This (Sa)number certAinlY did rock

One of the reasons I called the soundtrack of Sarfarosh one of my favourite Hindi film albums of the 1990s was Jo Haal Dil Ka.

A rocking number in every sense of the word, it was the longer of the two tracks penned by Sameer Anjaan on this blog – it was five minutes and 26 minutes long.

It was rendered by Alka Yagnik, who was joined behind the microphone by the one and only Kumar Sanu. It was, in fact, the only contribution of the latter to the soundtrack.

The song was composed by Jatin-Lalit.

AKtually, Alka hogged the limelight

Of the four songs from Sarfarosh on this blog, Is Deewane Ladke Ko was the shortest – it was four minutes and 40 seconds long.

It was one of the two tracks from the film on this blog that Sameer penned*.

Alka Yagnik rendered the track, which contained spoken portions by the film’s leads, Aamir Khan and Sonali Bendre.

Jatin-Lalit composed it.

(*Note: He penned three songs in the film. The one that wasn’t included on this blog was Yeh Jawaani Hadh Kar De, which Kavita Krishnamurthy sang. It was four minutes and 44 seconds long.)

Jagjit’s Sing(h)ing was the highlight

The soundtrack of Sarfarosh (1999) was one of my favourite Hindi film albums in my teenage years.

Deservedly, Jatin-Lalit were nominated in the Best Music Director category at the 45^th Filmfare Awards in 2000.

It wouldn’t be incorrect to state that Hoshwalon Ko Khabar Kya – which was five minutes and a couple of seconds long – was the best song in the film.

The ghazal was dedicated to Nida Fazli, who penned it, and Jagjit Singh, who rendered it. Incidentally, the former was born on October 12, 1938, and the latter died on October 10, 2011.

This gem by Nigam waS(on)underrated

The second track from Sangharsh on this blog was the solo by Sonu Nigam – Mujhe Raat Din, which was five minutes and 11 seconds long.

The song, which was penned by Sameer Anjaan, was composed by Jatin-Lalit. By no means would it be incorrect to state that it was one of their most underrated compositions.

That it sounded like Mujhe Dekhkar Aap Ka Muskurana, from the 1962 film Ek Musafir Ek Hasina was purely coincidental, but there’s no two ways about the fact that Nigam idolised Mohammed Rafi, who sang the O P Nayyar composition. 

(Pand)It didn’t fail to (Nig)amaze

By no means would (Pand)it be incorrect to state that the soundtrack of Sangharsh, which released in 1999, was one of the most underrated Jatin-Lalit scores.

Dil Ka Qaraar was the longer of the two tracks from the film on this blog – it was five minutes and 27 seconds long. In fact, it was the longest song in the film, which was a remake of the Hollywood film Silence of the Lambs, which released in 1991.

Sameer penned the Son(u)g, which was rendered by Mr Nigam, who was joined behind the microphone by Shraddha Pandit.

(Am)It certAinlY deserved being Pa(a)used

It cannot be stated that Aala Re Paaus Aala – from Safari (1999) – will give us any respite from the October heat that Mumbai is reeling under at the moment, and will lead to what can be termed as winter.

But by no means would it be incorrect to state that the song was not catchy.

Although the aforementioned line is Marathi for, “The rain is here”, it was very much a song from a Hindi film (composed by Shyam-Mohan).

The track, which was penned by Rani Malik, was rendered by Alka Yagnik and Amit Kumar.

This rocKKing track celebrated friendship

The songs of Rockford, which released in 1999, took the listeners for a stroll down melody and memory lane.

Yaaron – one of the tracks on KK’s debut album Pal, which released the same year – was included on the film’s soundtrack.

It was not only produced and composed, but also arranged by Lesle Lewis.

Although the album’s title can be translated to moments, it is also a synonym of friend in English. Hence, it was apt.

The song, which was penned by Mehboob Alam Kotwal (known mononymously as Mehboob), was four minutes and 32 seconds long.