10 Bollywood songs that pushed the envelope

In the (very roughly estimated) 15,000 songs recorded for Hindi cinema to date, a miniscule fraction is decidedly unique, in composition, orchestration, lyrics or vocals. We look at some prominent examples.

Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai, Guide (1965)

S D Burman began this hit with the antara or inner verses (Kaaton se khinchke yeh aanchal) instead of the mukhda or main lines of the song (Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai). For lyricist Shailendra and visionary director Vijay Anand, it was about breaking new ground. Just as the heroine (Waheeda Rehman) is shown breaking the shackles of a bad marriage with this number. The song too broke the fetters of convention.

Hu kaun chhu, Badhti Ka Naam Dadhi (1974)

Though the song did not work, it was rendered by (and filmed on) four comedians — I S Johar, Bhagwan, Maruti and Sunder, and composed by another comic hero Kishore Kumar, who also produced, directed and acted in the film.

Hum tum to aap ke deewane hain, Aap Ke Deewane (1980)

This was the only ‘lyric’ in this long dance number featuring Jeetendra, Rishi Kapoor and Rakesh Roshan and composed by Rajesh Roshan. There was varied interlude music in this title-track by Anand Bakshi, a lyricist otherwise known to offer a wide choice of multiple antaras for every song.

Ilahi tu sunle hamali, Chhote Nawab (1960)

R D Burman showed his tangential streak in his debut film itself, with Mohammed Rafi singing the entire song with a lisp. More than four decades later, Jatin-Lalit recorded another lisp-on-lips number, Abhijeet’s ‘Karele ki shaadi’ for the 2002 comedy film ‘Waah!...Tera Kya Kehna’ .

Mera naam Aao, Yeh Gulistan Hamara (1972)

This was the first known song that had one actor (Danny Denzongpa) singing playback for another (Johnny Walker). The music was by S D Burman. Later examples included Leena Chandavarkar singing for Meenakshi Seshadri in ‘Lover Boy’ and Mehmood for a junior artiste in ‘Do Aur Do Paanch’.

Mere jeevan saathi, Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981)

The milestone romantic duet enacted by Kamal Haasan and Rati Agnihotri saw the song entirely made of Hindi film titles, coherently strung together by Anand Bakshi. The hero aims to impresses his girl with his knowledge of Hindi cinema through this hit Laxmikant-Pyarelal duet by S P Balasubramaniam and Anuradha Paudwal.

Mr Prime Minister, Mr Prime Minister (2005)

At 83, incredibly, Dev Anand turned both lyricist and singer in both Hindi and English, when he rapped out the title-track of his film in two languages. All that his music director Bappi Lahiri had to look after was the orchestral back-up and the song recording.

My heart is beating, Julie (1975)

A Rajesh Roshan humdinger, this remains the only song in English that was written, composed, sung and filmed (on heroine Laxmi) exactly like a conventional Hindi song. The lyrics were by Harindranath Chattopadhyaya and the song was rendered by Preeti Sagar.

Saat saheliyaan, Vidhaata (1982)

Kalyanji-Anandji used seven voices for an in-film stage dance wherein heroine Padmini Kolhapure wore seven costumes. Kishore Kumar sang for Shammi Kapoor, but Padmini’s singers included Kanchan, Anuradha Paudwal, Alka Yagnik, Sadhana Sargam and Hemlata besides Padmini’s sister Shivangi and Padmini herself.

Dhoom machaa le, Dhoom (2004)

For the first time ever, Pritam composed a two-version whopper in Hindi (Sunidhi Chauhan for Esha Deol) and English (sung and enacted by Tata Young). The Hindi version was a chartbuster at home, but the latter was a rage in pubs around the globe. The Hindi lyrics were by Sameer and the English by Asif Ali Beg.