My Favourite Songs of 2010

Its that time of the year again, where i round up the top 10 songs that kept me excited, warm and had me feeling a whole lot of different emotions in 2010. I barely went to the cinema to see much last year but having bollywood music channels plus Raj & Pablo's Love Bollywood show and of course the blogosphere helped me keep in touch with all the latest tunes. Now without further ado, here are my favourite songs of 2010

10. Kajraare from Kajraare (2010) While Himmesh Reshammiya might not be the best of actors, there's no denying the fact that the man is a talented music director, his Kajraare in which he duets with one of my favourite Hindi film playback singers Sunidhi Chauhan kept doing the rounds in my head, great catchy track and great composition from Himmesh, gotta love that double bass loop at the beginning

9. Hey ya from Karthik calling Karthik The first thing that came to mind while listening to this song was Charles and Eddie 'would i lie to you', this mellow song reminds me a lot of Charles and Eddie so much so that i refer to it mentally as the bollywood Charles and Eddie song (I'm not saying they copied or anything, it just reminds me of Charles & Eddie)

8. Udi from Guzaarish As i have said numerous times and i'm saying it again, Sunidhi Chauhan is quite simply one of my all time favourite playback singers and i love her range in this song, what makes it extra special is Aishwarya's miming and flamenco or should i say spanish style dancing

7. Adhoore from Break ke Baad Vishal & Shekhar came back with a bang this year and this is one of their many tunes  i couldn't help but sing along to especially the 'Adhoore ho ho ho, adhoore tum ummmm, adhoore ho ho bin tumhare' bit

6. Ainvayi Ainvayi from Band Baaja Baarat Whenever this song came on i couldn't help but join in singing the ainvayi ainvayi part a bit too enthusiastically much to the dislike of onlookers

5. Bahara from I hate luv story's This is yet another Vishal & Shekhar song that kept doing the rounds in my head, giving me many a sleepless night, especially Shreya Goshal's reptition of 'bahara bahara bahara'

4. Behene De from Raavan I loved the sexy chilled but yet groovy vocals and composition of this tune, i haven't seen the movie but this song whatever i feel after watching the film, will be enough for me to forgive whatever flaws it might have

3. Mora Piya from Raajneeti Another sexy chilled song that i couldn't help but love especially the bit where goes bhole 'mora piya mose bolat hai' (my beloved isn't speaking to me) i absolutely love

2. Chaan Ke Mohalla from Action Replayy This year Aishwarya grew on me like no other, and Action Replayy is one of the few movies i actually paid paisa (money) to go see in the Cinema. I loved it though i can see why many people hated it but the songs, the retro stylings, and Akshwarya plus this song made it all worth it

1. Zor ka Jhatka from Action Replayy Very controversial i know right, having No. 1 and 2 from the same film but I'm a sucker for any song that has accompanying dance moves for two reasons

a. it makes for a good work out

b. it makes the song easy to sing along to (well, sort off)

So there my lovely ones, are my favourites tunes of 2010 that kept me distracted, feeling, dancing and humming through the year, other songs that almost made the list are the songs of Dabang, 'Wallah re Wallah' from Tees maar Khan, 'Surli ankhiyon re' from Veer, 'Suno Aisha' from Aisha, 'Pee lo' from Once upon a time in mumbai, 'Dil to baccha hai ji' from Ishqiya

My Favourite Songs of 2009

Ahh 2009 will be remembered by me as the Annus Horribilis of Hindi films by me, i barely liked or was impressed by any of the films released, after a spate of uninspiring films i stopped going to the cinema and decided i would wait to rent them on dvd so its possible i missed some really good films, however there were lots of songs i loved and couldn't stop singing, humming and dancing to all year, below are 10 of my favourite songs from 2009 in no particular order

'Zooby Zooby' from 3 Idiots (Music by Shanatanu Moitra)

This is one song that kept playing in my head long after i heard it, i like the sweet old bollywood feel to it, both in the way it was picturized and in the way it sounds

'Kyun Hota Hai deewana' from Short kut: The Con Is On (Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy)

I love my Qawwali's and its a pity we don't get to hear much of them anymore, kudos to Shankar Ehsaan Loy for reviving the qawwali in a fresh, upbeat manner

'Bareily ke Bazaar Mein' from Jail (Music by Sharib Toshi & Shamir Tandon)

Sonu Kakkar is definitely one of the playback singers to look out for in 2010, i love her vocals and the repetitiveness of the song, i also like the way it has been picturized in a dancing bar giving it a gritty sexy feel

