#26 Awara: Top 100 Bollywood Albums

Music: Shankar-Jaikishan

Lyricist: Shailendra, Hasrat Jaipuri

Label: Saregama HMV

Director: Raj Kapoor

Actor Raj Kapoor turned producer-director with the 1948 movie Aag. It was in his second movie Barsaat though that he managed to put together the musical team that would over the years give Bollywood a plethora of iconic songs. The team was comprised of Shankar Jaikishan as composers, Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri as lyricists (though Barsaat had more lyricists). While on the vocal front there were multiple amazing singers, it is Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar who tend to be most associated with this partnership. In Awara, their sophomore film, they delivered an equally beautiful yet more diverse set of songs. Riding on the soundtrack, the movie met with international success, finding a prominent place in Soviet popular culture.

Best Song of Awara: One of the first songs that come to your mind when you think of Raj Kapoor and Mukesh would be Awaara Hoon. The simplicity here was everything you associate with Mukesh's renditions – Shankar Jaikishan's charming backdrop was loaded with non-Indian elements, primarily the accordion (played by V Balsara) and the mandolin. And in his definitive style, Shailendra's words were as simple as they were impactful, characterized by immortal phrases like ya gardish mein hoon aasmaan ka taara hoon).

On a related note: The 1991 Malayalam film Vishnulokam featured an adaptation of Awara Hoon by veteran composer Raveendran with vocals by the movie's lead actor Mohanlal who played a tramp in the movie, akin to Raj Kapoor's Awara role.

The Awaara Playlist:

1. Ek Do Teen (Singer: Shamshad Begum | Lyricist: Shailendra)
2. Hum Tujhse Mohabbat Kar Ke (Singer: Mukesh | Lyricist: Hasrat Jaipuri)
3. Awaara Hoon (Singer: Mukesh | Lyricist: Shailendra)
4. Ek Bewafa Se Pyar Kiya (Singer: Lata Mangeshkar | Lyricist: Hasrat Jaipuri)
5. Ab Raat Guzarne Wali Hai (Singer: Lata Mangeshkar | Lyricist: Hasrat Jaipuri)
6. Jab Se Balam Ghar Aaye (Singer: Shamshad Begum | Lyricist: Hasrat Jaipuri)
7. Ghar Aaya Mera Pardesi (Singer: Lata Mangeshkar | Lyricist: Shailendra)
8. Dam Bhar Jo Udhar Munh Phere (Singer: Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar | Lyricist: Shailendra)
9. Tere Bina Aag Yeh Chandni (Singer: Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar | Lyricist: Shailendra)
10. Naiya Meri Manjhdhar (Singer: Mohammed Rafi | Lyricist: Shailendra)
11. Pativrata Sita Maai Ko (Singer: Mohammed Rafi | Lyricist: Shailendra)

Listen to the songs of Awara here:

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

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