There was a time when no major Hindi film was considered complete without a Holi song.No more. The Holi songs are getting rarer by the (y)ear.And the ones that we do hear are so far removed from the spirit of the festival to be almost a mockery of the true spirit of Holi. Here are the Holi songs that capture the soul spirit and essence of the Festival.
1. Holi ayee kanhayi rang chalke(Mother India, 1958): Shamshad Begum gives the main coquettish voice to this alluring Holi song that captures the sense of unstoppable joie de vivre as Nargis and Raj Kumar play newly-weds celebrating their first Holi together. There is an undercurrent of sexual banter in the song that makes it mildly erotic and hugely enjoyable.Musical maestro Naushad composed a number of Holi songs in his career, each different in sound and context. None more playful and magnetic than this.
2. Arre ja re hatt natkhat(Navrang, 1959): Asha Bhosle lends a luminous quality to this unique song celebrating Radha and Krishna’s mating games as the colours of Holi swirl all around them. Director V Shantaram got his wife to do something extraordinary . He made his wife Sandhya play both Radha and Krishna, thereby making this the only auto-erotic Bollywood Holi song.The underrated composer Vasant Desai used Asha Bhosle’s supple vocals to give this Holi song an undercurrent provocativeness.
3. Aaj na chhodenge bass humjoli(Kati Patang, 1971): The colours of Holi provide an evocative mood-play of joy and sorrow in this startling play of light and shade, colours and colourlessness. Rajesh Khanna in his patent ghost-voice of Kishore Kumar sings about nothing stopping him from enjoying Holi while Lata Mangeshkar brings in a twist of tragic sobriety as she sings of the colourless Holi for the widowed heroine Asha Parekh. A very tough composition. But then R. D Burman isn’t what he is without reason.
4. Holi ke din dil khil jaate hain(Sholay, 1975): To be honest, this is not one of my favourite Holi songs. It is one of R D Burman’s weakest compositions ever. But its significance is more scriptural . In the film it signaled that moment just before the dacoits attacked the village. Holi as the indication of impending calamity was never more clearly out on screen.In another popular song the title number from Holi Aaee Re, the heroine Mala Sinha is impregnated while playing Holi. A feat worthy of the Guiness book.
5. Rang Barse bheege chunar wali(Silsila, 1981): Which the most popular Holi song from Hindi cinema? The Amitabh Bachchan rendered Range barse would be among the Top 3 Holi songs on any list. Bachchan Saab told me it is a song he gave to Yash Chopra,a song he heard during his childhood with his parents during Holi. In the film the number is a killer moment meant to smash relations .As rang and bhaang flow freely,the much married Bachchan and Rekha flirt freely as their respective spouses Jaya Bhaduri and Sanjeev Kumar, respectively , watch on helplessly. Holi acquired its licence for indecorous behaviour and hooliganism from our movies where the Holi songs often suggest it’s okay to cross limits because….well…Bura na mano Holi hai.
