The 11 best Bollywood songs

Film: ‘Dil Se..’ (1998)

A mesmerising, passionate Urdu love song performed on the roof of a train as it trundles through a jaw-dropping mountain forest backdrop. Item dancer Malaika Arora rivals Shakira in the hip-swivelling stakes and Shah Rukh Khan dances (and head bangs) effortlessly as he always does, in this composition by AR Rahman, sung by Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi. This is one song that wasn’t an excuse for a toilet break.

Film: RRR (2022)

The Telugu composer of this banger, M M Keeravani, is a legend in pan-Indian cinema and created this song originally in Telugu and dubbed into various languages. Rhythm is at the centre, with Indian skin drums adding texture. The Telugu version went on to win the Best song Oscar and a Golden Globe, while the Hindi version, which you can watch below, is even more popular. The video, which was shot at Ukraine’s Mariinsky Palace to mirror India under the British Raj, has the film’s leads, NT Rama Rao Jr and Ram Charan, showing off their moves in a dance battle against the British rulers.

Film: Sadma (1983)

The scoring career of Tamil stalwart Ilayaraja spans more than 1000 pan-Indian film soundtracks in various languages, and this is one of his most haunting compositions. In a poignant story that features one of India’s most beloved on-screen pairings, Kamal Haasan and Sridevi, this delicate and melodic lullaby is soothingly sung by playback legend KJ Yesudas. 

Film: ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ (2001)

Despite opening to mixed reviews at the time, ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ went on to become one of the highest grossing Bollywood films internationally. The title track is an example of how a song can weave its way through a film, Lata Mangeshkar's distinctive and emotive voice whisks you away on a journey into the complex world of the family. Through her vocals she imitates the film's title (which translates to ‘in times of happiness, in times of sadness’), hurt and celebration coalescing in one stunning performance.

Film: ‘Dilwalhe Dulhania Le Jayenge’ (1995)

The song from the most romantic film in a generation ‘TDTYJS’ nods to Bollywood’s wholesome days of yore with playback singers Kumar Sanu and Lata Mangeshkar as star-crossed lovers Raj (Shah Rukh Khan) and Simran (Kajol) are reunited in Punjab’s glorious fields.

They declare they’ll die in each other’s arms amid costume changes, location switches (to the Alps), and dream-sequence montages. The combo of glorious melodies, soaring strings and the innocent purity of Lata’s voice has been a Bollywood staple for decades. After all, if it ain’t broke…

Film: ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ (2013)

A song dedicated to mischief and being a player, with superstar-in-waiting Ranbir Kapoor – featured in our list of the ten best Bollywood actors – popping, locking and hip-thrusting through a salsa and reggaeton-flavoured party track. It sports a catchy chorus, as well as a jaunty sing-along melody and the immortal lyrics, ‘Bollywood, Bollywood, very, very jolly good’. This is huge, as 50 Cent might say, ‘in da club’.

Film: ‘Kabhie Kabhie’ (1976)

Songs are often key to the plot of Bollywood movies and repeated throughout the film, as is the case with this achingly beautiful song from the spectacularly successful ‘Kabhie Kabhie’.

Poet Amit (Amitabh Bachchan) falls in love with student Pooja (Rakhee Gulzar), and the smooth operator recites a poem to her: the lyrics to this song, sung by all-time great playback duo Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar.

Family prevents Amit and Pooja from being together, with Pooja having an arranged marriage and singing this song on her wedding night and imagining what might have been. A real heartbreaker.

Film: ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ (2003)

An example of a song recurring throughout a film, the flute intro from the title track of ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ haunts this massively successful early noughties film. Sonu Nigam’s rich, textured voice dreamily animates exquisite, poetic lyrics by Javed Akhtar (of screen-writing duo Salim-Javed, responsible for ‘Sholay’ and ‘Deewaar’), and soundtracks a love triangle with a terminal-illness twist.

The entire soundtrack – by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy – is brilliant and the phat hip hop production of Mahe Vee reflects twenty-first century Bollywood absorbing ‘outernational’ influences.

Flm: ‘Qurbani’ (1980)

Considering mainstream 1970s disco has a certain OTT, kitsch appeal, Bollywood disco seems a match made in mirror-ball heaven – and here’s the evidence. ‘Aap Jaiso Koi’ has roots in Britain with Bangalore-born, London-based producer Biddu (Kung Fu Fighting) behind the languid groove and glossy disco vibe of this Bollywood disco classic.

Remarkably, its ethereal, fuzzy voice belonged to 15-year-old Pakistani schoolgirl Nazia Hassan, living in London, who went on to record a hugely successful album ‘Disco Deewane’ (produced by Biddu) with her brother, Zoheb. Tragically, Nazia passed away in 2000 aged 35.

Film: ‘Hare Raama Hare Krishna’ (1971)

What do you do when you’re Ashaji and your older sister is Lata Mangeshkar, the most in-demand, perfect playback singer in Bollywood? You develop a persona opposite to Lata’s goody-two-shoes image, singing for racy, carefree and sensuous actresses (in this instance, 1970s vamp Zeenat Aman).

This is a homage to hippies in India, as they pass round a chillum as Asha sings, ‘take another hit’ to a glorious, psychedelic Bollywood funk composition by RD Burman – who became Ashaji’s hubby in 1980.

Film: ‘Awaara’ (1951)

Raj Kapoor is the father of cinema in post-colonial India. The actor and director was behind a flurry of hits in the 1950s and 1960s – including ‘Awaara’ – and key to film becoming central to India’s cultural imagination.

The song ‘Awaara Hoon’ sees the actor cheerfully sing about being a drifter, tapping into the Partition of 1947 that saw around 10 million people displaced. His everyman charisma touched a nerve, and versions of this song appeared in the Soviet Union and China, with Chairman Mao reportedly a big fan of both film and song.