Dil Chahta Hai

Director: Farhan Akhtar

Best song: Dil chahta hai

Singers: Shankar Mahadevan, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Clinton Cerejo, Shaan, Alka Yagnik, Srinivas, KK and Sonu Nigam

Lyricist: Javed Akhtar

What worked: SEL’s experimentation with instruments and sounds resulted in a soundtrack with influences ranging from disco and techno to folk and classical and rock. The sound of Dil Chahta Hai remains youthful with tunes like Jaane kyon, Koi kahe kehta rahe and Woh ladki hai kahan striking that balance between lyrical and hip. Tanhayee plays up to the darker mood and Kaisi hai ye rut to the romantic one. But it is the film’s title track, where Mahadevan’s voice adds to the steady thump of the baseline and the grungy sound of the guitar, that remains the iconic song of the OST.

Rock On!!

Director: Abhishek Kapoor

Best song: Rock On

Singers: Farhan Akhtar, Dominique Cerejo, Suraj Jagan, Raman Mahadevan, Caralisa Monteiro

Lyricist: Javed Akhtar

What worked: Rock On!! just rocked hard. Straight-forward rock sounds can never go out of fashion… and Shankar Ehsaan Loy stuck to that. From rocking tracks like Pichle saat dino mein, Socha hai and Sinbad the sailor to ballads like Tum ho toh, Ye tumhari meri baatein and Phir Dekhiye, the sound with soul is fresh and unlike what we had come to expect from Shankar Ehsaan and Loy. Farhan Akhtar’s debut as a singer hit the right notes, and the title track went on to become the anthem of young head-bangers across the country.

Kal Ho Naa Ho

Director: Karan Johar

Best song: Kal ho naa ho

Singers: Sonu Nigam, Shaan, Alka Yagnik, KK, Loy Mendonsa, Vasundhara Das, Udit Narayan, Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, Sadhana Sargam, Madhushree and Richa Sharma

Lyricist: Javed Akhtar

What worked: From their Bhangra take on Pretty Woman and trippy disco trance It’s the time to disco, to their foot-tapping Maahi ve, SEL’s vision of KJo’s larger-than-life (melo)drama is translated perfectly through their tracks. The songs are punchy and addictive. But the one that made every SRK fan bawl her/his eyes out was Kal ho naa ho, arms spread very wide. The melancholic tune, coupled with Sonu Nigam’s voice and the life-and-death lyrics by Javed Akhtar, made it SEL’s most loved song.

Taare Zameen Par

Director: Aamir Khan

Best song: Kholo kholo

Singers: Shankar Mahadevan, Loy Mendonsa, Ehsaan Noorani, Vishal Dadlani, Adnan Sami, Shaan, Aamir Khan, Dominique Cerejo, Vivienne Pocha, Raman Mahadevan, Auriel Cordo and Ananya Wadkar

Lyricists: Prasoon Joshi, Amol Gupte

What worked: They made you laugh with Bum bum bole and Jame raho and Bheja kum. They made you cry with Maa and sniffle with Taare zameen par. But if forced to pick one among the TZP gems, we would go with Kholo kholo, with its quintessential SEL sound — the high notes and guitar work (remember Tu dhoop hai jham se bikhar/ Tu hai nadee

bekhabar/ Beh chal kahin ud chal kahin/ Dil khush jahan teri toh manzil hai wahin). In a first, SEL created the music after watching the whole film. No wonder they made us feel every bit emotion that little Ishaan and his favourite teacher experience in the film.

Bunty Aur Babli

Director: Shaad Ali

Best song: Kajra re

Singers: Shankar Mahadevan, Blaaze, Loy Mendonsa, Sowmya Raoh, Sonu Nigam, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Udit Narayan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Nihira Joshi, Alisha Chinai, Sukhwinder Singh, Jaspinder Narula, Siddharth Mahadevan and Javed Ali.

Lyricists: Gulzar, Blaaze

What worked: It is desi. It is cool. That’s the sound of Bunty Aur Babli. From Punjabi style Dhadak dhadak and Nach baliye to the folksy and hard-hitting

versions of the title track, the songs are all about masti unlimited and loads of attitude. As for Kajra re... old-school qawwali met pop queen Alisha, and the combination was electric. What made it the dance floor topper for months?

The sound was sexy (Ash), smouldering (Big B) and a lot of fun (Chhota B).

