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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