It surely wAs(h)a fantastic number

It isn’t uncommon for the soundtrack of a film that fares poorly at the box office to feature a gem.

While Kabhi Na Kabhi, which released in 1998, was a dud, one of its songs – Mere Dil Ka Woh Shehzada – was undoubtedly popular.

The track, which was penned by Javed Akhtar, was five minutes and 43 seconds long.

It was the title song of the film, and possibly the only song in the film that could be called a chartbuster.

A R Rahman composed the track, which was rendered by none other than Asha Bhosle.

The female Sing(h)erS Komplemented Sonu

By no means was Kehne Ko Dadi, from Jeans, the grandma of all songs, but it was a catchy number.

The track, which was penned by Javed Akhtar, was about a cool dadi who was urged to call Clinton to say I love you, sing Raga Bhairavi at the disco and decorate the gate of Disneyland with a rangoli. That’s an awesome combo of desi tradition and Western modernity!

The Son(u)g, which was five minutes and 51 seconds long, was rendered by Mr Nigam, Sukhwinder Singh, Kavita Paudwal and Sangeeta.

A R Rahman composed it.

(Ud)It K(avit)aught the youngsters’ attention

Hai Rabba was the longest song on the soundtrack of Jeans – it was seven minutes and 15 seconds long.

Although it was a passable duet, it was catchy.

(Ud)It was rendered by a (Kavi)talented and popular pair – Mr Narayan and Ms Krishnamurthy.

Javed Akhtar, who penned it, took the cake as far as using similes to describe the leading lady's beauty was concerned – she was described as a jeeta-jaagta Taj Mahal (a living Taj Mahal) and her shakal (face) was likened to the poora chand (full moon).

The track was composed by A R Rahman.

(Colum)Busy Nigam made holiday plans

When a person discovers what to do on his/her day off (or makes plans for a holiday), the feeling is akin to what Christopher Columbus, the explorer, must have got upon discovering America.

Perhaps that was what Javed Akhtar wanted to convey when he penned Columbus, keeping youngsters, who look forward to the do din ki chhutti (the much-awaited weekend), in mind.

It was the shortest song on the soundtrack of Jeans – it was four minutes and 56 seconds long.

The fast-paced Son(u)g was composed by A R Rahman.

It was rendered by Mr Nigam.

Indeed, Hariharan rendered (Sadh)anawesome track

The first thing one associates with Jeans is the pair of denims that is a must-have in every wardrobe.

It was also the title of a Tamil film that released in 1998 and was dubbed into Hindi.

Only a die-hard A R Rahman fan would admit that it had some hummable tracks.

Hariharan and Sadhana Sargam rendered a song that was six minutes and 57 seconds long.

It was titled Ajooba and penned by Javed Akhtar.

And, as any Hindi film music buff and his Ajoba (Marathi for grandpa) would tell you, it was 'wonder'ful.

Supriyo's rendition (Srini)vas indeed fantastic

Ta Ra Rum Pum, from Doli Saja Ke Rakhna, was the song every young guy would croon upon discovering who he believes is the one.

And if he’s lucky to have a group of buddies who are genuinely worried about his habit of being khoya khoya (lost) and din mein soya soya (asleep during the day) and raaton ko uthke rona (getting up at night and crying), they’ll say, “Chalo usko dhoondhenge hum” (which means, “Let’s go and find her.”)

Mehboob penned the song, which A R Rahman composed.

Babul Supriyo and Srinivas rendered it.

Anuradha excelled in thiS(reekuma)romantic number

If you grew up in the nineties, and were (Paudw)alover of the Hindi film music of that decade, chances are you would have read Anuradha's name in the credits of numerous soundtracks.

Of course, she didn’t render many A R Rahman compositions. One of the pair's collaborations was Kissa Hum Likhenge from Doli Saja Ke Rakhna.

The romantic duet became quite popular for a while.

The man who joined her behind the microphone was none other than M G Sreekumar.

Kudos to Mehboob, who penned it, for capturing the innocence of that period so beautifully.