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom

Director: Shaad Ali

Best song: Jhoom barabar jhoom

Singers: Shankar Mahadevan, Daler Mehndi, Vishal Dadlani, Vasundhara Das, Neeraj Shridhar, Alisha Chinai, Zubeen Garg, Sunidhi Chauhan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Mahalaxmi Iyer, KK and Sukhwinder Singh

Lyricist: Gulzar

What worked: The film’s soundtrack is an interesting mixed bag of tunes. From the hip hop number Ticket to Hollywood and the lyrical Bol na halke halke with its use of flute and santoor to the Jhoom Jam and Kiss of Love, the tunes are still a favourite on radio. But the song that can only be defined as powerhouse is the title track of the film. With a lot of booming dhol sounds giving the song its fast-paced thump, the singers hitting the highs and lows with fluid dexterity, Jhoom barabar jhoom — picturised on a super-stylish Amitabh Bachchan — was good enough to deserve a better film.

Mission Kashmir

Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra

Best song: Chupke se sun

Singers: Shankar Mahadevan, Jaspinder Narula, Sunidhi Chauhan, Ehsaan Noorani, Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Loy Mendonsa, Vinod Rathod, Anuradha Paudwal and Mahalaxmi Iyer

Lyricists: Rahat Indori, Sameer

What worked: Bhumbro with Kashmiri folk feel, Rind posh maal with its thump, the delightfully dreamy Socho ke jheelon ka with its santoor-laced sound and, of course, the menacing Dhuan dhuan... the soundtrack mirrored the mood of the film. Our vote goes to Chupke se sun, the soft romantic tune hummed by Udit Narayan-Alka Yagnik, with the serene sound of water lapping against the shikara. The standout touch? The sudden orchestral crescendo interrupting the serenity of the sound — just right for the theme of love in the time of terror.

My Name is Khan

Director: Karan Johar

Best song: Sajda

Singers: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shankar Mahadevan, Richa Sharma, Adnan Sami, Shreya Ghoshal, Shafqat Amanat Ali, Suraj Jagan and Rashid Khan

Lyricists: Niranjan Iyengar, Javed Akhtar

What worked: Unlike other KJo films, this one does not allow SRK to spread his arms out wide to a romantic number. What stands out in the MNIK soundtrack is the blend of different genres from Hindustani classical to Sufi to western bar blues and techno sounds — be it Tere naina, Rang de, Allah hi rahem or Noor-e-khuda. But it is another qawwali, of a completely different kind, that is outstanding. Sajda thrives thanks to its beautiful rhythm, the singers’ skill and the complete ethnic sound of the song, which grows on you.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

Director: Karan Johar

Best song: Mitwa

Singers: Sonu Nigam, Alka Yagnik, Shaan, Vasundhara Das, Loy Mendonsa,Shankar Mahadevan, Shafqat Amanat Ali, Caralisa Monteiro, Mahalaxmi Iyer and Shweta Pandit.

Lyricist: Javed Akhtar

What worked: The soundtrack was typical of a Karan Johar film... loud and boisterous for the happier times (Where’s the party tonight and Rock ‘’ roll soniye), pensive and poignant for the sadder ones (Tumhi dekho naa and Kabhi alvida naa kehna). Mitwa, however, stands out (and we are not just referring to SRK’s hands-out-wide pose here) and defies typification. A Sufi-rock ballad sung with a lot of passion by Shafqat Amanat Ali, this SEL-composed tune was a first of its kind to be used in any KJo film. An instant hit, Mitwa, with its dominant guitar riffs and soft santoor and sarod sounds, remains one of their lyrical best.

Salaam-e-Ishq

Director: Nikhil Advani

Best song: Dil kya kare

Singers: Adnan Sami, Shankar Mahadevan, Shilpa Rao, Loy Mendonsa, Shaan, Nihira Joshi, Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, Kunal Ganjawala, Sadhana Sargam, Mahalaxmi Iyer and Kailash Kher

Lyricist: Sameer

What worked: SEL’s love for experimentation and fusion was once again brought out through this film’s soundtrack. Qawwali met western beats in the naughty-bordering-on-raunchy Saiyaan re and the wedding song Tenu leke was cool with its blend of traditional and techno music. Then there was the Kailash Kher-sung Ya rabba, with its classical feel dipped in pathos. There were many versions of the title song given that this was a six-in-one love story. But the Adnan Sami version, titled Dil kya kare, picturised on John Abraham and Vidya Balan, is the one that stays with us.