2000 – My Favourites – Mehfil Mein Meri

After opening the series in April 2019, I decided to review each year of the decade of the 90s separately and compile a list of my favourites. It’s been a wonderful journey down the memory lane, where I got an opportunity to relive my school, junior college and the medical college days. I started with 1991 and ending the decade with 2000. As I look back, I realise how important the decade had been as far as my academics go. I got admission in medical college in 1996 and 2000 was the final year of MBBS. The final year is very important for a medical student as he appears for the major clinical subjects in the exams. So a lot of dedication and hard work goes into it. But of course I’m not going to discuss that!The era was however still very simple with no mobile phones, (Imagine how blissful life would have been without social media!) less traffic on the roads, the public transport doing well, very less people had their own two wheelers. Even that was thought to be a luxury.The internet cafes were a bit more in fashion, as now a few of us had our own e-mail id. But not being easily accessible, the net cafe visits were not very frequent, at least for me!The private channels had nearly completely taken over on TV and Doordarshan was fastly taking a backseat. The serials on the TV however had much of the good content and a new concept or a new approach was still experimented. Unlike today’s serials, which invariably end up showing a vamp trying to snatch away the hero from the heroine.Anyways! Before I digress completely, let’s move on and hit the main topic.

The year saw a lot of melodious songs released throughout and a lot of movies had good songs. Though the western beats were there, they were not not overpowering the melody.

Prominent Debutants of the year –Hritik Roshan & Ameesha Patel in Kaho Na Pyar HaiAbhishek Bachchan & Kareena Kapoor in RefugeeUday Chopra, Shamita Shetty, Preeti Jangiani (Bollywood debut) & Kim Sharma in MohabbateinVasundhara Das (as an actress) in Hey RamSalil Ankola in Kurukshetra

Popular Lyricists of the year –Sameer was the king lyricist of the 90s. He was still very popular and was going great guns. He is the most frequently repeated name on today’s list. Veteran lyricists Majrooh and Anand Bakshi were also in the race and as usual penned a few all time hits. Majrooh penned songs for three films in 2000, and the majority got popular. Ibrahim Ashk was a popular journalist and he wrote a few songs for Kaho Na Pyar Hai. Gulzar was also active, as was Javed Akhtar. The latter was the winner of the best lyricist Filmfare award that year.

Popular Composers of the year –The King composer duo of the 90s, Nadeem Shravan were not much active after the controversy over Gulshan Kumar murder case. But they made a comeback with the film Dhadkan and it was their only release that year. Anu Malik was scoring hits after hits and had more than 10 releases in the year. He was nominated for three films Fiza, Refugee and Josh for the category of the best music composer. Jatin Lalit had 5 releases in 2000 with their hits in Mohabbatein, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani and Dhai Akshar Prem Ke. Sandeep Chowta was back in the limelight with the popular tracks of Jungle. A R Rahman had just one Hindi release, Pukar. Shankar Ehsan Loy were active in Hindi films since 1999, but got a major breakthrough when they got a chance to compose for Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Mission Kashmir and they utilized their full potential. They got instant recognition with the film.

Popular Playback Singers of the year –The 90s were practically ruled by Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan with Abhijit, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Hariharan, Anuradha Paudwal, Sadhana Sargam also contributing significantly. All the singers had their hits in the year and Alka Yagnik was the best female singer at the Filmfare awards, for the song ‘Dil Ne Yeh Kaha Hai Dil Se’ from Dhadkan. The best male playback singer at the Filmfare awards was Lucky Ali, who received spotlight after his success with the couple of solos in KNPH. The new generation of playback singers was represented prominently by Sonu Nigam, who had many memorable songs in the year.

Overview of Hindi films released in the year –Here, I mainly discuss the movies which couldn’t make it to the final list, but which were popular or important to mention.

I’ll start with the films directed by Mahesh Manjrekar. He had four releases in the year and it would be very interesting if we note that each movie was totally different from the other. If Jis Desh Mein was a comedy film, Kurukshetra was an action movie with a lot of violence. A couple of his movies are already on the list. The other two were Nidaan and Kurukshetra.

The first film, Nidaan dealt with HIV positivity and challenges faced by a family after confronting the report of their daughter. The sensitive topic needed a gentle handling. But I guess, the film was not popular.

Kurukshetra was an out and out commercial action drama featuring Sanjay Dutt and Mahima Chaudhary. The song ‘Ban Than Chali’ featured Sukhwinder Singh himself and Kashmira Shah and was popular.