'Tere Naina' from Chandni Chowk to China ( Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy)

Beautiful song from one of the most maligned films of the past year which i actually enjoyed, i love the vocals by Shankar Mahadevan & Shreya Goshal and the picturisation is so dreamy and romantic, i want an umbrella like that and i would love to descend from the eiffel tower with a loved one in a similar manner

Tere Naina
Uploaded by aka71691. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

'Aazma Luck' from Luck (Music by Salim -Sulaiman)

Whats there not to like, a great guitar riff as well as a super catchy chorus which is guaranteed to linger on in your head

'Let's Rock the party' from Aa Dekhen zara (Music by Pritam)

I love my pop music and this song right here sounds like something Casacada would kill to record, bravo Pritam

Video Rock The Party (Aa Dekhen Zara)
Uploaded by hungama. - Classic TV and last night's shows, online.

'Bhanware' from Luck by Chance (Music by A.R Rahman)

Vah Vah Vah Kyaa baat hai? (wow wow wow how wonderful) what's there not to like awesome song, vocals lovely circus themed picturization and plenty of dance moves to learn

'Happening' from Main aur Mrs Khanna (Music by Salim- Sulaiman)

Sunidhi you're my number one, as a life long lover of Sunidhi Chauhan (One of my all time favourite hindi film Female Playback Singer) this song reminds me how much of an awesome singer she is, if i'm in the mood for dancing Sunidhi's vocals never fail to get me up on the floor

'Love Mera Hit Hit' from Billu (Music by Pritam)

the award for campest Picturisation of the year goes to this song, this is one song i couldn't resist doing all the dance moves to, if you invite me to your party and want to see me having a go at it on the dancefloor, just play this song for me, it also doubles up as a workout song, play this when you're jogging or pumping iron and see if it doesn't inspire you to go faster

'Masakalli' from Delhi-6 (Music by A.R Rahman)

Hmmm this is one song i couldn't get out of my head asides from that, I couldn't help but do the pigeon head movements at the Purrr purrrr bits in the song, Mohit Chauhan has to win all the best Male Playback Singer awards come awards season

So there are my Top 10 songs of 2009 it was hard whittling them down to those ten but alas it had to be done, other favourites that missed out were 'Dhan te nan' From Kaminey, 'Bebo' from Do Knot Disturb, 'Chiggy Wiggy' from Blue, 'Soche soche' from What's Your Rashee?, 'Iktara Iktara' from Wake Up Sid, 'Dil Bole Hadippa (remix)' from Dil Bole Hadippa, 'Emotional Atyachar' from Dev D.

Blue (2009)

When one thinks of the colour Blue, the word cool comes to mind unfortunately i can't say the same for this movie, high on production values, cinematography, visuals etc. But the film is just Dull, Dull, Dull! It didn't feel like a bollywood movie, it was devoid of emotional content ala the masla movies of the 60's-80's, the characters weren't exciting, the dialogues were corny & cheesy, the performances didn't blow me away, the picturisations weren't exciting, fun or over the top ( yes i love my big colourful bollywood numbers) all these things were missing, even though this is the most expensive bollywood film ever made (what a dubious title). Everything apart from the music by A.R Rahman just falls flat, the director Anthony D'Souza says he'll shed tears if the film flops, sorry mate i can so see your film flopping, get your buckets and tissues ready because you'll be weeping loads

Total Score: 5/10

Yuvvraaj (2008)

Ahh Yuvvraaj, one of last year's eagerly anticipated films which got slaughtered upon its release, the movie flopped and the huge star cast, fabulous songs and breathtaking locations couldn't save it. So what is Yuvvraaj about and why did it flop

Deven (Salman Khan) is in love with Anushka (Katrina Kaif) with whom he's in the same orchestra, Anushka brings him much happiness as he has been rejected by his wealthy father, they plan to marry but Anushka's father does not like Deven


When his father dies, Deven returns home hoping to get his share of his father's property, he makes a pact with Anushka's father (Boman Irani) to give her away if he does not return from London a billionaire


When he returns home Deven alongside his two brothers Danny (Zayed Khan) a spoilt rich brat and Gyanesh (Anil Kapoor) who is autistic. Their father leaves all his fortunes to Gyanesh and leaves Deven & Danny with 5 Crores each

Danny the playboy

smiley carefree Gyanesh
Deven and Danny are angry and full of envy, they both come up with a plan to swindle the money off Gyanesh. Danny suggests a harsh plan for them to kill Gyanesh off but Deven calms him down telling him they must win him over with love

Thus Deven starts displaying loving acts towards Gyanesh, he even takes him back with him to Austria

Also on the lines are wicked family members who want to kill Gyanesh to inherit his wealth

Will Deven & Danny succeed in killing Gyanesh? Will Deven be able to become a billionaire just in time to win Anushka's fathers approval?

