Janmashtami Playlist Of Film Songs

Janmashtami Playlist

1.     Kanha bole na puchoo baar baar kanha  bole na(Sangat): In her  illustrious career Lata Mangeshkar has sung numerous Krishna bhajans of impeccable quality. This one remains  the  most  underrated, the  most neglected and  the most unworthy  candidate  for anonymity  among  all the Krishna  bhajans that have ever been composed for  Hindi cinema . The  composer was the great  Salil Chowdhary  and  the film was an unreleased  Sangat featuring a lifeless  newcomer who  lip-synced Lataji’s  luminous  voice as  if  humming in the bathroom. Kanha  bole  na is one  of Salil Chowdhary  greatest  compositions with Lataji soaring to heights of  expressiveness as she describes Radha’s  stolen moments with her precious Kanha.  The  inimitable Manna Dey  accompanies Lataji. He  clearly know  this is Radha’s day  out.This criminally neglected masterpiece  deserved a  better  place.

2.     Kanha re kanha tu ne laakhon raas rachaye(Truck Driver):  How on earth could a Krishna  bhajan as  beautiful as  this be  a part of a film titled Truck Driver?! During those days(the 1970s)  of musical harvesting even the sleaziest  of  film would reap  the  benefits  of  immortal  melodies. And this one is a  beauty, a jewel in the croon for Lataji’s Krishna bhajans which I place much higher than her far more popular Yashomati  maiyaa se bole nandlala(Satyam Shivum Sunderam) and   Bada natkhat hai re  Krishna  kanhaiya(Amar Prem). Composers Sonik-Omi never  got their due.Listen  into this  peerless Bhajana and you will wonder why  they were  so neglected.

3.     Madhuban  mein radhika  naache re(Kohinoor): Every time I hear the great  Mohd Rafi sing this ode to Radha as she dances to her Girdhar’s flute my heart dances. And to think  the  lyricist(Shakeel Badayuni),  the  composer(Naushad), the singer(Rafi)  and  actor  on screen  singing the song(Dilip Kumar) were all Muslim. No truer and more melodious  emblem of India’s secularism!

4.     Badi der bhaye nandlala teri raah take brijwala(Khandaan):  The divine euphoria  of  Janma Asthami as Krishna Bhakts  sing chant and dance waiting for the birth of Krishna… captured with  captivating grace  in  Mohd Rafi’s  voice  in this evergreen ode to the Murli Manohar composed by Ravi Sharma. Sunil Dutt who lip-synced this  Krishna   favourite on screen,  counted   it  among  the most favourite songs  of  his  career.

5.     Mujhko bhi radha  banale  nandalal(Ankahee): Asha  Bhosle touches  sublime chords  in this exquisite  Krishna  Bhajan  composed  by the great Jaidev. There is  an aching longing for  completeness as  the  woman in  the  song pines to be the Radha in her Krishna’s life. The  articulate erotic words by the  legendary poet Balkavi Bairagi  amply  punctuate the sense of longing. Ms Bhosle’s voice has seldom been  in  a  better  form.She had another extraordinary Krishna Bhajan Kauno thagva nagariya  lutal  ho in Ankahee.Choosing between the two is  like choosing between Radha  and Meera. Let the sound  of the flute float.