Songs from The Showman of Bollywood: Subhash Ghai

By Aditi Thakur | May 25, 2020

There’s no denying that music has always been an integral part of almost every Indian movie. There have been many producers and directors in the Indian film industry who’ve made some brilliant movies over the years. Among them there’s one such director who focused primarily on creating music themes for his larger than life sagas.

Whether it’s Karz or Saudagar, be it Karma or Taal. Every movie of his is remembered because of not just the way he told the story but how he intertwined some amazing music with his story line.

So let us all immerse ourselves in these mesmerising tunes..

1. Ek Ekseena Thi – Karz (1980)

The film’s chart-buster songs and a powerful re-incarnation theme established Subhash Ghai as a great director. The Lata Mangeshkar-Kishore Kumar duet is the main theme of the movie. Wriitten by Anand Bakshi and composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal the theme became the backbone of the movie. The lead guitar riff used in the theme became immensely popular and amplifies the haunting effect in the song. The song features Rishi Kapoor and Tina Munim. The video can be viewed here.

2. Lambi Judaai – Hero (1983)

The flute theme of Hero became one of the most popular themes in Indian Cinema and is still used in many new music projects. The sad song Lambi Judaai is sung by Reshma and featured Jackie Shroff who made his debut with the movie and Meenakshi Sheshadri. Composed by the musical duo Laxmikant Pyarelal the lyrics of the song is penned by Anand Bakshi. The video can be viewed here.

3. Imli Ka Boota – Saudagar (1991)

The film brought superstars Dilip Kumar and Rajkumar together for the first time after Paigam. The film went on to become one of the biggest hits of the decade. Sudesh Bhonsle and Mohammad Aziz sang the popular song Imli Ka Boota. With the technological transition from cassettes to CDs during the early 90s, the rich quality of the soundtrack was a treat to ears with excellent sound engineering and mixing. The music for the film was composed by the legendary duo of Laxmikant-Pyarelal, and the lyrics were written by Anand Bakshi. The video can be viewed here.

4. Zindagi Har Kadam – Meri Jung (1985)

The catchy piano piece of the song is so impactful that it registers automatically in the minds of the listeners. The piano piece is central to the theme of the movie that links the childhood memories of the protagonist to his current state. The song is composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and lyrics penned by Anand Bakshi. The song has three versions sung by Lata Mangeshkar, Nitin Mukesh, Shabbir Kumar. The videos feature Anil Kapoor, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Khushboo and Nutan. The video can be viewed here.

5. Taal Se Taal – Taal (1999)

The name of the movie itself suggests music. The soundtrack of the movie is the spine of the entire love story. The musical maestro A.R. Rahman had used the most basic household instruments like clay pots to get the authentic rural feel and sound while recording the album apart from using regular samples and loops from Trinity. The beautifully shot song is sung by Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan. The lyrics are penned by Anand Bakshi. The video features Aishwarya Rai and Akshay Khanna. The video can be viewed here.

6. Aye Watan Tere Liye – Karma (1986)

Subhash Ghai had gained a reputation of experimenting with themes. His latest project Karma required a powerful patriotic song which was flawlessly produced by Laxmikant Pyarelal. The song, written by Anand Bakshi went on to become one of the most popular patriotic songs in the history of Indian Cinema. It is the first choice on the Independence Day Playlist across various media. The banjo piece played in the song became very popular and was consistent with the way Subhash Ghai used instruments in various films to complement the context. The song is sung by Kavita Krishnamurthy and Mohammad Aziz. The video can be viewed here.

7. Hathon Ki Chand Lakeeron Ka – Vidhata (1982)

A beautifully written song by Anand Bakshi features veteran Dilip Kumar and Late Shammi Kapoor. The energetic song about fate and destiny is sung by the legendary Suresh Wadkar and Anwar. Shot on a train the music is composed by Kalyanji-Anandji. A great combination of instruments and raags and alaaps created magic for the listeners. The video can be viewed here.

8. Mere Do Anmol Ratan – Ram Lakhan (1989)

The classic movie was a blockbuster and the soundtrack played a major role in it. The song ‘My Name is Lakhan’ became immensely popular. The main theme of the movie, as the name suggests, revolves around two brothers of a widow. The highly emotional soundtrack was fused perfectly with the context of the high temperature family drama. The soundtrack was composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and the lyrics written by Anand Bakshi. Both the versions of the song are sung by Mohammad Aziz and Kavita Krishnamurthy. The video features Rakhi Gulzar primarily in major sequences. The video can be viewed here.

9. I love my India – Pardes (1997)

Pardes is yet another musical drama by the Showman. Popular chartbusters in the soundtrack of the movie is a trademark of Subhash Ghai movies. The film had a central semi-patriotic theme revolving around Indian values and culture. ‘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.

10. Title Track – Yaadein (2001)

Yaadein a musical drama by Subhash Ghai was well received in the international circuit. The soundtrack and background score received positive reviews, and remained a Chartbuster. 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.

11. Tu Meri Dost Hai – Yuvvraaj (2008)

Yuvvraaj was a musical treat all the way for the listeners. A.R. Rahman added his magical musical touch to the story of three brothers in pursuit to inherit father’s wealth. The rich soundtrack and theme mainly composed of heavy progressive strings and pads. The instrumentation and progressive orchestrations fused with Indian classical alaaps made the soundtrack distinctive. The melodious voice of Benny Dayal, Shreya Ghoshal and A. R. Rahman adds magic to the sweet song.
The video can be viewed here.

12. Nayak Nahi Khalnayak – Khalnayak (1993)

Khalnayak was a Indian Hindi crime action thriller film, popular for featuring Sanjay Dutt in a negative role. The film is known for its music and was surrounded by controversies especially for the song ‘Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai’ sung by Alka Yagnik and Ila Arun. The central theme of the movie revolves around Sanjay Dutt and complemented his actions throughout the movie. The popular track was sung by Vinod Rathod and Kavita Krishnamurthy. The music was composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal, with the lyrics being penned by Anand Bakshi. The video can be viewed here.

13. Woh Kisna Hai – Kisna: The Warrior Poet (2005)

The musical love story is set in the British India featured works by two music directors – A.R. Rahman and Ismail Darbar, since the former was busy with previous International commitments. Subhash Ghai known for his uncompromising nature ruled out the inclusion for simple commercial music as he had always preferred to collaborate with the best musical minds of the industry. This paved the way for the musical genius Ismail Darbar to finish the soundtrack. The theme and the soundtrack expresses the sadness, patriotism, duty and love perfectly throughout the movie. Woh Kisna Hai became a hit, sung by Sukhwinder Singh and S. Shailaja, The video can be viewed here.

Hope you’ve enjoyed the collection as much as we’ve enjoyed compiling it. We’re sure you’ll be humming these tunes for a entire day today.