As a tribute to Asha Bhosle, I have already added her Top 50 Bollywood Songs of the 1960s. This is a filtered list of Asha Bhosle’s Top 10 Romantic Bollywood Duets of the 1960s, from that list.
Asha Bhosle: Top 10 Romantic Bollywood Duets of the 1960s
1. O Haseena from Teesri Manzil (1966) – Co-singer: Mohammed Rafi
(Lyricist: Majrooh Sultanpuri, Music Composer: R. D. Burman)
Let’s begin the list with the turning point of Asha’s career in the 1960s. It’s none other than Teesri Manzil and the impact which her voice made in the Bollywood film music.
It’s one of the top items ever pictured on Helen with the magical music of Pancham da, and Shammi Kapoor is also seen dancing along with her. The song proved to be a major turning point in Helen’s career, who danced to numerous hit tunes of Burman in the 1970s, mostly in Asha’s voice. Herman Benjamin choreographed the dance steps.
Teesri Manzil was one of the early works of R. D. Burman and Asha Bhosle together. No one might have predicted then that the couple would rule the Bollywood music scene for the next two decades, and that they would get married. The movie had a total of 6 tracks, of which two were Rafi solos and rest were Rafi-Asha duets. Majrooh Sultanpuri penned the lyrics of all the songs of the album.
2. Aaja Aaja from Teesri Manzil (1966) – Co-singer: Mohammed Rafi
(Lyricist: Majrooh Sultanpuri, Music Composer: R. D. Burman)
This song is always listed among the top 10 songs of Asha Ji’s entire career. The song got noticed for its rock fusion music as well as unique dance steps of Asha Parekh and Shammi Kapoor. R. D. Burman experiments created wonders for the film. He created high octave songs of the movie with a blend of rock, jazz, Latino and a twist of his own unique traits, which stood against the test of time. Two rock numbers of the film with heavy western music instruments and dance steps choreographed by Herman Benjamin made them huge chartbusters of the year.
In those days, only a few composers attempted to westernize Indian tunes. Though composers like R. D and Madan Mohan were blamed by music critics for westernizing Indian tunes, their tunes stood against time and are still popular. All the songs are still regarded as classic rock and a combination of western tunes, and have also inspired many music composers of future generations.
3. O Mere Sona Re from Teesri Manzil (1966) – Co-singer: Mohammed Rafi
(Lyricist: Majrooh Sultanpuri, Music Composer: R. D. Burman)
The movie featured 4 chartbuster duets in the voices of Rafi and Asha, filmed on Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh. If three songs from a single album find place in a list of 10 songs, that shows how much impact its songs have made in the hearts of millions of music lovers.
After O. P. Nayyar, Rahul Dev Burman became the second mainstream composer who exclusively reserved Asha Bhosle’s voice for Asha Parekh. All the songs turned out to be huge chartbusters too. In this fun-filled song, we can see Asha Parekh trying to pacify Shammi Kapoor, and romance blossoms very soon.
A few years later, Shankar-Jaikishen tried to re-create the same magic through ‘Mein Rootongi Tumse’ song of Jawan Mohabbat. Though the song got noticed, it couldn’t replicate ‘Teesri Manzil’’ magic. Teesri Manzil also included a less-heard duet of Asha and Rafi, which shares the same mood as the O Mere Sona Re song – Dekhiye Saahibon.
4. Are Yaar Meri Tum Bhi Ho from Teen Devian (1965) – Co-singer: Kishore Kumar
(Lyricist: Majrooh Sultanpuri, Music Composer: S. D. Burman)
This is the single Asha track in the entire album. This is the single duet of Asha Bhosle and Kishore Kumar featured in the list too. Kishore Kumar was not too serious about playback singing those days, and he concentrated on acting. Except for Dev Anand, he rarely sang for other actors too, and this song is the best example. In the 1960s, Asha sang maximum duets with Rafi, and in the 1970s, Rafi was replaced by Kishore Kumar.
Kalpana was one of the three female leads of Dev Anand in this film, and she wonderfully danced in this merry track. Majrooh Sultanpuri penned the lyrics. One of the top hits of Kishore and Asha Bhosle in the 1960s, the music was composed by S. D. Burman, who was pretty confident in recording Dev Anand’s songs with Kishore Kumar’s voice.
Despite being talented, Kishore and Asha Bhosle received tough competition from Rafi and Lata throughout the 1950s and 1960s, before they emerged as the leading playback singers of Bollywood in the 1970s. Thanks to some of the wonderful tunes composed by R. D. Burman to the duo.
5. Bahut Sukriya from Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962) – Co-singer: Mohammed Rafi
(Lyricist: S. H. Bihari, Music Composer: O. P. Nayyar)
This duet belongs to Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle. It’s one of the rare popular songs of the Sadhna – Asha Bhosle combination composed by Nayyar.
