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Nostalgic 90s: Hariharan at his best
One of the most respected voice of Indian music – Hariharan started his career gigging at various concerts across the country. Hariharan is one of the top Indian ghazal singers and composers. With over thirty albums to his credit he is considered as most versatile and regarded as one of the greatest indian singers of all time. He was introduced to Tamil Cinema as a Playback singer by A.R. Rahman who also made his debut with Manirathnam’s Roja. Hariharan has sung majority of hits in Hindi Cinema for A.R. Rahman. Hariharan won the National Award for the best playback singer for the the song “Mere Dushman Mere Bhai” from J.P.Dutta’s movie Border. Apart from Tamil and Hindi Hariharan went on to sing in various languages including Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Kannada, Bengali and Odia. Hariharan won his second National Award for the Marathi song “Jiv Rangla” from Jogwa in the year 2009.
In 2004, he was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri for his outstanding performance in music. In a career spanning for decades Harihan has collaborated with the best in the industry including talented and successful composer and singer Leslie Lewis to form duo band Colonial Cousins that became very popular during the 1990s. The duo garnered MTV Indian Viewers’ Choice award and Billboard Award for the Best Asian Music Group as well.
So let’s tune into some of the best songs, and chartbusters from the 1990s, sung by this legendary singer.
1.Tu Hi Re – Bombay (1995)
The song went on to become the biggest hit of Hariharan. The song established him in the Hindi Cinema as a foremost singer of that time. His collaboration with music director A. R. Rahman after Roja garnered him huge fan base across the country. The Hariharan – Kavita Krishnamurthy duet featured in Manirathnam’s hit movie Bombay which was released in Tamil as well as multiple languages including Hindi.written by the legendary lyricist Mehboob, the video features Manisha Koirala and Arvind Swami. The video can be viewed here.
2. Nahin Samne – Taal (1999)
This evergreen love anthem from the Subhash Ghai hit Taal is one the of the most popular compositions by A.R.Rahman. His trust on Hariharan resulted in a chartbuster. The lyrics by Anand Bakshi are soulfully rendered by Hariharan. The video features Akshay Khanna. The video can be viewed here
3. Kabhi Main Kahoon – Lamhe (1991)
The super hit track from Yash Chopra’s Lamhe was sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Hariharan. The lyrics by Anand Bakshi describes the situation of the song perfectly. The music was directed by the legendary music director duo Shiv-Hari. The video features Anil Kapoor and the beautiful – Sridevi.
The video can be viewed here.
4. I love my India – Pardes (1997)
Another song from Subhash Ghai film, ‘I love my India’ remained one of the most popular songs of Hindi cinema for its patriotic lyrics by Anand Bakshi and smooth tune by Music director duo Nadeem-Shravan. The song is sung by Aditya Narayan, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Shankar Mahadevan alongside Hariharan. The video features Amrish Puri and Mahima Chaudhary. The video can be viewed here.
5. Title Track – Yaadein (2001)
Another song from a Subhash Ghai film, Yaadein is a nostalgic track, sung by Hariharan. Anand Bakshi penned the lyrics of this beautiful song. The song is composed by Anu Malik. The video features Jackie Shroff and Hrithik Roshan. The video which can be viewed here.
6. Chanda Re Chanda Re – Sapnay (1997)
The beautiful song features Prabhu Deva and Kajol. The Tamil movie directed by Rajiv Menon was later dubbed in Hindi. The song is written by Javed Akhtar and sung by Hariharan and Sadhana Sargam. The soundtrack earned A. R. Rahman the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for the second time,
The video can be viewed here.
7. Mere Dushman Mere Bhai – Border (1997)
The J.P. Dutta multi starrer Border will be remembered for great storyline, performances and music. Hariharan won the National award for the best playback singer for this song. Written by Javed Akhtar, the song is composed by Anu Malik. The video features Sunny Deol apart from various artists including Sunil Shetty, Akshay Khanna and Jackie Shroff. The video can be viewed here
8. Baahon Ke Darmiyan – Khamoshi (1996)
The sizzling romantic song from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Khamoshi – The Musical became a massive hit with Hariharan becoming popular day after day in the Hindi Music circuit. The lyrics of the song are penned by the flexible and versatile Majrooh Sultanpuri. The Alka Yagnik – Hariharan duet has music created by the talented Music Director duo Jatin – Lalit. The video features Salman Khan and Manisha Koirala. The video can be viewed here.
9. Kuch Mere Dil Ne Kaha – Tere Mere Sapne (1996)
An ABCL production, the movie was a super hit and popular amongst youngsters with great performance by the newcomer Arshad Warsi. The powerful ballad featured then newcomers Chandrachur Singh and Priya Gill. The lyrics were penned by Anand Bakshi, while Viju Shah directed the music in his trademark style. The Sadhana Sargam – Hariharan duet became an instant hit. The video can be viewed here.
10. Hai Rama – Rangeela (1995)
The song is featured in Ram Gopal Varma’s hit movie Rangeela. The song was written by Mehboob. for the magical composition by the maestro A.R.Rahman which was sung by Swarnalata and Hariharan. The video has hot chemistry between Urmila Matondkar and Jackie Shroff. The video can be viewed here.
We hope this collection took you down the memory lane of the 90s filled with nostalgia. We will be back with more hits abd collections of great works by industry’s best in coming articles. Till then stay safe and enjoy the musical masterpiece by Hariharan.
