A.R. Rahman is a musical revolution – and that is not saying anything new about him. Amongst the best music directors that India ever had, his music stands apart in the way he brought in fusion between traditional Indian classical music with electronic music, influences of world music. There is a very unique sound of his music that one can recognize just by listening to his songs, and all the national and international awards under his belt, or the legendary nicknames he has been given deservingly recognize his genius, his divine blessings.
Although Rahman has excelled across genres and various kind of songs in multiple languages, the divine intervention reflects in the fact that he has composed some of the finest songs that directly connects one to God – whether that is through sufi songs, bhajans, traditional devotional songs adapted to a new treatment, songs infused with spirituality or songs that elevate the yearning for love to ethereal levels, and most of these songs will always find a place in the best songs list of Rahman. Here is then looking at the 20 of his best songs that takes you some place – through a blessed divine connection. The list below is limited to his hindi songs (given that I have not heard his Tamil songs exhaustively), and is in no particular order:
01. O Paalanhaare | Lagaan (2001) | Javed Akhtar | Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan, A.R. Rahman
02. Khwaja mere Khwaja | Jodha Akbar (2008) | Kashif | A.R. Rahman
03. Pal pal hain bhaari | Swades (2004) | Javed Akhtar | Madhushree, Vijay Prakash
04. Kun Faya Kun | Rockstar (2011) | Irshad Kaamil | A. R. Rahman, Javed Ali, Mohit Chauhan, Nizami Brothers
05. Arziaan | Delhi-6 (2009) | Prasoon Joshi | Javed Ali, Kailash Kher
06. Man Mohana | Jodha Akbar (2008) | Javed Akhtar| Bela Shende
07. Tu Kuja | Highway (2014) | Irshad Kaamil | Sunidhi Chauhan
08. Mera yaar mila de saaiyya | Saathiya (2002) | Gulzar | A.R. Rahman
09. Piya Haji Ali | Fiza (2000) | Shaukat Ali | A. R. Rahman, Kadar Ghulam Mushtafa, Murtaza Ghulam Mushtafa, Srinivas
10. Piya milenge | Raanjhanaa (2013) | Irshad Kaamil | Sukhwinder Singh, K.M.M.C. Sufi Ensemble
11. Ik Onkaar | Rang De Basanti (2006) | Traditional Prayer | Harshdeep Kaur
12. Ek tu hi bharosa | Pukar (2000) | Majrooh Sultanpuri | Lata Mangeshkar
13. Tum tak | Raanjhanaa (2013) | Irshad Kaamil | Javed Ali, Pooja Vaidyanath, Keerthi Sagathia
14. Ishwar Allah | 1947 Earth (1998) | Javed Akhtar | Anuradha Sriram, Sujatha Mohan
15. Noor Un Ala Noor | Meenaxi: Tale Of 3 Cities (2004) | Maqbool Fida Husain | Qadir Khan, Murtaza Khan
16. Zikr | Bose: The forgotten hero (2004) | Javed Akhtar | A R Rahman, Rafee, Raqeeb Alam, Shaukat Ali
17. Al Maddath Maula | Mangal Pandey : The Rising (2005) | Javed Akhtar | A. R. Rahman, Kailash Kher, Murtuza Khan, Kadhir
18. Vaishnava Janato | Water (2005) | Narsinh Mehta | Ajoy Chakraborty, Kaushiki Chakraborty, Chorus
19. Ishq bina | Taal (1999) | Anand Bakshi | Sujatha Mohan, Sonu Nigam, Anuradha Sriram, Chorus
20. Dil se re | Dil Se (1998) | Gulzar | A. R. Rahman, Anuradha Sriram, Anupama & Febi Mani
Do you have any other song to add to the list? Please share, and happy listening..
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