David Dhawan had Chal Mere Bhai and Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge with Salman Khan, while Kunwara had Govinda. Not being a fan, I skipped all these movies. So I shouldn’t be talking about it.Raj Kanwar had three major releases, Dhai Akshar Prem Ke is already on the list, the other film was Baadal, starring Rani Mukherjee and Bobby Deol. The on screen couple also had one more release in the year, Bichhu. Both the films were not very popular, though a few of the songs from these films were popular.

I remember the film, Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega, mainly for a couple of songs, Piya Piya O Piya Piya and Aate Jaate Jo Mil Jaye. In addition the title track was popular too. Sonu Nigam was slowly evolving as a popular playback singer with his fresh and expressive voice. The story otherwise wasn’t a new one! The film was among the top ten grossers of the year.

Coming to other films, Bulandi was Rajnikanth’s last Hindi film. Thereafter he acted in South Indian films only.

M F Hussein directed Gaj Gamini was not successful at the Box office, inspite on Madhuri Dixit and her charismatic aura. The film was perhaps not understood by the audience, nor its songs were popular.Govinda’s films Kunwara (with Urmila Matondkar) and Had Kar Di Apne (with Rani Mukherjee) were not commercially successful.

Kamal Hassan’s Hey Ram was a hit at the Box office. But the film faced controversies due to somewhat negative shades to Mahatma Gandhi’s character and intimate scenes of Kamal Hassan. In general the film was appreciated for performances of main and supporting actors. Atul Kulkarni was awarded the best supporting actor at the National awards along with best costume design to Sarika and best special effects.

Hera Pheri was a remake of Malayalam movie, Ramoji Rao Speaking. The film had a slow opening, but it picked up perhaps due to mouth publicity. It’s one of my most favourite comedy Hindi films of all times, and Paresh Rawal playing Baburao Ganpatrao Apte was a delight to watch! He deserved the best comedian Filmfare awards. The comedy timing of the trio, Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Sunil Shetty was much appreciated by the audience and Paresh Rawal stole the show. Though it is a cult classic, the songs of the movie are not my favourites, so I have no song from the movie on the list.

Anil Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai starrer ‘Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai’ was directed by Satish Kaushik and was among top ten grossers of the year. The story was about a rape victim and her struggle for justice. The performances of the main leads were appreciated, and a couple of songs were popular including the title track. Films having very long names was a feature of the late 90s and to some extent it was carried forward to the early years of the next decade too.

Dharmesh Darshan’s directorial venture ‘Mela’ starring Amir Khan, Faizal Khan, Twinkle Khanna and Ayub Khan was a much hyped film. It was said to be partly based on the film, Caravan from the 70s. The title track had a very catchy tune and somewhat appealing mukhada. I also remember a couple of other songs too including, Dhadkan Mein Tum and Kamariya Lachke Re. In my opinion, the film was a bit too loud and had typical Bollywood masala.

I mainly remember Kahin Pyar Na Ho Jaye starring Salman Khan and Rani Mukherjee for its title track. I have forgotten most of it. I watched it much later on television.

I want to mention a film called Gang, which began in 1990, but due to reasons was delayed. The director of the movie, Mazhar Khan died in 1998, but assistant director, Mashkoor Choudhary completed the film for release in 2000. It was also the last film to feature a song composed by R D Burman, a solo by Asha Bhosle.

Last segment of the overview talks about offbeat Hindi films.The first film is Bawandar which was based on a true gang rape incident. It featured Nandita Das in a pivotal role. The film was showcased in various film festivals across the globe and received critical acclaim.Second film is Shyam Benegal’s Hari Bhari which featured Shabana Azmi, Rajit Kapoor, Rajeshwari Sachdev, Nandita Das and Surekha Sikri and revolved around the ill treatment given to women in rural India for not giving birth to a son. Must have been power packed performances by the talented team. It won the National Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare.The third film is Kairee featuring Shilpa Navalkar, Mohan Gokhale (his last film) and Yogita Deshmukh. Directed by Amol Palekar, it delicately unfolds the story of a ten year old girl, who loses her parents and lives with her maternal aunt. The latter showers her love and care on her despite the odd behaviour of her brutal husband. Knowing Shilpa Navalkar’s potential as an actress and Amol Palekar as a director, I’m sure it would have been a satisfying experience. Should watch it soon!

