiful rati agnihotri and anil kapoor. it was not typical chopra kind of song cos it was picturised in mohalla kind of location and not in garden of big haveli.
another typical chopra/ johar kind of holi song is from Mohabbatein “soni soni ankhiyon waali” where heroines are wearing white mini skirts and mini tops showing their clavages and heroes wearing white shirts/t-shirts and blue jeans. all of them are looking like they are coming from some fairy land country.
~shaam rang from Water
~rang hai from Meenaxi (not a Holi song but the lyrics beautifully describe the importance of color in life)
~Holi number from RGV’s Aag (not so great, but still a playful Holi song)
oh definitely, how could I miss Water & Meenaxi! both my favorite films and albums.