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

Ankahee (2006)

I have to admit, and perhaps as is obvious by now, i'm a bigger fan of the old bollywood films than the currrent ones, but now and again there comes a film from the current era that makes its way onto my favourites list, Ankahee (Untold) is one of them, perhaps not the most perfect film but i liked the story, enjoyed watching it and enjoyed the performances

When Kaavya (Esha Deol) a reigning beauty queen& starlet arrives at Dr Shekhar's (Aftab Shivdasani) hospital after attempting suicide, he takes pity on her and they start having an affair

However Dr. Shekhar is a married man with a lovely wife Nandita(Amisha Patel) and daughter Sheena, his friend Dr Kunal (Amin Hajee) warns him about Kaavya, alerting him on her Manic depressive personality and that nothing he does can ever make her happy

Dr Shekhar's affair with Kaavya soon becomes national news & Kaavya's reputation and work suffers, Shekhar's marriage too hits breaking point

Will he be able to make amends and save his marriage? Will Shekhar continue his affair with Kaavya?

I loved and thoroughly enjoyed watching this film, one little thing that bothered me though was the lack of attempt to portray two different decades, considering the film was set in two different decades, the director could have made an attempt to mark out the difference more realistically by adding fashion and cultural artefacts more typical of each, in particualr the earlier decade which was the late 70's/early 80's

A big part of the movie that stayed with me is What happens when we fail to draw up boundaries in our lives as could be seen in Dr Shekhar's affair with Kaavya, true he felt sorry for her but had he drawn a boundary, most especially over that of his marriage, his life wouldn't have been distraught

On the other hand Shekhar's straying could have been as a result of his over devoted wife who forgets her own aspirations, even when she was encouraged by her husband to focus on her own ambitions. I love this film's angle on this, yes she wants to be a good devoted wife, but over dependency or being too clingy is smothering and one does get the impression that its this clinginess that leads Shekhar on to commit adultery

I've never seen Aftab Shivdasani in a central role and he just excels as Dr. Shekhar here, he's not over the top with his acting here, and he pulls it off with just enough restraint

Amisha Patel is one of my favourite actresses of modern times, she's on fine form here, a bit melodramatic but lovely none the less

Esha Deol, where do i start, for all those allegations about star kids having it easy, Esha surely hasn't, sure it probably gave her a footing, Esha hasn't enjoyed immense success or fame. What an intense actress she was in this, she really executed her performance as a manic depressive, i believed her as the over possessive, manipulative Kaavya. Esha is a great actress and i hope she picks or is given more chances to develop her talents, this is an actress i would like to see more of

I love the gigantic picture of her face on her living room wall

Fabulous songs from Pritam none of his usual peppy numbers here, rather the music here is more sentimental and are mostly ballads, like the lovely 'Lamaa', 'aa paas aa' , 'tum se yun milenge' and my favourite which is 'Ek pal ke liye'

Paisa Vasool rating: 7/10

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
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'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.

Love Aaj Kal (2009)

Love Aaj Kal ( Love Today & yesterday) has been one of this summer's eagerly anticipated movies, so off i went to the cinema to see what this film has to offer and here are my quick thoughts on the movie

Synopsis

Jai ( Saif Ali Khan) and Meera are a modern hip couple who live in London, when work and life opportunities arise, they decide to spilt up, however they still remain good friends, they even have a break up party. At the end of the party Jai meets Veer Singh (Rishi kapoor) who's suprised at Jai's casual manner over his split, he tells him him about how love meant a lot more in his days and in a series of flashbacks the love story between a young Veer (played by Saif Ali Khan in a turban) and Harleen ( Shweta Gulati), whom he sees and falls in love with at first sight, the movie then keeps going back and forth showing us Love Today between Jai and Meera and Love Yesterday between Veer and Harleen.

Anyway back to Love Aaj (Today) and Meena is settling into her life in Delhi, she and Jai retain a good friendship and they text and tell each other about their new loves, dates etc. Jai meets Jo and the two start dating, simultaneously Meera not wanting to be left out too starts dating her boss Rahul Khanna. When Jai's new girlfriend decides on a trip to India Jai goes with her and he takes the opportunity to revisit Meena, the two have a wild time together and indulge in a litle romance, the tables turn when they both appear at a New year's eve party and Rahul who is Meena's boss proposes to her, Meena then asks Jai what he thinks about his proposal, Jai is not forthcoming about his feelings and Meena asks him to get away from her sight never to return thus resulting in a second break up


My Nit Picks about this movie
As much as i watch fun brainlesss movies, this is one where i guess i actually tried to switch my brain on

I found the constant flashback scenes a bit unnecessary, a one time look at Veer and Harleen's relationship should have been sufficient to set their story up the constant flashbacks were distracting and confusing

I found this film regressive in a bad way, this is the year 2009 and a modern hip girl like Meera would have known what she wants, Meera's character doesn't seem to have a mind of her own, why did she have to wait till she had walked round the fire a whopping 7 times to realise she didn't love her husband as much as Jai, and since she and jai had broken up and he had a girlfriend of his own what was the need to seek his approval?

The characters emotions are laughable rather than cry and sympathise with the characters, i actually found myself laughing at their stupidity and self caused calamity

While i'm not a moralist in the strictest sense, Meera and Jai are rewarded for their selfish, self centred attitudes at the expense of other peoples feelings, in this case Rahul (Meena's husband) is left to bear the brunt of the love she still feels for Jai

I'm not even going to praise anyones performance here as i didn't like the story line too much at all, they all played their parts well but the entire thing crumbled in my eyes due to the storyline

Overall i was hugely disappointed in this movie the happy ending was so cliched and the whole thing as i've said was so regressive, like one of those melodramatic over the top love stories in 70's/80's bollywood

What i liked about this movie

The first half of the movie was much more bearable, i liked the way it showed Jai and Meera's post break up relationship and how they kept each other involved in their activities

Neetu Singh's appearance, although she appears in a cameo role

Deepika, even though her character as Meena is flawed and in some aspects has little to do which eventually reduces her character to the atypical filmi love girl, Deepika oozes screen presence and vah, vah, vah, so much beauty

The gorgeous locales and the songs, i don't care wherever Pritam copied it from, the songs were top notch, from the sweet sounds of Chori bazaar, to the fun dancey the twist and the super fun 'aahun aahun' which definitely has to be one of the biggest earworms of the year so far

Total Score: 4.5/10

I know people are going to compare this to Jab we Met but they're two different films in my own opinion, i was more in tune with the characters of Jab we met but i felt emotionally detached from the ones in Love Aaj Kal, at the points where they got emotional i actually laughed at them

Edited to Add

According to imdb Love Aaj kal is said to be based on the 2005 chinese film Zui Hao De Shi Guang