Without a further ado, let’s visit the list,

1. Aisa Lagta Hai – Refugee (2000) Alka Yagnik & Sonu Nigam / Anu Malik – Javed AkhtarRefugee was full of excellent melodies. It was one of the surprise albums by Anu Malik. Each and every song was a gem! Very aptly Javed Akhtar was awarded the best lyricist Filmfare award for the song, ‘Panchhi Nadiya Pawan Ke Jhonke’. The film had three outstanding duets by Alka Yagnik and Sonu Nigam, all of which reached heights of popularity. Kareena Kapoor was to debut opposite Hrithik Roshan in Kaho Na Pyar Hai, but instead she debuted with J P Datta’s Refugee. Her character, Naaz was appreciated and her career started with a bang! The film received five Filmfare awards including the best female debut, best lyricist, best cinematography, best dialogues. Anu Malik was awarded a special Filmfare award for his excellent score for the movie. I love all the songs of the movie and was obviously the first to remember when I compiled the list.

2. Hay Mera Dil Churake Le Gaya – Josh (2000) Udit Narayan & Alka Yagnik / Anu Malik – SameerJosh was the movie where Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan played real siblings with Chandrachud Singh and Priya Gill playing the respective love interests. Again Anu Malik managed to deliver a few hits, including Shah Rukh Khan’s singing for himself in the song, Apun Bola Tu Meri Laila, which is quite enjoyable at least to me. The story set at the backdrop of Goa in the 80s, had violence as one of the prominent features. Still the film is now mainly remembered for the melodious tracks. This soft romantic song is among my all time favourites from the 90s. The film also had other popular songs like, Haare Haare Hum To Dil Se Haare and Mere Khayalon Ki Malika.

3. Aankhen Khuli Ho Ya Ho Band – Mohabbatein (2000) Udit Narayan, Manohar Shetty, Ishaan, Udbhav, Shweta Pandit, Sonali Bhatawadekar, Pritha Mazumdar & Shah Rukh Khan / Jatin Lalit – Anand BakshiMohabbatein was directed by Aditya Chopra and it was his second film after DDLJ. The film became the highest grosser of the year and was a musical superhit. The film not only had four debutant actors and actresses, but also it brought six new playback singers to Bollywood. The singers however couldn’t attain popularity even after a successful debut. The film was also remembered for spectacular performances by Amitabh Bachchan and the lead pair, Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan. The former also received Filmfare best supporting actor trophy for his portrayal of strict administrator Narayan Shankar. Shah Rukh Khan was also awarded the best actor critics award for his performance as Raj, the music teacher. Aishwarya Rai as Megha, a sensitive girl also received acclaim. The film received a maximum, 12 nominations at the 46th Filmfare awards in the popular awards category and it won 2, including the technical award for best sound.The film was full of popular songs and it was difficult to choose one song! I chose this peppy party number as all the pairs feature in the song along with the gorgeous Helen, who played the role of rector of the girl’s hostel. We get to see her splendid dance performance at the end of the song. Enjoy the song and the very elegant dance steps. I still remember most of those.

4. Ek Pal Ka Jeena – Kaho Na Pyar Hai (2000) Lucky Ali / Rajesh Roshan – Vijay AkelaRakesh Roshan launched his son as a protagonist with this film. After Kareena Kapoor left the film, Ameesha Patel was called in. The film was a phenomenal success and all the songs of the movie became popular. The film had 11 nominations at the Filmfare awards and it won 9, including best film, best director, best actor, best male debut, best choreographer (Farah Khan) for Ek Pal Ka Jeena and best male playback singer to Lucky Ali for the song, Na Tum Jano Na Hum. It was difficult to choose one song from the movie, but then I remembered Hritik’s iconic dance step in this song and Farah Khan’s Filmfare award for the same. So I thought it would be a good choice to add! Hritik played a double role in his debut film itself and was the first actors who received the best debut and the best actor Filmfare award for the same year. His portrayal of Rohit and Raj both offered him a good opportunity to showcase his acting and dancing both! And he became a sensation among the youth overnight! The film was released in January 2000, making the entire year full of its songs being played everywhere. BTW anyone knows about the lyricist, Vijay Akela!

