The top 5 Bollywood songs that should be on your Holi playlist

Holi, the Festival of Colours, signifies the end of winter and the arrival of spring. Celebrated over a night (Holika Dahan) and a day (Rangwali Holi), the festival also signifies the blossoming of love. It’s a day to forget and forgive, to repair broken relationships, and to indulge your inner child.

Bollywood has, over the years, typified the rambunctious nature of Holi in its many songs that are full of colour, cheer, and fun.

YS Weekender lists down the best of Holi songs that should be a part of your festive playlist – this year and for years to come!

Rang Barse

Amitabh Bachchan’s baritone has been a part of Holi celebrations at many homes and parties for decades now. In Yash Chopra’s magnum opus Silsila, Rang Barse brings Bachchan’s Amit and the two women in his life face to face. That too, after a liberal dose of bhang. But naturally, fireworks follow!

Composed by Shiv Hari, the song is written by Harivansh Rai Bachchan and is based on a bhajan by Meerabai.

Balam Pichkari

This is the anthem of the youth for Holi. The upbeat number, from Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone-starrer Yeh Jawani Hai Diwani, is sure to get you moving. Beautifully rendered by Shalmali Kholgade and Vishal Dadlani, and written by Amitabh Bhattacharya, this perky number goes well with the naughtiness that Holi is associated with.

Holi ke Din

Kab hai Holi? Holi kab hai? So said Gabbar, and set the stage for a showdown in the fictional Ramgarh in Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay. But before that, there was time to play with colours and water. Sung by the evergreen pair of Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar, this hit number was composed by RD Burman and written by Anand Bakshi.

Holi Khele Raghuveera

Amitabh Bachchan seems to be a fixture when it comes to Holi songs! Accompanied by Udit Narayan, Sukhwinder Singh, and Alka Yagnik, he spiritedly captures the spirit of the festival – and his love for his luminous wife (Hema Malini) - in this Aadesh Shrivastava composition from Baghban.

Friends and family band together to celebrate – isn’t that what Holi is all about?

Do Me a Favour – Let’s Play Holi

Waqt may have tagged itself as a “race against time”, but time slows down when the Thakur family celebrates the Festival of Colours.

The Vipul Shah film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Akshay Kumar, and Shefali Shah. Anu Malik and Sunidhi Chauhan raise the tempo with this fast-paced number that’s ideal to play in the background as you join in the boisterous celebrations.

(Edited by Evelyn Ratnakumar)