Celebrating Alka Yagnik: Six songs depicting the versatility of the singer
National Award Winner Alka Yagnik, one of the most prolific playback singers and a legend in the film industry, has notched up another milestone. The singer has entered the Guinness World Records for having achieved an enormous 15.3 billion YouTube streams last year – an average of 42 million per day – making her the world’s most streamed act on YouTube.
She is placed right at the top of YouTube’s 2022 global rankings ahead of second-placed Bad Bunny (Puerto Rico) who received 14.7 billion streams.
The singer whose career spans over forty decades has sung more than twenty thousand songs in different Indian languages. She started her career at a very young age; one of her first songs, as a teenager, was the female version of the very popular ‘Mere Angne Mein’.
Her songs span a generation of actresses and movies. While she herself has often said that the ‘romantic genre’ is her favourite, it is hard to sort through her treasure trove of songs and pick just a romantic song or a sad song.
Here are a list of songs classified according to the mood of the song. These are a glimpse of her versatility across genres.
Ek, Do Teen – ‘Tezaab’ (Dance)
Tezaab was a movie of several firsts, ‘Ek, Do teen’ was Alka Yagnik’s first ‘hit’ song. Composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, the song was like an anthem, played in every function in India. It was also the song that gave the face of the song; Madhuri Dixit, her first big break. Alka Yagnik bagged the Filmfare Award for the song.
Tip, Tip Barsa Paani – ‘Mohra’ (Desire)
This song was a sensation when it was released. Featuring Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon, composed by Viju Shah, it was a ‘rain’ song, a singular feature that used to be a norm in the Hindi movies. The vocals that also featured Udit Narayan, were classy and perfectly suited to the situation. Recently, the song was remixed and modernised, retaining the original vocals!
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Hum Tum – ‘Hum Tum’ (Romantic)
If ever there was a ‘perfect’ romantic song, it is this song, composed by Jatin-Lalit and sung by Alka Yagnik with Babul Supriyo. Featuring Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerjee, it is a romantic ballad using delicately paced instrumentation with standout vocals that are the mainstay of the song.
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai – ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ (Young love)
Different kinds of love, at different stages of life; this song, rendered by Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan, is one that expresses the freshness and innocence of ‘first love’. Composed by Jatin-Lalit, it featured Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerjee and Kajol. An important song for Alka Yagnik as she won the National Award for this song.
Agar Tum Saath Ho – ‘Tamasha’ (Heartbreak)
A millennial favourite, a song that is considered the ultimate song to express heartbreak and heartache by today’s generation. Composed by A R Rahman, it was brought to life on screen by Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone. The song was sung by Alka Yagnik whose soft, melodious vocals were perfectly complimented by the rich baritone of Arijit Singh.
Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai – ‘Khal Nayak’ (Folk)
This iconic song, featuring Madhuri Dixit and Sanjay Dutt, was a loud, yet tuneful folk song, an ‘item song’ using today’s nomenclature! However, it was fully entertaining and enjoyable in its energetic rendering by Alka Yagnik and Ila Arun, composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal. It retains its verve even today and remains as popular.
One of the most difficult tasks while sifting through Alka Yagnik’s songs is to choose one from each genre, but it is also the most pleasurable activity. This list doesn’t even begin to cover the range, depth of the singer’s talent and versatility.
Here’s wishing her many more such milestones and of course, many more songs to add to every music lover’s list of favourites.
