(Ud)It was the KatcHiest track

The piece de resistance of Swades’ soundtrack was Yunhi Chala Chal, which was, incidentally, the longest song in the film as well – it was seven minutes and 28 seconds long.

It was the perfect song to play when one is on a road trip or at a jam session with friends.

And the best part of it is it gave the listeners a message (to keep going forward) without becoming preachy.

Penned by Javed Akhtar and composed by A R Rahman, (Ud)it was rendered by Narayan, Hariharan and Kailash Kher (the highlight of the track).

Udit played a PiVotal role

When a film’s soundtrack includes a song featuring kids, there’s a fear that their wish to sound like grown-ups might rob them of their innocence.

However, Yeh Tara Woh Tara, from Swades, required the little lad and lass (Master Vignesh and Baby Pooja, respectively) to sound a tad mature. Needless to say, they did.

(Ud)It was rendered by Narayan, who earned a nomination in the Best Male Playback Singer category at the Filmfare Awards (which he shared with Vignesh).

Javed Akhtar penned the A R Rahman composition, which was seven minutes and 13 seconds long.

Mr Rahman ARoused patriotic feelings

Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera, the title track of Swades, is the sort of song that is unlikely to be named even by ARdent fans of Rahman (or the film) as a song worth playing on loop. Yet, once it grows on the listeners, it was a universal favourite.

He did not just compose the song, which was penned by Javed Akhtar and was six minutes and 28 seconds long, but also rendered it.

Needless to say, he was able to play both the roles to perfection (which wasn’t a surprise, because he is gifted).

Yagnik (Al)kame, sang and mesmerised

Saanwariya Saanwariya was the shortest of the five tracks from Swades on this blog – it was five minutes and 17 seconds long.

In fact, Alka Yagnik's rendition was the highlight of the song, and it wouldn’t be incorrect to state that it was because of her that it was appreciated by the listeners.

By no means does that imply that the one who penned it (Javed Akhtar) or the (Rah)man who composed it (A R) haven’t done a satisfactory job, because at the end of the day, an outstanding song is the result of teamwork.

Gowariker proVed his singing Mettle

There is no doubt that the soundtrack of Swades, which released in 2004, was one of A R Rahman’s best scores of all time.

It wouldn’t be incorrect to say that Pal Pal Hai Bhaari, which was six minutes and 50 seconds long, was lai bhaari (a Marathi phrase that can be translated to mind-blowing).

The song was penned by Javed Akhtar.

Although Ashutosh Gowariker, the film’s director, was given importance in the title of this post, it must be stated that he was just a back-up singer.

Madhushree and Vijay Prakash rendered the track.