This evergreen romantic song was pictured on Joy Mukherjee and Sadhna Shivdasani, and the movie also included 4 duets of the same pair, including Aap Yun Hi Agar Humse Milte Rahe, Main Pyar Ka Rahi Hoon, and Tumhein Mohabbat Hai Humse Mana. Shamsul Huda Bihari penned two of its songs – Bahut Shukriya and Mujhe Dekhkar Aapka Muskurana, the popular solo track of Rafi. Out of the 10 musical tracks, both Rafi’s and Asha’s voices were used by Nayyar for 8 and 7 tracks, respectively.
6. Gunguna Rahi Hai from Aradhana (1969) – Co-singer: Mohammed Rafi
(Lyricist: Anand Bakshi, Music Composer: S. D. Burman)
R. D. Burman originally wanted Rafi to sing two solos. But when he fell ill in the middle of the project, the work was completed by his son, R. D. Burman, who gave ‘Mere Sapnon Ki Rani’ and ‘Roop Tera Mastana’ to Kishore Kumar, which made him a singing sensation overnight. The fame of two duets sung by Rafi – Gunguna Rahi Hai with Asha Bhosle (filmed on Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore) and Baagon Mein Bahar Hai with Lata Mangeshkar got overridden by Kishore Kumar hysteria. Yet this song remains evergreen and is still loved by millions of Asha Bhosle’s fans across the globe. Also read: Asha Bhosle: Top 15 Solo Bollywood Songs of the 1960s
7. Raat Ke Hamsafar from An Evening In Paris (1967)
(Lyricist: Shailendra Singh, Music Composer: Shankar Jaikishen)
SJ mostly used Lata, Sharda, or Suman Kalyanpur’s voices to record duets with Rafi during their peak years of the 1950s and 1960s. When Asha Bhosle rose to prominence in the early 1970s in association with Kishore Kumar, Jaikishen had already passed away, bringing a virtual end to the era of the celebrated music pair. This romantic track, featuring Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore and sung by Rafi and Asha, was shot in some of the best locations in Paris.
8. Deewana Hua Badal from Kashmir Ki Kali (1964)
(Lyricist: S. H. Bihari, Music Composer: O. P. Nayyar)
O. P. Nayyar used the voices of Mohd Rafi and Asha Bhosle to record all the songs of the lead pair – Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore. The whole romantic sequence was filmed in Kashmir, which adds to the beauty of the song. The movie also included Rafi’s popular duets with Asha – Ishare and Meri Jaan Balle Balle, apart from a few hit Rafi solos like Yeh Chand Sa Roshan Chehra, Subanallah, Yeh Duniya Useke and Kise Na Kise Se.
The movie album also included the solo songs, Balma Khuli Hawa Mein and Phir Thes Lagi Dil Ko, recorded in Asha’s voice, but not used in the film.
9. Kajra Mohabbat Wala from Kismat (1968) – Co-singer: Shamshad Begum
(Lyricist: S. H. Bihari, Music Composer: O. P. Nayyar)
O. P. Nayyar-Shamshad Begum combination gave some of the best songs in the 1950s. The duet – Kajra Mohabbatwala, sung by Asha Bhosle and Shamshad Begum, also became extremely popular, and it’s the last song sung by Shamshad Begum in O. P. Nayyar’s composition.
The song caught the audience’s attention due to the way it was filmed, choreographed, and for its memorable tune and rendition. Lyrics penned by S. H. Bihari, also worth appreciation. In this iconic and fun-to-watch scene, Biswajeet cross-dresses as a woman in a traditional sari, while Babita is dressed as a man, complete with a Pathani suit and moustache. Interestingly, female playback voices were used for both.
10. Abhi Na Jao Chodkar from Hum Dono (1961) – Co-singer: Mohammed Rafi
(Lyricist: Sahir Ludianvi, Music Composer: Jaidev)
Let me conclude the list with this evergreen parting song. This Rafi-Asha Bhosle duet is loved by youngsters belonging to all generations since the early 1960s, and that’s the beauty of this lovely composition.
The song was reused in Shahid Kapoor’s 2011 movie, Mausam, and it was recorded in Shreya Ghoshal’s voice. Dev Anand played a dual role in Hum Dono, and Sadhana Shivdasani is featured alongside Dev in this song. In the song sequence, Dev Anand tries to stop his lover and requests her to spend a little more time with him. Jaidev composed the song, and Sahir Ludhianvi penned the lyrics.
The movie also owns a deep solo version of Asha Bhosle – Jahan Mein Aisa Kaun Hai. Abhi Na Jao Chodkar is always listed among the top romantic tracks of the classic era, and also in the list of All-time Top 10 popular songs of Asha Bhosle.
Rafi Saab fully dominates this list, featuring 10 Best Duets of Asha Bhosle in the 1960s with 8 songs. When Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi had some personal indifference related to song copyright, Lata stopped working with Rafi for a while. During that short span, artists like Asha Bhosle, Sharda, and Suman Kalyanpur benefited most.
Also read a few more interesting posts about Asha Bhosle. Click the page link here.
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