The Best Hindi Movie Songs 2018

What are your picks for the best Hindi movie songs 2018? Here is ours. Read on. Also read our list of best Hindi movies of 2018 at this link.

The year has been a redundant and shallow timefor Bollywood soundtrack lovers. Rap or dance numbers are no crime (sample Paintra from Mukkabaaz as proof), but most of them were just about swag, will-beat-you-up, say-my-name, I-have-money, perverted pleadings for sex, whatever attitude, narcissism overload, alcohol and objectifying women in repeat mode. Doing bizarre, lesser cover versions without acknowledging the original song makers was another “shame, shame” feature for ardent listeners like me this year.

The good songs still kept coming through in trickles, fewer but brighter. Despite autotuner making singers out of everybody, and the music makers clearly not in a position to dictate terms, some traces of magic still linger in the Bollywood soundtrack world.

Gulzar and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy are at it again. For the superb thriller Raazi, Ae Watan goes seamlessly on Alia Bhatt with Sunidhi Chauhan and some brilliant child artists doing the honours. Invariably nowadays though, it is Arijit Singh’s improvised rendition that strikes a heartier chord.

What will we do without Gulzar’s sensitivity, fragrant poetry and brilliance? Long live Gulzar! Again, Gulzar has a deeper, varied take on the patriotic lyrics, he doesn’t go for predictable jingoism. Gulzar sketches a cherished longing for the country as a companion, a friend. Here are some highlights:

This gem of a song suffered the same fate as the beautiful movie, a modern adaptation of Tagore’s lovely short story, Kabuliwala.

R Mohan’s deliberate accent-heavy rendition takes this song up many notches. Sandesh Shandilya keeps it minimal and simple, reaps the benefits of staying faithful to the melody.

Gulzar is pure magic and nostalgia king here, probably even reliving his childhood. The Bioscope was a mobile movie projector, where one had to peek into a porthole kind of opening to view short movie clips. Take this context, imagine children frolicking around the bioscope man, listen in and watch the years fade away.

What atmosphere, what pin-precision rendition and what dripping sensuality. Nainowale Ne is a song about lethal attraction, intoxication and dreamy desire. The sitar-gushing celebration adds lustre and layers to this beauty of a song.

AR Rahman plugs in a largely underwhelming, been-there-done-that 2.0 soundtrack with an “I love birds” nature therapy. It works like nothing else in the movie. Rahman is in his element here in adding rainbow shades to this serenely-paced melody.

Nanhi Si Jaan has a delicate, winged-flight rhythm to it, coupled with soothing power piano notes. Kailash Kher’s aptly muffled vocals (another Rahman technical signature) goes all soul and Sufi right through the heavenly aesthetics for a stirring, calm stream of a tune. My rewind song of the year.