Yuvvraaj wasn't an all out bad film, i found it quite tolerable, i think it failed to connect with audiences due to its moralistic Soap opera style storyline and melodrama, another thing that really dragged the film down were the foreign extras, some of them seemed to be laughing or at least looked like they were trying to stop themselves from cracking up, maybe if the film had been set in India it might have been a little different

Salman Khan who i actually like looks really tired and gives a lacklustre performance, he looked like he needed some rest

Zayed Khan was perfect as the spoilt rich boy, most times i felt like knocking him on the head, which i guess means he played his role as the spoilt rich brat well

Katrina is really beautiful in this, although she doesn't have so much to do, she does what's required of her really well. After hearing so much of her beauty and failing to see it, i saw it for the first time in this movie

Anil Kapoor steals the show and outshines everyone else with his believable performance as the autistic brother


The real saving grace of the movie however are the songs and the picturizations, a lot of production clearly went into them as they looked very much like broadway productions, if you like musicals , you'll love the picturizations in Yuvvraaj

the cat like dancers in mastam mastam very much like the broadway musical cats

big sets and wonderful costumes


Great Lighting and opulent mansions

very interesting art work behind the orchestra

A.R. Rahman's music is what i really cherish about this movie, from the upbeat foot tapping 'Shano Shano' to the happy cheerful 'Mastam Mastam' the reflective 'Tu meri dost hai' and the wonderful ballad Tu Muskura



Total Score: 6/10 just because of A.R. Rahman's music

I liked the ending bit where all the characters and all those who had contributed to the film were shown

The music mogul Himself

Gulzar the maestro Lyricist

Bombay (1995)

Bombay is a 1995 tamil film dubbed later dubbed in Hindi, as such i can claim its perhaps my first Tamil film. The film garnered lots of critical acclaim and won several awards including the Filmfare Best Critics film award


Shekhar (Arvind Swamy) returns home from Bombay to his hometown, upon his arrival he comes across Shaila Bano ( Manisha Koirala), Shekhar falls in love instantly


Shaila Bano is reluctant but she eventually falls for him, (now as we all know in Bollywood there has to be an obstacle in the path of the lovers, in this case Shaila Bano is Muslim and Shekhar is Hindu). Trouble arises when Shekhar goes to ask for Shaila Bano's hand for marriage, her parents threaten him and his parents make their discontent known as well


Shekhar returns to Bombay without Shaila Bano, but he keeps in touch with her through letters delivered to her secretly by her friend, eventually she escapes from her village and she joins Shekhar in Bombay, they eventually give birth to twins Kabir Natrayan and Kamal Basheer each bearing elements of their parents religions in their names


During the riots following a religious clash between Hindu's and Muslims the kids get sepearted from their parents and are taken into hostage by gang leaders who douse the kids in petrol and threaten to burn them alive

Will they be saved in time? Will Shekhar and Shaila Bano's parents ever get reconciled with their children? How will Shekhar and Shailo Bano's marriage be able able to cope in the midst of all the religious clashes? Watch Bombay for these answers

I really enjoyed Bombay and i have it down as one of my favourites, i love the chemisrty between Manisha and Arvind, and i really like the way their romance was balanced with the political commentary of the film. Religious intolerance is something i've heard of so many times and see on the news, but in Bombay particularly the scene captured in the last screen cap above really brought home to me the harshness and reality of religious differences.

The cinematography is excellent and the riot scenes are outstanding, i found myself clenching my sofa seats, it felt as if i was right there in the midst of the chaos. At the heart of Bombay's message is peace and unity regardless of our religious background, while its a great message the cynic/pessimist side of me thinks this is an impossible feat as we live in a fallen world. However applause to Mani Ratnam for his effort and for adding his dimension on the issue of religious divide

The music of Bombay is one of my favourite soundtracks EVER and is my best A.R. Rahman work so FAR, (the background score from the movie has even been featured in the hollywood film 'Lord of war' and has been used in a number of foreign adverts and has been sampled by german band Lowenherz). The music ranges from the wonderful ballad Tu Hi Re, to the very poppy and dancey 'Humma' see below



to the heart melting Kehna hi kya, this song really makes me all warm and excited on my insides, the music of Bombay is utterly fabulous

Manisha and the dancers in Kehna hi kya




Total Score: 8/10