Whether you have watched hundreds of Bollywood musicals or if you are completely unaware of Bollywood’s existence, this is the best time to start exploring the eastern side of film art. Some people would argue that Bollywood has a lot of wider reach than Hollywood does around the world. This eastern film industry creates thousands of movies every single year which is a lot more than the western side does.
However, do not think that because they have a lot of movies in quantity that means that they do not have any quality. On the contrary, they’re a lot of Indian films that are considered to be classics. Most of those classics usually revolve around a love story combined with very good musical scores.
One of the most famous movies that came out of this part of the world was Slumdog Millionaire which managed to win the best motion picture award at the 2009 Oscars. It became famous for its acting, directing, scenario, but most importantly, its soundtrack.
It is well known that Bollywood has mastered the way of creating the perfect songs for a movie. Pick any music from this film industry and you will easily heart at least seven or eight different tracks that were composed for that exact musical.
With so many musicals to choose from, we have made a list of the best Bollywood music movies that you should definitely watch.
1. Mughal-E-Azam
This epic historical drama was quite a hit in the 1960s after its release. Directed by the famous K. Asif, Mughal-e-Azam managed to become the widest release of any Hindu film at that time. People would wait for hours and hours just to get a ticket at the theatre. It also managed to break the record for the highest-grossing Indian movie and managed to keep that title for the next fifteen years. When you adjust inflation for the profits, you might even argue that Mughal-e-Azam still holds that title of highest-grossing.
It follows the story of the love affair of Anarkali who is a court dancer and Prince Salim. In the eyes of the father of Prince Salim who was the Emperor at the time, Anarkali was just a simple peasant and did not deserve the love of the prince. This quickly turns into a big conflict between father and son and they decide to lead a war between each other. Salim loses the war and is sentenced to death, but is quickly redeemed by Anarkali who sacrifices for him. In the end, both the prince and the court dancer stay alive, but without either of them knowing about their continued existence.
Add ridiculously good soundtracks to this epic drama and you get the perfect musical. Most of the lyrics of these songs are written by Shakeel Badayuni and the tracks are sung by Lata Mangeshkar. You can hear up to twelve different scores in Mughal-E-Azam. If you want to hear any of these musical scores, check out pagalworld.
2. Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!
Also known as a HAHK was a romantic drama film released in 1994. Produced by Rajshri Productions and directed by Sooraj Barjatya, HAHK quickly took the place as the highest-grossing Indian film, taking the number one place from Mughal-E-Azam. HAHK had a huge influence on the entire Bollywood industry, inspiring directors and scenario writers to start creating stories with less violence and investing in more important parts of a movie.
It follows the story of Nisha and Prem who fall in love during the wedding of their older siblings. Their lives seem perfect until the moment Nisha’s sister dies and they are left with the care of a newborn baby. It is so interesting to follow this very realistic story that might happen to anyone.
Another thing so incredible about this movie is its soundtracks. It features an album of fourteen scores which was quite unusual for that time. Most of the songs were sung by Lata Mangeshkar who is one of the best-known playback singers in India. Her beautiful voice can be heard in thousands of different Hindu movies.
The songs from these movies are still very famous in the country, especially the song Didi Tera DEvar Deewana.
3. Taal
A romantic drama musical directed and produced by the well-known Subhash Ghai that was released in 1999. Subhash Ghai has received both the National Film Award and the IIFA Award. His most well-known films are Black & White, Saudagara, Khalnayak, and Taal.
Taal’s was actually one of the first Hindu movies that manage to get on the top 20 on Variety’s box office charts. It was nominated for a lot of different awards and most actors in the movie received an award for their acting.
The soundtrack was composed by the world-wide famous A. R. Rahman who has composed thousands of different musical scores for Bollywood movies. What’s beautiful about this musical is that it has two different albums. One is in the Hindi language and the other in Tamil.
The most famous scores from this movie are Taal Se Taal, Ishq Bina, and Kariyee Naa.
4. Awaara
Awaara is an unforgettable classic that was filmed during the 1950s which is widely known as The Vagabond.
It was directed by Ranbir Raj Kapoor which was the most famous director and producer at the time and usually referred to as the “father of the Indian film industry”. During his rise and huge success in the 50s and 60s, he made this beautiful musical called Awaara.
This Indian crime drama musical of 1951 revolves around a young man who tries to murder his father and later finds out that the judge who wants to put him behind bars is his actual father. This is quite the twist which is pretty characteristic for Bollywood.
The lead role (Raj Ragunath) is played by Raj Kapoor who is considered to be the most influential actor of his time in Hindu cinema. He certainly delivered his best in Awaara and made you really sympathize with the character.
5. Khamoshi: The Musical
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-ty-2B02VY&list=PLHhR5PEtsxmsbTbsMnCD-9kt5638Mfxuu&index=5
Not to be mistaken with Khamoshi released in 2019, this is a romantic drama musical directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
This film is filled with beautiful songs composed by Remo Fernandes and Jatin Lalit. The most popular scores are Bahon Ke Darmiyan, Jaana Suno Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain and others.
