The Top 5 Songs of 2012

It is that time of the year when we take upon us the onus (and the impending possible brickbats) of compiling various lists of things that were Totally Top in the year 2012. It was (to clear it up front) not much of an year when it comes to Filmy Music, there were no awesome soundtracks in their entirety, and even the combination of Gulzar Sa'ab and ARR did nothing of note, (we know that ARR's songs grow on you, but nothing about Jab Tak Hai Jaan grew on anyone).

When we look back, we see a trend that some of the best songs came from 'smaller' films, written and sung by 'off-beat' artists, and most of them fulfilled their utility of adding to the over all beauty of the film. A Filmy song cannot be a stand-alone entity, for it to be awesome it has to gel well with the visual on-screen, and using the above criteria here is a list of the top 5 songs of the past year

Films like these

5. Paani Da Rang (Vicky Donor)

Singer - Ayushman Khurana
Written and Composed by - Ayushman Khurana and Rochak Kohli

John Abraham made up for a lot of bad acting in a lot of bad films by producing this gem of a movie. It was a movie which nobody expected to do well, since it starred a 'Roadie' (and we all know of the filmy success of Rannvijay and Raghu and Rajeev) and was about a subject that most people might cringe about while talking.

And the quality of music matched the novelty of the film. The lead actor used one of his self-comps, and strummed his guitar straight into our hearts. The lyrics are simple, and the music too is 'easy'. And that made the song a deserving hit, perhaps other film-makers too would be willing to take a chance and give Ayushmann some more chances of playing his compositions for us.

4. Aami Shotti Bolchi

Film - Kahani
Singers - Usha Uthup, Vishwesh Krishnamurthy
Written by - Vishan Dadlani
Music - Vishal Shekhar

There are two things that we love a lot about this song, one is Usha Uthup, one of the most under-rated and under used kick-ass voices in our film industry. She has a special love for the city, and it becomes evident from the way she has sung this paean. And the second thing is the cinematography. After making a couple of truly horrible films, he crafted a taut thriller which had memorable characters as well as served as a love poem to Kolkata, a beautiful city caught in a time-warp of its own.

The song's position in the film serves as an introduction of the city for both the lead character Vidya as well as the audience. Its chaotic interludes mirror the state of Vidya's mind, and Usha ji's bluesy voice connects you immediately to the ethos of the metropolis.

Kahaani had another good song, 'Ekla Chalo', which is already a part of lok-sangeet but Amit ji's soothing baritone presents a nice fresh take on it.

3. Bharat Mata ki Jai (Shanghai)

Singers - Keerthi Sagathia, Vishal Dadlani
Composed by - Vishal-Shekhar
Written by - Dibakar Banerjee, Vishal Dadlani

Shanghai was a good film which could have been better, it was a political film which talked about an issue from a perspective which films generally avoid. Although it had not much of a soundtrack otherwise, but this song was the song of raw protest, of satire and anger, of shattered hopes and of a sorry state that we see no chance of changing.

And like a lot of good things, it courted unnecessary controversy.

Dibakar Banerjee has previously written the lyrics of the songs of his film - Love, Sex aur Dhokha. Sample this - 'Tasveer utaarunga, mele mein dikhaoonga, jo dekhega uski ankhiyan nuchwaoonga'

And now the lyrics of this song - 'Sone ki chiriya, dengue malaria, gur bhi hai gobar bhi...Bharat Mata ki Jai'

The song, and the movie were important. And perhaps in due time will gain the cult status that they deserve.


2. Ala Barfi - Barfi

Singer - Mohit Chauhan
Composed by - Pritam (yes, Pritam)
Written by - Swanand Kirkire

It's a popular running joke that Barfi was directed by Pritam and its music was given by Anurag Basu. While we would not use this particular post to comment on the various merits/de-merits of blatant plagiarism of scenes from famous movies and using them to make a 'critically acclaimed' film, we would agree that the music of the film was top-notch.

This particular track was quite un-Pritam-esque, and since no one has yet been able to find out the original Korean/Indonesian/Middle Eastern version, we will have to admit that Pritam did a good job. It evokes memories of the golden age of hindi music. It has strains of this song -

and several other songs of the era, and made for a tasty wholesome dish.


1. Jiya ho Bihar ke Lala (Gangs of Wasseypur - 1)

Singer - Manoj Tiwari
Composed by - Sneha Khanwalkar
Written by - Varun Grover

This is By Far THE MOST AWESOME Song to come out of Filmistan this year. The moment when the bass drum kicks in, you realize that you are about to hear something epic. When I first heard it in the trailer, delighted by the use of Manoj Tiwari's voice, I loved how the editor of the trailer had synced it perfectly, especially when the 'Tani Naachi Ke, Tani Gaayi ke' portion comes.

And so I was a bit apprehensive on whether the song will have the same impact on me when I watch it on screen, since Trailer songs have a way of sounding better in the trailers and not in the film.

However, I was thankfully proved wrong.

At the end of the film as Manoj Bajpayee is gunned down in his car (ala James Caan), he steps out defiantly even though he is riddled with bullets. And then the song hits the background, making it a perfect match for the scene. While the movie ends and Manoj Tiwari's wonderful voice fills the theater, we get up and clap, amazed at the feeling.


PS : There were several other songs of GoW 1 and 2 that perhaps deserve a mention here (especially Chhi Chha Lether and Aabroo), apart from these, the songs of Dabangg 2 were also good, carrying over the rustic flavour of the first part perfectly.