Splash of colours on the silver screen

This movie is most remembered for the music of Naushad and a rare comic outing of the most iconic actors of the Hindi cine screen. Dilip Kumar and Meena Kumari surprised all with their tons of laughter and comic timing. This Holi number was in B&W but perhaps the lilting tunes were responsible for the colours which we imagined on the screen.

5. Piya Tose Naina Lage Re (Guide) Music: S.D.Burman Lyrics: Shailendra

Though it is not an out an out Holi song, the one stanza Aayi Holi Aayi has endured over the years. Waheeda Rehman’s charm and her dancing abilities shone through the song rendered in the silken voice of Lata Mangeshkar.

6. Aaj Na Chodenge… Khelenge Hum Holi(Kati Patang) Music : R.D.Burman Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri

Rajesh Khanna at his all time high! Kati Patang was Shakti Samanta’s second blockbuster with Rajesh Khanna. Kishore Kumar’s mirth-filled voice alternated with the morose lines of Lata Mangeshkar. The song is a rarity for it juggles pathos and glee. The strains of the shehnai in the interludes and the juxtaposition of Asha Parekh’s widow white with Khanna’s riot of colours refuse to fade away.

7. Holi Ke Din (Sholay) Music: R.D.Burman Lyrics: Anand Bakshi

This song is mainly remembered for its positioning in an unforgettable blockbuster. ‘Kab hai Holi?’ thunders Gabbar Singh. The song is followed by a bloodbath in the scene that follows. Dharamendra and Hemamalini formed the most loved pair of the 70s and this song reinforced their chemistry.

8. Rang Barse (Silsila) Music: Shiv Hari Lyrics: Harivanshrai Bachchan

Perhaps the most popular and dramatic of the lot. Amitabh Bachchan’s drunken voice was simply apt for this coquettish number. It helped that the song mirrored a much hyped real life triangle of Jaya-Amitah-Rekha. But the song turned out to be much more than just that and went on to attain cult status. Two decades later, Amitabh tried his hand in another number Holi khele raghuveer awadh mein in Baghban.

9. Dekho Aayi Holi (Mangal Pandey- The Rising) Music: A.R.Rehman Lyrics: Javed Akhtar

This is a personal favourite from the recent times. There are songs whish fail to catch your attention because the movies which carry them fail at the box office. But the colours of this Holi duet were too infectious too remain relegated to the archives.
What forms a common thread between all of them is the visual imagery of the lines, which liberally uses the metaphor of the Radha-Krishna legend, which in spite of umpteen repetitions lends a different flavour each time it is used . Perhaps it is this divine frolicking that has kept the joy alive.