#15 Kashmir Ki Kali: Top 100 Bollywood Albums

Music: O. P. Nayyar

Lyrics: S.H. Bihari

Label: Saregama HMV

Director: Shakti Samanta

After giving Shammi Kapoor his earliest musical hit (Tumsa Nahin Dekha), this romance drama saw composer O P Nayyar deliver an even bigger musical blockbuster for the actor, seven years later. While it helped that the songs were set to the breathtaking landscape of Kashmir and that acting opposite Shammi was the beautiful Sharmila Tagore (making her debut in Hindi), there was no taking away from the composer's musical brilliance. Matching the actor's trademark onscreen exuberance with a set of upbeat, folk-infused songs, Nayyar featured some amazing musicians here – classical exponents like Pandit Shivkumar Sharma (santoor), Ustad Rais Khan (sitar), Pandit Ram Narayan (sarangi) to name a few. Equally praiseworthy was lyricist S H Bihari's work – simple yet immensely effective. Amidst all the cheeriness of the soundtrack, the song that often gets overlooked, and hence deserves a special mention, is the incredibly moving Hai Duniya Usi Ki that had Manohari Singh playing some exceptional sax.

Best Song Of Kashmir Ki Kali: This is again one of those albums where given a choice I would probably pick all the songs as my favourite. However, since I have to choose one, I go for the breezy Rafi-Asha duet Deewana Hua Baadal. The rich arrangement saw extensive use of sitar, sarangi, flute, mandolin etc – all set to that familiar tonga-esque rhythm.

On a related note: When Shammi Kapoor passed away in 2011, Amul released a tribute poster which referred to the famous line from Yeh Chaand Sa Roshan Chehra, underlining the position this soundtrack held in the rich musical legacy that the actor had left behind through his films. 

1. Kahin Na Kahin Dil Lagana Padega (Singer: Mohammed Rafi)
2. Taarif Karoon Kya Uski (Singer: Mohammed Rafi)
3. Isharon Isharon Mein Dil Lenewale (Singers Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle)
4. Subhanallah Haseen Chehra (Singer: Mohammed Rafi)
5. Meri Jaan Balle Balle (Singers: Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle)
6. Diwana Hua Badal (Singers: Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle)
7. Hai Duniya Usiki Zamana Usika (Singer: Mohammed Rafi)
8. Balma Khuli Hawa Mein (Singer: Asha Bhosle)
9. Phir Thes Lagi Dil Ko (Singer: Asha Bhosle)

Listen to the entire playlist of Kashmir Ki Kali: 

(With contributions by Praveen VR, co-founder of musicaloud.com; information partly sourced from myswar.com)

#16 DOSTI: TOP 100 BOLLYWOOD ALBUMS