Pritam Chakraborty’s birthday best: Top ten

ON JUNE 14, music producer Pritam Chakraborty celebrates his 47th birthday.

The man behind some of the greatest Bollywood hits of the modern era has gifted fans of film music fabulous songs that have gone global.

To celebrate the musical maes­tro turning a year older, Eastern Eye went through his discogra­phy to compile an ultimate play­list of 10 tracks, choosing a maxi­mum of one per soundtrack.

• Dhoom Machale (Dhoom): The 2004 title track of the turbo-charged drama signalled the ar­rival of the music director, and adaptations of it would later ap­pear in sequels of the action fran­chise. The dance number remains an anthem and will likely reappear if a fourth Dhoom film is made.
• Tum Se Hi (Jab We Met): The award-winning soundtrack was loaded with back-to-back hits which helped turn the romantic road movie into a blockbuster. This timeless love song is per­haps the pick of the songs and one that still invokes emotion a decade later.
• Teri Ore (Singh Is Kinng): The near-perfect sparkling love duet featured the mesmerising vocals of Shreya Ghoshal and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. The award-win­ning number oozed romance and is one that still melts the hearts of those who hear it a decade later.
• Pehli Nazar Mein (Race): The song from the 2008 action movie may have been embroiled in controversy with accusations of plagiarism, but that didn’t stop it from being a blockbuster hit. The number also helped turn Pa­kistani star Atif Aslam into a global sensation.
• Tera Hone Laga Hoon (Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani): The multi-layered song was a roman­tic and dance number rolled into one. Like many of Pritams’ songs, this too was a standout moment in the movie and then got a life of its own later.
• Pee Loon (Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai): It may have been an acclaimed gangster movie that clocked up huge numbers at the box office, but one of the great moments in the 2010 smash hit was the beautifully-crafted love song. There were various versions of the song and all of them were good.

• Dilliwaali Girlfriend (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani): There are five other songs that could have made it into the list from this incredible soundtrack, but this was perhaps the most fun. Arijit Singh and Sunidhi Chau­han inject an incredible energy into a track that continues to rock dance floors globally.
• Malang (Dhoom 3): The dy­namite duet from the record-breaking film exudes raw power. The seriously-good song quickly got under the skin of all Bolly­wood music fans back in 2013 and has remained there ever since. What added to its magic is the way it was brilliantly pictured on Katrina Kaif and Aamir Khan.
• Gerua (Dilwale): The awful 2015 film had this sparkling treasure hidden within it. The beautiful song has since become an anthem for lovers, and many have gone to Iceland where it was filmed to recapture its magic.

• Channa Mereya (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil): The biggest hero of the star studded romantic drama was the superb songs, and not sur­prisingly Pritam won all the ma­jor accolades at the various Bol­lywood award ceremonies. This soulful number makes the list because it connects with whoev­er has had their heart broken.