Top 10 Bollywood duets of Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik composed by Anu Malik

The decade of 1990s and early 2000s is dedicated for some sweet melodies sung by Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu, Sonu Nigam, Alka Yagnik, Kavita Krishnamurty etc. Though Anu Malik’s name is best associated with peppy numbers and party dance tunes, he has also created some wonderful duets particularly in the 1990s. While his association with Udit Narayan became frequent only in year 1995 with a couple of Aamir Khan movies, he recorded several hit songs of Alka Yagnik since early 1990s. In all these cases, he preferably chose the voices of Kumar Sanu and Vinod Rathod for duets. In this column, I shall list 10 of the best  duets of Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik composed by Anu Malik, which I feel the best. I have sorted the 10 songs based on alphabetic order.

1. Aaja Mahiya from Fiza (2000) – Let me begin the list with one of the top romantic songs of year 2000. The song featured newcomer Neha and a single-film old Hrithik Roshan. It gained quick attention for Hrithik’s star value, its tune as well as dance steps. Gulzar who penned its lyrics earned a Filmfare nomination.

2. Chhup Gaya from Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain (1999) – It’s a dream sequence of Kajol in the film, who is travelling by a flight with Anil Kapoor, as a newly wedded couple. It’s the single Udit Narayan & Alka Yagnik duet of the entire album, and got noticed along with other soft tunes.

3. Dekho Dekho Jaanam from Ishq (1997) – Ajay Devgan and Kajol were dating when the movie got released. So this particular song filmed on both received a lot of attention. Kajol was already an established star, while Ajay Devgan was still trying to find his foot in the industry.

4. Haare Haare from Josh (2000) – The song was filmed on Aishwaya Rai and Chandrachur Singh, who shared screen space for the first and last time for Josh. Separation in the theme of this song, and its memorable lyrics were penned by Sameer. The song is said to be inspired from Vangelis’ ‘Conquest of paradise’. 

5. Hai Mera Dil from Josh (2000) – This duet definitely tops this beautiful list of lovely duets, and is very close to my heart. Sameer’s words make it so special for those who are madly in love for the first time. Josh is best known for some of the best songs of Anu Malik’s career, though it’s not free of ‘inspirations’. The romantic duet featuring Chandrachur Singh and Aishwarya Rai has drawn inspirations from Gypsy Kings’ Djobi Djoba and Brian Hyland’s ‘Sealed with a kiss’, yet Anu Malik sealed it in his name through his versatility.

6. Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega from Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega (2000) – The duet featuring Rani Mukerji and Salman Khan was immensely popular when it got released. Anu Malik frequently used Udit Narayan as the ghost voice of Salman Khan, and this song is one of the best instances.

7. Raat Ke Hatheli Pe from Refugee (2000)  – The album gave the composer his single National recognition in best music category. The movie included 6 of the finest tracks of Anu Malik ever. The movie marked the screen debuts of both Kareena Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan, and all its songs were filmed on both. While Sonu Nigam’s voice was predominantly used as the ghost voice of Bachchan, Anu Malik reserved one special song for Udit Narayan, and it’s so special, no doubt. Alka Yagnik recorded all songs for Kareena, thus becoming her first ghost voice ever. Javed Akhtar wrote the lyrics.

8. Mere Mehboob Mere Sanam from Duplicate (1998) – The composer used the voices of both Kumar Sanu and Udit Narayan for Shah Rukh Khan, while Alka Yagnik’s voice was experimented for both the female leads – Juhi Chawla and Sonali Bandre. It’s the only song featuring the lead three actors, and was well filmed too. Javed Akhtar’s lyrics bring memories of the title track of Shammi Kapoor’s movie, Tumse Acha Kaun Hai of 1969, and so is the tune. I am not sure if there is any resemblance of both these tunes. But definitely both songs hold same pattern.

9. Na Woh Inkaar from Himalay Putra (1997) – The movie which marked the screen debut of Akshay Khanna and Anjala Zaveri is long forgotten, but not this lovely romantic song. Dev Kohli’s lyrics played wonders for this song, definitely. The song was lovely filmed too. The movie included yet another popular duet of the duo – Ishq Hua Tujhse Jaanam.

10. Raja Ko Rani Se from Akele Hum Akele Tum (1995) – Definitely it’s the most popular duet of Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik in Anu Malik composition, and can be tagged as an evergreen romantic song. Akele Hum Akele Tum was one of the early successful associations of Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik. The song was filmed on Aamir Khan and Manisha Koirala, and had two versions. The second one was in Kumar Sanu – Alka Yagnik combination. However this version which was widely shown on TV channels was most popular. Apart from taking inspirations from Slash – Godfather Theme, the opening music also took inspiration from a romantic background score of 1980s movie, Yadon Ki Kasam starring Mithun Chakraborty and Zeenat Aman. 

Aaja Ve Mahi and Dil Mere Naa from Fida (2004), Jiya Main Jiya from Khushi (2003), Mohabbat Naam Hai from Ajnabee (2001), Dil Dil Deewana from Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega (2000), Humse Tumse Hua Hai Pyar from Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyo (2004) etc are a few more popular duets of Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik, composed by Anu Malik.

Read a few more interesting articles about the celebrated music composer of 1990s – Anu Malik