Ranu ably supported her co-Sing(h)er

Doli Saja Ke Rakhna, which released in 1998, derived its title from a track from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.

By no means was the soundtrack of the former as popular as that of the latter, but it had a few catchy numbers.

One of them was Chal Kheva Re Kheva, which celebrated the joie de vivre one associates with fishermen.

The track, which was penned by Mehboob, was composed by A R Rahman.

It wouldn’t be incorrect to state that Sukhwinder Singh had the listeners hooked.

He was joined behind the microphone by Ranu Mukherjee. 

Kavita rendered this long Son(u)g

Satrangi Re was the longest song on the soundtrack of Dil Se.. – it was seven minutes and 25 seconds long.

It also took a long time to grow on the listeners. But once it did, they realised that it was mind-blowing.

But only those who are in throes of love (by which I mean a serious relationship, not puppy love) would truly appreciate the track, which was penned by Gulzar.

There’s no denying that this was one of the toughest Son(u)gs composed by A R Rahman.

It was rendered by Mr Nigam and Kavita Krishnamurthy.

Ms Mangeshkar rendered (Sreekum)ariveting track

Short and worth several repeats – that, in a nutshell, is perhaps the best way to describe Jiya Jale from Dil Se..

The track, which was five minutes and seven seconds long, was penned by Gulzar.

It was rendered by Lata Mangeshkar, who was 68 at the time.

She was backed by M G Sreekumar and a chorus.

The highlight of the track was its Malayalam portion, which was penned by Gireesh Puthenchery.

Hindi film music buffs, regardless of age, continue to be grateful to A R Rahman, who composed it, for pulling off this coup.

Rahman rendered A FAntastic track

Dil Se Re, the title track of Dil Se.., was six minutes and 44 seconds long.

The phrase dil se means from the heart, and that was exactly what the listeners felt about the rendition by A R Rahman, who bagged the Best Music Director Award for the film’s soundtrack at the Filmfare Awards in 1999.

He was joined behind the microphone by three ladies – Annupamaa Krishnaswami, Anuradha Sriram and Febi Mani.

Guy Pratt, bass guitarist for English rock band Pink Floyd’s post-Roger Waters albums, played bass on the track, which was penned by Gulzar.

Sukhwinder S(apn)ang an awesome track

Chhaiyya Chhaiyya, from Dil Se.., was six minutes and 54 seconds long.

The track earned Gulzar the Filmfare Best Lyricist Award (which he deserved) in 1999.

It was composed by A R Rahman.

Sukhwinder bagged the Best Male Playback Award at the Filmfare Awards and the Star Screen Awards that year.

Sapna shared Sing(h)ing credits with him.

To state that the track was A(wast)hit would be an understatement.

Farah Khan won the Filmfare Best Choreography Award.

It was performed by ‘train’ed professionals (including Shahrukh Khan and Malaika Arora), so don’t try this at the station.

Music buffs couldn't (Mahalaksh)miss (Ud)it

If there were a discussion on A R Rahman’s top ten Hindi film soundtracks, most music buffs would include the songs of Dil Se.., which released in 1998.

And only a stranger to good music would say that Aye Ajnabi, which was penned by Gulzar, wasn’t a mind-blowing number.

It was five minutes and 48 seconds long.

It wouldn’t be incorrect to say that each line, including the portion that went, “Paakhi Paakhi Pardesi”, gave the listeners goosebumps.

(Ud)It was rendered by Narayan.

And the lady who joined him behind the (Mahalaksh)microphone was Ms Iyer.

Mr Singh’s vocals were earthy

It wouldn't be incorrect to say that Rut Aa Gayee Re was the most outstanding song on the soundtrack of 1947: Earth, which released in 1998.

It was also the longest – it was five minutes and 31 seconds long.

Javed Akhtar penned the track.

The repeated words (such as peeli peeli, peele peele and peehu peehu) were perhaps the reason why it was a treat for the ears.

Considering it had a rustic feel, there couldn’t have been a better Sing(h)er to render it than Sukhwinder, who invariably does justice to A R Rahman’s compositions.