The Paan-Dukaan Songs of Bollywood


Once upon a time when there were no smartphones, iPods or walkmans, the world of music players was ruled by tape recorders and decks and sound boxes.  Then, the popularity of music was not decided on internet, but on the streets, traffic signals and highways. The paan shops on the chowk, the local buses and the truck drivers on the ply, were the chief contributors of a song's popularity. The quality of a paan-wala was not decided by the amount of kattha-choona he put in the kalkatiya patta (a dark green betel leaf), but by the size of the sound boxes he had. Passengers would spend ages on the bus stand waiting for the buses with "meuzik chaloo hai" board on them. The truck drivers would leave their sound systems blazing when they stopped at the dhabas for the community welfare. They were the knights of the musical crusade, and their contribution to Indian cinema and Bollywood music is immense.
Though they played (and still play) the seasonal hits, there were some songs they made their own. These songs were neither lecherous nor dhinchak. These were the songs that put an extra misree in the meetha patta  (sweet betel leaf) or invoked amorous feelings between the co-passengers on the bus from Mukherjee Nagar to North Campus or shared the pain of the lonely heart of a truck-driver on the night highways . Whether you stop to mouth a Magahi paan (A type of pan famous in Bihar) in Ghatkopar or board a 407 from Begusarai to Barauni or take a trekker from cooperative colony to sector 4 in Bokaro, there is a big chance that you will still listen to one of these songs that we fondly call paan-dukaan songs.
Though these songs are as they say 'evergreen' and are definitely popular, their popularity has become their undoing. All of us have heard them so many times, that they have either come to be ridiculed as 'class nahi hai' or at times have really become intolerable (saala dimag annas kar dihish).
We, at TheBlueEyedSon set out to find and celebrate the top twelve paan-dukaan songs of Bollywood and here is our final list

1. Ek Aisi Ladki Thi

Movie: Dilwale (1994)
Music: Nadeem-Shravan
Singer: Alka Yagnik & Kumar Sanu

.

2. Haan Maine Bhi Pyar Kiya Hai

Movie: Haan Maine Bhi Pyar Kiya Hai (2002)
Music: Nadeem-Shravan
Singer:Alka Yagnik & Kumar Sanu

3. Dil Mat Dena Meri Soutan Ko

Movie: Chhupa Rustam : A Musical Thriller :-) (2001)
Music: Anand-Milind
Singer: Alka Yagnik

4. Aayega Maza Ab Barsaat Ka

Movie: Andaz (2003)
Music: Nadeem- Shravan
Singer: Alka Yagnik, Babul Supriyo

5. Hum Tumhare Hain Tumhare Sanam

Movie: Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam (2002)
Music: Nikhil - Vinay
Singer: Udit Narayan, Anuradha Paudwal

6. Tu Dharti Pe Chahe

Movie: Jeet (1996)
Music: Nadeem-Shravan
Singer: Alka Yagnik, Kumar Sanu

7. Itna Main Chahoon Tujhe

Movie: Raaz (2002)
Music: Nadeem-Shravan
Singer: Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan

8. Woh Ladki Bahut Yaad Aati Hai

Movie: Qayamat (2003)
Music: Nadeem-Shravan
Singer: Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik 

9. Kitna Haseen Chehra

Movie: Dilwale (1994)
Music: Nadeem-Shravan
Singer: Kumar Sanu

 

10. Tum Dil Ki Dhadkan Mein

Movie: Dhadkan (2000)
Music: Nadeem-Shravan
Singer: Abhijeet

11. Barsat Ke Din Aaye

Movie: Barsaat (2005)
Music: Nadeem-Shravan
Singer: Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik

12. Chori Chori Dil Tera

Movie: Phool aur Angar (1993)
Music: Anu Malik
Singer: Kumar Sanu, Sujata Goswami

 

These songs have remained with us. You can still find people asking "dilwale ka gana bajao" (play dilwale songs) in buses. Of course, we want you to smile at this list. But we hope that in that smile there will be a hint of nostalgia blended with the ridicule.

By the next time you go to a party, you can try playing these in a loop just to freak out :-P

Songs That Just Missed This List:

Dilbar Dilbar (Sirf Tum)
Sheesha Ho Ya Dil Ho (Aasha)
Tere Naam (Tere Naam)

Also Ran:

Raahon Mein Unse Mulakat (Vijaypath)
Utha Le Jaoonga (Ye Dil Aashiqana)
Pardesi Pardesi (Raja Hindustani)
Angoori Badan (Jaanwar)
Mubarak Ho Tumko (Haan Maine Bhi Pyar Kiya Hai)
If you feel we have missed some deserving songs, please leave the details in the comments. We will include them (with credits) if we share your views.
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You may also like What-The-Hell Songs of Bollywood

Co-Authored by +Ritu raj +Nikhil Anand and contributions from Nishant Singh


{ 12 comments ... read them below or Comment }

  1. Lol..i guess there is a hidden connection why pan waale used to play these songs ...Nadeem shravan,the duo who sang most of these songs also used to eat pan....
    Nice collection btw .. I could remember the very first song listed above .. being played when i had my first pan

    ReplyDelete
  2. I remember each and every one of these songs... muzaffarpur ke morning bhajans hain yeh gaane... subah subah namaz aur raghupati raghav se pehle yeh gaane bajte the...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bilkul. Aur abhi bhi bhajan hai Bhai. subah utho aur aayega maza ab barsaat ka bajta hai. deck aur sound box ki jagah thirty six speaker wale Chinese mobile pe. :-)

      Delete
  3. Chilam chooran... kya gaane nikale hain khoj ke..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hehe, khojna nahi pada yaar. itni baari sune hain ye gaane ki bass jehen mein baith gaya hai

      Delete
  4. Hence proved.. you are a BLUE eyed son...
    In gaano me wo BF wala BLUE colour saaf jhalak raha hai...

    ReplyDelete
  5. so very true...the timely melodies were to be heard only on these shops and ofcourse our Binaca Geet Mala chart busters...those loving days..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Veena Definitely. I miss "saajan paan bhandar"

      Delete
  6. Nice Collection Of Songs....

    ReplyDelete

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