Bicycles and Bollywood Songs – Part 1

By Aditi Thakur | June 5, 2019

How can one forget the first bicycle ride he/she had as a child! The fear of falling down and scraping our knees and elbows, the excitement of riding the bike for the first time without the training wheels, the hope in the eyes of the person who taught you to ride and the sheer pleasure of riding independently! Oh what a rush of emotions and pure nostalgia.

The bicycle holds a significant importance in the field of fitness and its benefits are known to all. Apart from this the enjoyment that one gets from riding a bicycle into the busy roads and the euphoria of finding a spot to park it is something out of this world. Plus one cannot deny the other benefits of owning a bicycle: eco friendly, low maintenance, style to name a few.

The United Nations General Assembly, in April 2018, declared International World Bicycle day to be celebrated on June 3. According to the assembly, the day is to be enjoyed by everyone regardless of the race, colour, caste, ethnicity, gender, religion or any other such characteristic.

Now, we come to the interesting part of all of it – the association of bicycle with the Bollywood songs! Oh yes, do you really think that this cute little two-wheeled wonder would be left alone by our filmmakers? Nah!

There are so many songs which feature or talk about the bicycle that it was not possible for us to accommodate all of them in one article. So we bring to you the first part of it and we are pretty sure that even with two parts we would not be able to fit in all the songs. But then, those other songs can definitely be discussed in our comments section, right?

So, here we go…

1. Kaise bheege bheege – Apna Ghar (1960)
The song features actors Nanda and Moti Sagar going on a romantic ride on the bicycle probably after a short spell of rain. They are seen enjoying the beautiful nature which is drenched in the rainwater. The song is sung by Mohammed Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur, it is composed by Ravi and written by Prem Dhawan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5H0hkFgX6c

2. Zara ruk ja pyare – Sitaron Se Aage (1958)
This peppy number is composed by S D Burman and penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri. It features Johnny Walker and is sung by Mohammed Rafi. Just look at Walker’s expressions and antics on the bicycle and enjoy the song.

3. Title Song – Pyase Panchhi (1961)
Featuring yet another comic actor Mehmood, this song is sung by Mukesh and is composed by Kalyanji Anandji while the lyrics are written by Qamar Jalalabadi. Mehmood’s performance in the movie and the song shows us a glimpse of his acting prowess other than his comic timing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePjlDMdwUiQ

4. Hey maine kasam li – Tere Mere Sapne (1971)
Featuring the evergreen Dev Anand and the vivacious Mumtaz, this romantic song is sung by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar. It is written by Gopaldas Saxena ‘Neeraj’ and is composed by S D Burman.

5. Mana janab ne pukara nahi – Paying Guest (1957)
Yet another song of Dev Anand but this time with the elegant Nutan where Nutan seems to be upset with Dev Anand and he follows her everywhere on his bicycle to coax and cajole her to talk to him. It is sung by Kishore Kumar, composed by S D Burman and written by Majrooh Sultanpuri.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT3WKSb1q_Q

6. Main chali main chali – Padosan (1968)
This energetic song is sung by sisters Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle and is composed by R D Burman while the lyrics are written by Rajendra Krishan. It features the effervescent Saira Banu who is seen enjoying the bicycle ride with her girl gang.

7. Jab din haseen – Adalat (1958)
Featuring Nargis and Pradeep Kumar (both in happy mood), this song is sung by Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi. It is written by Rajendra Krishan and composed by Madan Mohan.

8. Ye cycle ka chakkar – Akeli Mat Jaiyyo (1963)
Although this song doesn’t feature a bicycle, but it surely talks about one! Featuring Agha and Minoo Mumtaz, this funny song is sung by Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle and is composed by Madan Mohan and lyrics are by Majrooh Sultanpuri.

9. Michael hai toh cycle hai – Bewakoof (1960)
If the lyrics of the song are funny, then the chances of it featuring Kishore Kumar are quite high and this song is an example of the same. Featuring Kishore Kumar and Mala Sinha, this song is composed by S D Burman and is sung by Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle while the funny lyrics are by Majrooh Sultanpuri.

10. Humko haste dekh zamana jalta hai – Hum Sab Chor Hai (1956)
This hilarious song features I S Johar and actor Majnu who fool people to earn a living. This song is sung by Mohd. Rafi and G M Durrani, composed by O P Nayyar and written by Majrooh Sultanpuri.

11. Koi hota jisko apna – Mere Apne (1971)
This song features Vinod Khanna who is seen reminiscing about the past. Sung by Kishore Kumar, this song is composed by Salil Choudhary and written by Gulzar.

12. Pukarta chala hoon main – Mere Sanam (1965)
Yet another Majrooh song featuring Biswajeet in a jeep and Asha Parekh on a bicycle, it is sung by Mohammed Rafi and composed by O P Nayyar.

So here we come to the end of part 1 and we hope you liked the collection so far. Stay tuned for the newer songs in the next part. Till then, keep cycling!