Some Old Boat Songs – Let’s Rock This Boat!

By Aditi Thakur | March 24, 2018

Bollywood has always given us beautiful songs in terms of melody, lyrics and portrayal. While the directors are always on the lookout for new locales, sometimes the most regular location or prop proves to be the best to fit the bill.

One of the simple, yet widely used prop is a boat or a ship. Whether it was a necessity due to the lyrics or the situation in the film or just to provide a scenic relief to the viewers, a boat has featured in many songs in our movies.

Here are few old songs which are either shot on a boat or a ship or at least talk about the journey on a boat or water.

1. Ye chand sa roshan chehra – Kashmir Ki Kali (1964)
Who can forget the handsome Shammi Kapoor doing all the crazy stuff atop a little boat in this song! The sheer pace and energy in this song is superb. Composed by O.P. Nayyar, it is sung by Mohd. Rafi and is penned by S.H. Bihari.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txv7RCe8DXM

2. Chingari koi bhadke – Amar Prem (1972)
This melodious song has a philosophical dimension to it. Written by Anand Bakshi, it is composed by R.D. Burman and sung by Kishore Kumar. It is filmed on Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore. The so called river is Hooghly, but since the crew didn’t get permission to shoot there, the song was shot in Natraj Studio in a tank!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpM0jPd6-7w

3. O maanjhi re – Khushboo (1975)
This amazing song is composed by R.D. Burman and penned by Gulzar. Kishore Kumar has lent the voice while it is filmed on a bespectacled Jitendra. The song flows like the river with the listener as the boat without a maanjhi – just afloat.

4. Ajeeb daastan hai ye – Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi (1960)
This Shankar-Jaikishan song is written by Shailendra and sung by Lata Mangeshkar. It is filmed on a teary-eyed Meena Kumari and Raj Kumar.

5. Do lafzon ki hai – The Great Gambler (1979)
Shot on a Gondola in Venice, this song was filmed on Amitabh Bachchan and Zeenat Aman. It is sung by Asha Bhosle, Sharad Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan.

6. Woh shaam kuchh ajeeb thi – Khamoshi (1969)
This Hemant Kumar song is written by Gulzar and sung by Kishore Kumar. It is featured on Rajesh Khanna and Waheeda Rehman.

7. Maanjhi naiyya dhoondhe kinara – Uphaar (1971)
This song is sung by singer Mukesh and is composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal. It features Jaya Bhaduri.

8. Chalo dildar chalo – Pakeezah (1972)
This movie and its song created quite a stir during those times. The entire album was a super hit. This song is composed by Ghulam Mohammed and the lyrics are by Kaif Bhopali. It is sung by Mohd. Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar.

 

9. Zindagi ki na toote ladi – Kranti (1981)
This song is sung by Nitin Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar. It is filmed on Hema Malini and Manoj Kumar. The song is composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal and the lyrics are by Santosh Anand.

 

 

10. Nadi kinare saath hamare – Babul (1950)
This Naushad composition is written by Shakeel Badayuni and sung by Shamshad Begum and Talat Mahmood. It features Dilip Kumar and Munawar Sultana.