This month, Himesh Reshammiya turns a year older and celebrates his 46th birthday on July 23.
The singer, songwriter and music director has delivered some of the biggest Bollywood hits of the modern era. He has also tried his hand at acting, but we won’t talk about that too much and will, instead, concentrate on the marvellous music.
To celebrate him turning a year older, Eastern Eye has put together a playlist of his best compositions, including ones sung by others.
Tere Naam (Title track): The 2003 song may have been formulaic and came before Himesh found a firm foothold in Bollywood, but that didn’t stop it from being a beautiful composition from him. The duet featuring the vocals of Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik took over the airwaves when it was released.
Aashiq Banaya Aapne (Title track): It may have appeared in a terrible film, but the various versions of the 2005 title track signalled the arrival of Himesh to the big time. The remix took clubs around the world by storm and it still has the power to rock dance floors, almost 15 years later. He would win his first major singing award for the song.
Jhalak Dikhlaja (Aksar): The 2006 hit being in an awful film didn’t stop it from sweeping across the globe like wildfire. The catchy number once again saw Himesh bring one of his own compositions to life. The song was so good that it inspired the title of a popular dance reality show.
Aashiqui Meri (36 China Town): The only noteworthy moment in the 2006 film is this mid-tempo duet between Himesh and Sunidhi Chauhan. The sleeper hit composed by Himesh himself slowly crept up on Bollywood fans and had them playing it out loud, including making them dance to it at clubs.
Thaare Vaaste De Denge (Shakalaka Boom Boom): This 2007 film may have crashed at the box office but it had this Himesh-composition featuring the vocals of super singers Sunidhi and Shaan. The catchy duet thankfully survived the not-so-great film and made it onto the playlists of Bollywood music fans.
Janeman (Radio): The 2009 movie starring the singer and music director may have failed, but it did have this massively underrated romantic number. The delightful duet is filled with so much honesty and emotion that it connects with anyone who has ever been in love.
Teri Meri (Bodyguard): The melody of the 2011 song may be suspiciously similar to a traditional Christian Romanian carol, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the great love songs of the modern era. The Himesh-composition was lit up by the wonderful vocals of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Shreya Ghoshal.
Hookah Bar (Khiladi 786): The lyrics to this 2012 song didn’t make much sense, but that didn’t stop it from being a super catchy monster hit, including at parties around the world. Himesh was on composing and vocal duties on a song that was a great advertisement of hookah bars.
Jumme Ki Raat (Kick): For his 2014 dance duet, the composer got popular singers Mika Singh and Palak Muchhal on vocal duties. The catchy song was another hit on dance floors worldwide and one that still gets Bollywood fans busting their best moves.
Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (Title track): For the title track of the big-budget 2015 film, the composer got Palak to deliver a breathtakingly beautiful vocal. The addictive song had a number of layers and made those who heard it press rewind. That perhaps explains the fact it has been watched over 443 million times on YouTube.
