To celebrate Holi, we choose 10 songs that make reference to colour. These aren’t songs depicting the festival with scenes of people playing, as we had prepared that list a year ago.
The order is chronological, and a bulk of the songs are from the 1960s. Interestingly, the early ones were from black ‘n’ white films.
1 Hawa Mein Udta Jaaye – Barsaat (1949)
Though it was filmed in black ‘n’ white, one always imagined a red dupatta while listening to this song, sung by Lata Mangeshkar and composed by Shankar-Jaikishen. The actress Bimla Kumari came to be known as the ‘lal dupatta’ girl. Lyricist Ramesh Shastri wrote, “Hawa mein udta jaaye, mera lal dupatta malmal ka ho ji, ho ji; Idhar udhar lehraaye, mera lal dupatta malmal ka ho ji, ho ji”.
2 Aankhon Mein Kya Ji – Nau Do Gyarah (1957)
The word ‘rupehla’ means silvery or silver-coloured. Here, Majrooh Sultanpuri wrote, “Ankhon mein kya ji, rupehla baadal, baadal mein kya ji, kisika aanchal, aanchal mein kya ji, ajab si halchal”. The song was composed by S.D. Burman and sung by Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle. It was filmed on Dev Anand and Kalpana Kartik.
3 Sar Pe Topi Lal – Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957)
A foot-tapping number by music director O.P. Nayyar, this used Punjabi folk influences and vibrant handclaps. It was also brilliant choreographed on Shammi Kapoor, Ameeta and group dancers. It was sung by Asha, Mohammed Rafi and chorus, with Majrooh writing, “Sar pe topi lal, haath mein resham ka rumaal, ho tera kya kehna; Gore gore gaal, gaal pe uljhe uljhe baal, ho tera kya kehna”.
4 Yeh Hariyali Aur Yeh Rasta – Hariyali Aur Rasta (1962)
The song referred to the greenery around Darjeeling, where Manoj Kumar and Mala Sinha appeared on screen. It was an evergreen hit, literally, for Lata. Music was by Shankar-Jaikishen and Hasrat Jaipuri wrote, “Yeh hariyali aur yeh raasta, in raahon par tera mera jeevan bhar ka vaasta”. Here, the greenery is shown in black ‘n’ white.
5 Hansta Hua Noorani Chehra – Parasmani (1963)
This was Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s first film as a music director, and the song was a huge hit with Asad Bhopali writing, “Hansta hua noorani chehra, kali zulfen rang sunehra, teri jawaani tauba tauba re, dilruba dilruba”. Lata and Kamal Barot sang the song filmed on Jeevankala, Nalini Chonkar, Geetanjali and Mahipal. The word ‘sunehra’ referred to golden.
6 Mera Rang De Basanti Chola – Shaheed (1965)
Though this was recognised more as a patriotic song, the word ‘basanti’ mentioned here referred to yellow, the colour of sacrifice. Music and lyrics were by Prem Dhawan, with Mahendra Kapoor, Mukesh, Rafi, Lata and Rajendra Mehta sharing vocals with a chorus.
7 Lal Chhadi Maidan Khadi – Janwar (1965)
One of the Rafi gems filmed on Shammi Kapoor, this song was composed by Shankar-Jaikishen. The heroine was Rajshree. Shailendra wrote the words, “Lal chhadi, maidan khadi, kya khoob ladi kya khoob ladi; Hum dil se gaye, hum jaan se gaye, bas aankh mili aur baat badhi”.
8 Neele Gagan Ke Taley – Hamraaz (1967)
Mahendra Kapoor got a Filmfare Award for Best Playback Singer (Male) for this song composed by Ravi. It was picturised on Rajkumar and Vimi in Darjeeling. Sahir Ludhianvi wrote, “Hey neele gagan ke taley, dharti ka pyaar paley; Aise hi jag mein, aati hain subahein, aise hi shaam dhale”.
9 Tune O Rangeele – Kudrat (1981)
R.D. Burman composed this song sung by Lata. It was filmed on Rajesh Khanna and Hema Malini. Majrooh wrote the lines, “Tune o rangeele kaisa jadoo kiya, piya piya bole matwala jiya, baahon mein chupa ke, yeh kya kiya, o re piya, o o”.
10 Neele Neele Ambar – Kalakaar (1983)
The song was in two versions by Kishore and Sadhana Sargam. The male version, featuring Kunal Goswami and Sridevi, featured some fabulous guitaring. Music was by Kalyanji-Anandji. Indeevar wrote the lines, “Neele neele ambar par, chand jab aaye, pyaar barsaaye, humko tarsaaye, aisa koi saathi ho, aisa koi premi ho, pyaas dil ki bujha jaaye”.
Besides these ‘colour’ songs one can also tune into some good old Holi favourites in last year’s link https://seniorstoday.in/music/10-sparkling-holi-songs
Happy Holi!
