Movie: Lagaan (2001)

Singers: Alka Yagnik, Sukhwinder Singh, Udit Narayan, Shaan, Shankar Mahadevan, Srinivas, Asha Bhosle, Vasundhara Das

Music: A.R Rahman

Lyrics: Javed Akhtar

How many of you become nostalgic on hearing the Lagaan songs?? Lagaan brings back happy memories from the past. The film is based on the game of cricket, how taxes were paid during the British era and the rivalry between the Indian farmers from a small village with the British landlords. As the Indian cricket team dazzles in the ICC ODI World Cup tournament, let’s reflect on the music from a cricket-based film!

The Lagaan album was showered with a lot of critical acclaim by critics. Many critics stated it to be a “Magnum Opus” by A.R Rahman. A work of such stature by Rahman was never witnessed before. It is said to be one of Rahman’s most loved and respected works till now.  The background score was responsible for the film’s massive success.  It became the highest selling album in the year 2001. It was A.R Rahman’s 2nd biggest hit after “Dil Se” during those times. Mitwa and Radha Kaise Na Jale by Udit ji and Alka ji broke all records and secured a special place in the history of Bollywood music.

Ghanan Ghanan

This song welcomes the rain. Songs like these have become obsolete. The simplicity, the innocence, lack of glitz and glamor, the basic costumes, everything shows the beauty of this song. Javed Akhtar’s lyrics actually make you feel what it is to call out to the black clouds and ask them to pour out. The joy of the first rain makes the entire village dance in ecstasy. Our distinguished singers Alka Yagnik, Sukhwinder Singh, Udit Narayan, Shaan and Shankar Mahadevan sang together. The coming together of so many majestic voices adds more gravity to this song. A. R Rahman’s music literally has no comparison. He has combined various classical ragas and western compositions to make this song more epic than ever before.

Mitwa

Whether you know Hindi or not, this song will literally transport you to a piece of India that you must not have experienced before. Javed Akhtar is a champion with the words that console a friend or mitwa to be brave and not get scared of anything. A. R Rahman’s music has the calm, consoling beats and makes you experience the rustic flavors and the earthy feel that surrounds the entire song. Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan, Sukhwinder Singh and Srinivas hit the right notes with their clear, beautiful voices that flowed as smoothly as butter. This song was the most favorite of all Indian radio stations even long after its release.

Radha Kaise Na Jale

This mesmerizing track composed by our legendary Rahman, written with a lot of passion by Javed Akhtar and sung by none other than Asha Bhosle and Udit Narayan, recreates the magic of Maha Raas, actually enacted by Krishna on the full moon night of Sharad Purnima. All young maidens of Vrindavana were enchanted by the celestial beauty of lord Krishna. Every gopi wanted him to be her lover but Krishna loved only Radha. He did not want the Gopis to feel sad, so he took various forms and danced with every gopi. This song is a representation of that and has always been a favorite dance number.

Chale Chalo

An inspiring song that will motivate you to achieve the greatest heights, “Chale Chalo” is an fantastic number from “Lagaan” that exudes patriotism, hard work, dedication, passion and the spirit of sportsmanship. This song is a favorite of millions of Indians and has won over innumerable hearts. It’s not just Amir Khan and his gang who make this song such an epic hit, but A.R Rahman’s rhythmic composition with the peppy beats, Javed Akhtar’s lyrics that glorifies victory and the enemy’s defeat and Srinivas as well as A.R Rahman coming together to sing this song of victory in their powerful, free flowing voices makes this track the biggest inspirational melody of our time.

O Palanhare

Dive into a peaceful world of prayers with this slow, soft composition by A.R Rahman. Rahman and Lata Mangeshkar’s perfect vocals have completely enhanced this melodious, religious masterpiece and taken it to a whole new level. Javed Akhtar writes about a helpless human being who sings to the formless, colorless god and tells him that god is his only companion. The flute parts in the music composed by Rahman sounds fantastic. This song is popular in many parts of the world.

O Re Chhori

The mix of Hindi and English in this song is absolutely beautiful. The lyrics are a masterpiece by Javed Akhtar in both the languages. The lyrics touch our hearts because of the unbelievable vocals by Vasundhra Das, Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik. A.R Rahman’s masterpiece composition will make your heart flutter in joy. The pitch goes up and down and will take you for a rollercoaster ride as you listen to it. You’ll absolutely love watching Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh and Rachael Shelly each express their meaning of love.

Final Words

Rahman’s compositions are just the perfect fit for the themes of British Era village life, cricket and rivalries! The singers modified their voices for the various songs based on the genre and Javed ji’s words captivated every person who heard these songs.

If you love these classic numbers from hit movies, install the Gaana Pehchaana app from Playstore/ Appstore to play the biggest Bollywood musical games, participate in live games and catch up on Bollywood music blogs/ latest reviews. 

If you are a fan of A. R. Rahman’s music, test your knowledge by playing the Teen Maar Khan game TMK363 “A. R. Rahman in the 2000’s”!  You can also play two other TMK games based on his music: TMK254 “A. R. Rahman Hits!” and TMK102 “A. R. Rahman Special”!

And maybe you can host an A. R. Rahman special GaanaP Live! Event for your friends and family!  Book your event at GaanaP-Private Event!