5. Key Sera Sera – Pukar (2000) Kavita Krishnamurthy & Shankar Mahadevan / A R Rahman – Javed AkhtarPukar was a good movie, though it wasn’t a very successful film commercially. Madhuri’s character had gray shades to it and it was one of her best performances. But for me Anil Kapoor was the one who stole the show. He was just mind blowing! And he surely deserved the National award for the best actor. The film had good songs composed by A R Rahman and all were popular. The dance choreographed by Prabhu Deva was a highlight of the movie and was very popular before the release of the movie. Madhuri matched Prabhu Deva’s steps and it was challenging for her to do so. The romantic, ‘Kismat Se Tum’ by Anuradha Paudwal and Sonu Nigam was good too, but it was played during the post film credits. Its picturisation in the snow was a delight to watch! Hai Jaana by Sujata was very well sung too. Swarnalata’s supporting vocals in Sunta Hai Mera Khuda were mind blowing too! It was one of the last movies to feature songs penned by veteran lyricist Majrooh.

6. Banke Tera Jogi – Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000) Alka Yagnik & Sonu Nigam / Jatin Lalit – Javed AkhtarPBDHH was the first film produced by Dremz unlimited, a joint venture by Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Aziz Mirza. Though the film wasn’t a huge hit, it had a good storyline. The film had good songs and the title track had a different picturisation. At least I used to like it. The romantic number, ‘Aur Kya’ is still remembered. I’m the best, sung separately by Abhijit and Jaspinder Narula was very catchy and had positive vibes. I however chose the catchy and rhythmic song with very appealing renditions by the singers. And a lot happens during the song too! Enjoy the song and the facial expressions by Satish Shah!

7. Rind Posh Maal – Mission Kashmir (2000) Shankar Mahadevan / Shankar Ehsan Loy – SameerThough ‘Boomro’ would certainly be my most favourite from the movie, for today’s list a beautiful song that welcomes the spring! And we recently celebrated Basant Panchami (the fifth day of the month of माघ), the beginning of Indian spring, वसंत ऋतू. The song also spreads the message of national integration and unity. To be together, and forget the differences! Very well sung by Shankar Mahadevan, who also appears on screen along with his fellow musicians, Ehsan & Loy. It was Hritik Roshan’s second release in the year and his performance was acclaimed by critics. After his debut in January of the same year, this was his third release in the month of October.

8. Aaja Mahiya – Fiza (2000) Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik & Prashant Samaddar / Anu Malik – GulzarKhalid Mohammad’s Fiza was Hritik’s second release in the year and it was released in September 2000, just one and half months prior to his third release. The film was among the top ten grossers of the year. It did allow Hritik to showcase his talent and he did play his part with conviction and dedication. The film received 7 nominations at the Filmfare awards and won a couple of awards, including best actress for Karishma Kapoor (in the title role) and best supporting actress for Jaya Bhaduri. Sushmita Sen’s guest appearance in the movie for the song, ‘Mehboob Mere’ was also a highlight of the movie. Sunidhi Chauhan’s unconventional voice has lifted the song to another level. For today’s list however I’ve chosen a romantic duet picturised on Hritik Roshan and Neha, though it might not have a significant position in the narrative.

9. Pehli Baar Jo Dekha – Jungle (2000) Sunidhi Chauhan & Sonu Nigam / Sandeep Chowta – SameerJungle was Ram Gopal Varma’s film featuring Urmila Matondkar, Fardeen Khan and Sushant Singh. The soundtrack of the film and the background score was composed by Sandeep Chowta. And he aptly received Filmfare award for the best background score, which was appreciably good. The story wasn’t a cliché and it certainly had its own wow moments. The film also sort of relaunched Fardeen Khan after his debut in 1998. The film was good and so was the acting by all the major characters. Sushant Singh was excellent as Durga Narayan Choudhary, the scary and cold blooded villain of the movie. Though he lost the Filmfare award for the best actor in a negative role to Sunil Shetty for Dhadkan, he received the same at IIFA and Zee cine awards. The softly sung romantic song, Jaan Kahan Hai Tu is also my favourite. But for today’s list, I chose this a bit हटके song, portraying the slowly developing love between the main leads after an initial squabble. Just look at the pair, so sizzling!

