Every Holi, some song scenes come immediately to mind. The generation growing up in the 1970s or 1980s will think of Dharmendra and Hema Malini dancing to Holi Ke Din in Sholay or Amitabh Bachchan chasing Rekha in the Silsila hit Rang Barse.
The millennials will play a different tune. This year, they’ll most probably pose for reels while swinging to Besharam Rang from Pathaan, which has no connection to Holi, or the new Coke Studio Bharat mish-mash Holi Re Rasiya. Or they’ll choose Pritam’s composition Balam Pichkari from the 2013 film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.
So, what does one put into a Bollywood Holi playlist? There may be three classifications. The first will have Holi-related situations in the film, like the ones in Sholay and Silsila. Secondly, there are songs with the word ‘rang’ (okay, so Besharam Rang qualifies). And, finally, there are songs which aren’t related to the festival, but refer to any colour. Let’s sample a few from each category.
The Holi songs
These could be either the old ones or something released this century. From the late 1950s, there are Naushad’s composition Holi Aayi Re Kanhai from Mother India and C. Ramchandra’s Arrey Ja Re Natkhat from Navrang. Cut to the 1970s, and we had the Holi Aayee Re title track composed by Kalyanji-Anandji and R.D. Burman’s famous Aaj Na Chhodenge from Kati Patang, filmed on Rajesh Khanna and Asha Parekh. And, who can forget Hema’s fabulous performance in Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s Aap Beati song Neela Peela Hara Gulabi?
Choosing one song each from the subsequent decades, there are Hridaynath Mangeshkar’s Holi Aayee Re from Mashaal (1984), Shiv-Hari’s Ang Se Ang from Darr (1993) and Aadesh Srivastava’s Holi Khele Raghuveera from Baghban in 2003. Besides the peppy Balam Pichkari, the 2010-19 decade can be represented by the Padmaavat song Holi, composed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Of course, the latter may help you sleep post-lunch.
A more recent number would be AR Rahman’s Tere Rang, sung by Shreya Ghoshal and Haricharan Seshadri in the 2021 film Atrangi Re. For the OTT followers, there’s a brand-new Hori Mein, sung by Kavita Seth in the Sharmila Tagore film Gulmohar.
The ‘rang’ songs
Your generation and choice can actually be determined on the basis of which song you think of first — S.D. Burman’s Rangeela Re from Prem Pujari or Besharam Rang from Pathaan. But the retro era had other classics like Madan Mohan’s Rang Aur Noor from Gazal, Salil Chowdhury’s Maine Tere Liye Hi Saat Rang from Anand, S.D. Burman’s Phoolon Ke Rang Se from Prem Pujari, Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s Rang Jamaake from Naseeb and R.D. Burman’s Tune O Rangeele from Kudrat.
From the 1990s onwards, Rahman had the Rangeela title song, Rang De from Thakshak and the Rang De Basanti title track. Among the newer songs, there’s Amit Trivedi’s Hum Rang Hai from Badhaai Do, which talks of rights of the LGBTQ community.
The colour songs
One has many interesting choices here. We can go as far back as the 1949 film Barsaat, where Lata Mangeshkar sang Shankar-Jaikishan’s Hawa Mein Udta Jaaye Mera Laal Dupatta Malmal Ka, O.P. Nayyar’s composition Sar Pe Topi Laal from Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957) or Shankar-Jaikishan’s Laal Chhadi Maidan Khadi from Janwar (1965).
There are songs about greenery (the Hariyali Aur Rasta title song) or blue skies (Neele Gagan Ke Tale from Humraaz, Neele Neele Ambar from Kalakaar or, if in some other mood, Neela Aasmaan from Silsila). The younger lot may go in for last year’s hit Rangi Saari Gulabi Chunariya Re, sung by Kavita Seth in JugJugg Jeeyo, even though elders may tell them there are many older versions.
Beyond Bollywood
Don’t want anything filmi? There are plenty of semi-classical gems, like Shobha Gurtu’s Main To Khelungi Un Sang Hori, Aaj Biraj Mein Holi Ke Rasiya or her classic rendition of Rangi Saari.
The great Girija Devi’s Aisi Hori Na Khelo and Kaushiki Chakraborty’s Rang Pichkari Mat Maro would be good additions.
Finally, if you’re looking for something western, there’s always Pink Floyd’s Any Colour You Like, Prince’s Purple Rain or, for Gen Z, Taylor Swift’s Red.
Holi Hai! Any song will do, as long as it has some ‘rang’.
