5 old and new Hindi film songs that bring me joy

Hindi film songs, old and new, invariably make my lips curl into a smile. While by and large, Bollywood songs belong to the romance genre. There are many, albeit, few and far between which explore myriad other aspects of life.

1) Main Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya: From the 1961 Dev Anand starrer Hum Dono is an uplifting ditty penned by poet Sahir Ludhyanvi. At the same time it has shades of humanism and existentialism all rolled into one. Even when one doesn’t place the song in the context of the film, it seems to echo a philosophy which is universal and is not necessarily culture specific.

2) Gata Rahe Mera Dil: One of the most melodious romantic duets from the 1965 film Guide, a film, which was based on Indian author RK Narayan’s famous eponymous novel. The song is sung to perfection by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar and set to tune by Sachin Dev Burman. This oldie featuring Dev Anand and Waheeda Rahman is an evergreen favourite.

3) Mere Sapnon Ki Rani: This song from the 1969 film Aradhana which marked Kishore Kumar’s second innings as a playback singer in Hindi cinema makes it to the list of songs which bring pure joy upon listening due to the playback singer’s almost reckless abandon in its rendition. A chartbuster then and even today.

4) Ay Hairathe Ashiqui: Cut to 2007 and yet another romantic ditty penned by Gulzar, set to tune by AR Rahman and sung by Hariharan and Alka Yagnik, which manages to hold the attention, thanks to its innovative use of lyrics in a song, is "Ay Hairathe Ashiqui" from Mani Ratnam’s Guru. Neither idealistic love nor love devoid of poetry, yet love expressed in all its splendour. An arduous task which Gulzar manages to pen down with ease.

5) Matargashti: The song "Matargashti" from the 2015 film Tamasha has "Happy Shiny People" written all over it. Two strangers in a strange land playing the fool and playacting and AR Rahman’s tunes to add dollops of frothiness and cheer. You just don’t break into a smile but the song makes you want to break into a jig as well.