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Hindi Rock: The 10 Best Bollywood Songs of All Time

Hindi Rock: The 10 Best Bollywood Songs of All Time

Songs are the key to Bollywood movies. They are the anchor for the film’s theme and get played over and over again during the course of the story.

Bollywood movies are iconic, in large part because of their catchy music. If you’re wondering which ones are the very best, we’ve compiled a list of five of the best Bollywood songs of all time. Check it out.

1. “Chaiyya Chaiyya”

Although Bollywood films get categorized as Hindi, this song from the 1998 movie Dil Se.. was written in Urdu, as do most songs for Bollywood. There is an alternate version in Tamil.

The upbeat song was popular because of its location: a moving train. The album sold over six million copies.

2. “Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein”

Get ready to get your heart broken if you watch the 1976 movie this song is from, Kabhie Kabhie. The leading lady falls for someone, but it’s not in her destiny. Her family arranges for her to marry someone else, and she spends her wedding night wishing she was with the other guy.

But the song began as part of a collection of poems, and later got simplified for the movie. It won several awards.

3. “Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai”

The song from the 1965 movie Guide had several nominations (and later wins) at the Filmfare Awards in 1967. It’s lyrics translate to, “Today I feel like living again,” and embody the feelings of the main characters, Raju and Rosie.

The characters go through some major lows, even attempting suicide, but in the end, they each find a cause to fight for. Their determination makes this their perfect anthem.

4. “Chaar Bottle Vodka”

This newer Bollywood song from the film Ragini MMS 2 has millions of views on YouTube. The 2014 erotic horror movie is a sequel to Ragini MMS. It stars porn actress Sunny Leone as herself.

The song is the most popular of the six total on the movie’s soundtrack. You can find more songs from rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh available for download on the mp3boy website.

5. “Kal Ho Naa Ho”

“Kal Ho Naa Ho,” titled the same as the 2003 movie it’s from, mimics the theme song from The Titanic, by Celine Dion. It’s more contemporary than many of the other Bollywood iconic songs.

The translation, “Tomorrow May Never Come,” embodies the story, a tragic love story about Naina, who falls for the new neighbor, but ends up marrying her classmate who loves her. When the neighbor almost dies, he asks Naina’s husband to let him marry her in the next life.

Listen to this great Bollywood song on one of the many devices in your home, but we highly recommend checking out the YouTube video to see the original.

Hindi Rock: Best Bollywood Songs

These five best Bollywood songs won’t disappoint you. From the Golden Age to Classic and New Bollywood, these quintessential songs give you a taste of the rich Indian influence so many American films have embraced.

The success of a Bollywood film’s soundtrack determines the success of the film, and all these songs made their movies big hits.

For more cultural and travel posts like this one, read more of the blog.

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How Many Songs Can You Play (with the Chords You Know)?

How Many Songs Can You Play (with the Chords You Know)?

Have you ever found yourself playing the same song again and again? If so, you’re not alone. This is a common problem for beginners on the guitar and ukulele. The song in question doesn’t even have to be a hard one. In fact, it can (and should) be easy.

But practicing the same song can get pretty boring after awhile.

For example, “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley is a classic beginner song that’s playable with G, C, and D. But even though it’s a simple tune, you still need to invest a lot of time and repetition before you see any real improvement. And unfortunately, that repetition is unavoidable. If you don’t cycle through “Three Little Birds” enough times, you won’t get better.

Fortunately, the fix is simple.

Practice Other Songs That Also Use G, C, and D

Instead of practicing one song, you can choose others that use the same chords. If you can play “Three Little Birds,” then you can also play the following 4 songs:

  1. “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash
  2. “La Bamba” by Ritchie Valens
  3. “Wild Thing” by the Troggs
  4. “Blue Suede Shoes” by Carl Perkins (and Elvis)

They all use the same chords, but each of these songs has a different melody, a different tempo, and a different backstory. So you have more variety when you practice. And it’s a lot harder for boredom to set in.

What if you’re not a fan of these somewhat dated examples? Maybe you like more modern songs (by artists who are actually still alive). Not a problem. If you Google “3-chord” or “4-chord” songs, you’ll find lots of online lists. And you can wade through them to find practice tunes that resonate with you.

That’s certainly one option. And if you’re committed to getting better, this type of online research may be worth the investment. But there’s a new search engine that can speed up this entire process for you.

A Much Faster Way to Find Beginner Songs

Although still in beta, the Chord Genome Project is a free tool that shows you all the songs you can play with the chords you already know. If you do a search of G, C, and D, for example, you’ll find almost 400 individual easy 3-chord songs for the ukulele and guitar. Better still, all the results are sortable by genre and decade. So if you’re looking for songs by living, breathing musicians, you’re sure to find some.

And you’re not limited to G, C, and D. For example, a lot of newbies start with:

  • A, D, E (on the guitar)
  • C, F, G (on the ukulele)

Plug those in and see what comes out. You can also do searches for songs with 4, 10, or even 20 chords. So this music search engine isn’t strictly for beginners.

If you’re stuck in a rut and dying of boredom, the Chord Genome Project is definitely worth checking out. The site has a demo version (there’s no signup required). But the results are limited, and unfortunately, you can’t sort by genre or year. The real magic happens once you register for a free account (signup is required). There’s also a paid version with even more bells & whistles.

To start finding easy songs to play on the guitar and ukulele, head over to the Chord Genome Project, and start jamming.