Jahan Teri Yeh Nazar Hai

Amitabh Bachchan - Jahan teri yeh nazar hai

The 1981 film Kaalia was a big commercial success. It cemented the status of Amitabh Bachchan as a popular star, and his increasing identification as the ‘angry young man’ of Hindi cinema with a stream of similar roles. Director Tinu Anand‘s first outing with the star, but not his last, would include many popular songs…

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Afsana Likh Rahi Hoon

Munawar Sultana - Afsana likh rahi hoon

The film Dard was released in 1947 and proved to be an important milestone for many involved. The music composer Naushad Ali knew much success after the songs of this film were a big hit. The singer Uma Devi Khatri would become a known name, and while her name would not carry her too far…

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Hawaon Pe Likh Do Hawaon Ke Naam

Kishore Kumar - Hawaon pe likh do

Do Dooni Char was a film made in 1968. It was based on Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors, a source that would be referenced by Hindi films on several occasions in the future. Speaking of mistaken identities and doubles, a film of the same name, but with a mildly different spelling, would also be made in…

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Dum Dum Dum Mast Hai

Anushka Sharma & Ranveer Singh - Dum dum

Band Baaja Baaraat was a movie that came out of nowhere. Sure, it was produced by the ever eminent Yashraj Films, but it had little else going for it. Released at the very end of the year, a fresh director (Maneesh Sharma), a fist time actor in the main role (Ranvir Singh), a second time…

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Tum Se Kuch Kehna Hai

Shakila & Ajit - Tum se kuch kehna hai

The reason the Indian film industry, as a collection of all its many regional language industries, has been the most prolific producer of cinema for a large chunk of film history, is because it is a very deep creature. There are the popular blockbuster films staring big-name stars and top-flight talent, but the vast majority…

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Laaga Chunari Mein Daag

Raj Kapoor - Laaga chunari mein daag

Raj Kapoor is most often remembered for working on and in his sometimes lavish, opus-like home productions, but he did plenty of other films in his time, like any other star at the prime of their career. Laga chunari mein daag is a song from Dil hi to hai, one such movie, released in 1963.…

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Gum Hai Kisi Ke Pyar Mein

Rekha & Randhir Kapoor - Gum hai kisi ke pyar mein

As a director, Manmohan Desai will always be known as the one who took the Hindi masala movie to its pinnacle from the 1960s to the early 1980s. He had a dream run of mostly successful films, all depending on a cornucopia of drama, a focus on mass entertainment above all other considerations, and a…

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Kuch Mere Dil Ne Kaha

Chandrachur & Priya Gill - Kuch mere dil ne kaha

Tere mere sapne, released in 1996 was not a super-hit movie, but it still stands out in memory if you lived through the time, because it was memorable in various small ways. For one it was produced by Amitabh Bachchan’s on again, off again production house ABCL. It also introduced into the Hindi film world…

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Iyengaaru Veetu Azhage

Vikram & Sadha - Iyengaaru veetu azhage

Known mostly for his over-the-top Rajnikant extravaganzas, Sivaji and Enthiran, S. Shankar has had a much longer career as director. He’s even strayed away from Tamil and made a Hindi film with Nayak, and he’s made plenty of bizarre Tamil films in the past too. One such is the 2005 film Anniyan, which I have…

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Dil Ibadat

Soha Ali Khan - Dil ibadat

As a singer, KK is one of those hidden gems. Not that he is unknown by any means, but over more than a decade, he’s sung some of the most iconic songs of Hindi cinema, while always remaining a fairly low profile character. His singing has a versatility and a certain heart-wrenching quality that none…

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Yeh Haseen Wadiyan

Yeh haseen wadiyan - Roja

As much of a startling change to the landscape of Hindi film music as A.R. Rahman was in the mid-1990s, his transition from Tamil films to mainstream Hindi cinema was also a gradual one from the audience’s perspective. He only showed up on the average film-fan’s radar with the release of the Hindi dub of…

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Indian Song