10. Tum Dil Ki Dhadkan Mein – Dhadkan (2000) Abhijit & Alka Yagnik / Nadeem Shravan – SameerI must confess that though the songs of Dhadkan were hugely popular, I’m not very fond of those. But I don’t dislike the songs either! So this most popular song from the movie made it to the final list. In addition, Na Na Karte Pyar Hay Main and Aksar Is Duniya Mein are my favourites too. The story of the film was a love triangle between Akshay Kumar, Shilpa Shetty and Sunil Shetty with Mahima Chaudhary playing a supporting character. The film took a long time in making, but was popular after release. It was Nadeem Shravan’s comeback film after the assassination of Gulshan Kumar. The songs were very popular. In my opinion, it was just because of the performances of the main characters and Mahima Chaudhary, who shone despite her relatively small role and the songs that the film was a hit. The story was neither novel nor treated differently.

11. Prem Jaal Mein Phas Gayi – Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hai (2000) Sukhwinder Singh & Anuradha Sriram / Anand Raj Anand – Dev KohliMahesh Manjrekar’s comedy film was also good and for me the film was memorable because of its fabulous songs and Sonali Bendre. All the songs of the movie are my favourites and I had a rather tough time choosing one! The most favourite of mine is the romantic melody ‘Maine Unse Kal Kaha’ By Udit Narayan and Shraddha Pandit, which is picturised on Govinda and Rinkie Khanna. It’s like a hidden gem for me as it wasn’t much promoted like other songs, mainly Kem Chhe. While the title track had a touch of deep patriotism to it, the peppy Kem Chhe was catchy. At one end there was the romantic Sadhana Sargam solo ‘Oh Piya Sun’, the other end had the funny and fully energetic ‘Matari Kotmari Tumba’.

12. Pal Bhar Mein Jadoo – Dhai Akshar Prem Ke (2000) Anuradha Paudwal & Babul Supriyo / Jatin Lalit – SameerIf I remember correctly, the film was based on ‘A walk in clouds’. Though the film wasn’t successful at the Box office, I remember the melodious title track of the movie, which I still like a lot. So evenif I have forgotten most of the film, this song survived and passed the test of times. I guess at least a few readers would agree with me.

13. Ae Dil Laya Hai Bahar – Kya Kehna (2000) Kavita Krishnamurthy & Hariharan / Rajesh Roshan – MajroohThe film featuring Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan, and Chandrachud Singh was directed by Kundan Shah and the movie focused on premarital pregnancy. How society puts all the blame on the girl and the man easily escapes! She’s criticised by all to the extremes while no one even thinks of the man who’s equally involved! The heart touching film also had good performances by the supporting cast and a few of the songs were good songs. I mainly like the title track which brings a fresh cool breeze of air. A delight to listen to and watch. The film also received the best story award at the Filmfare.

14. Gaana Mere Bas Ki Baat Nahi – Astitva (2000) Sadhana Sargam & Shankar Mahadevan / Composed and penned by Sukhwinder SinghAstitva was a bilingual film, made in Marathi and Hindi simultaneously. Tabu had one of her career best performances and she received the best actress critics Filmfare award along with Zee cine award and Screen award for the best actress. The Marathi version was also awarded the best feature film in Marathi at the National awards. The film revolves around Tabu and her family and her power packed performance was one of the great attractions of the movie. The film portrays the typical male chauvinism and how Aditi, the character played by Tabu fights against it and breaks free. The light hearted song is when Tabu during her music lessons tries to run away from Riyaz, but ends up singing this semi classical song. Though Chal Chal Mere Sang Sang would have been a more appropriate song pertaining to the theme of the movie, I couldn’t ignore this song. If you haven’t watched the movie, it’s a recommendation from me.

15. Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya – Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya (2000) Chitra & Sonu Nigam / Ismail Darbar – SameerTera Jadoo Chal Gaya featuring Abhishek Bachchan and Kirti Reddy had the beautiful title track composed by Ismail Darbar and I remember nothing more than that! Both the singers have excelled! Enjoy the song!

Bonus track –

Aye Nazneen Suno Na – Dil Hi Dil Mein (2000) Abhijit / A R Rahman – MehboobThe film was a dubbed and partially reshot version of Sonali Bendre and Kunal Singh strrer Tamil movie, Kadhalar Dhinam. The Tamil version was released in 1999, but the Hindi version in 2000. A couple of songs from the movie are still very popular. The internet and online chatting was a new concept back then and the film was about meeting online and chatting. The hero Kunal Singh became popular soon, but after a couple of popular films in Tamil till 2002, he couldn’t get popular films later. A few of his films were shelved, a few were completed but were never released. He was found dead hanging from the ceiling on 7th February 2008, which was opined in favour of suicide after investigations. The glamour of films always had a dark side and unfortunately Kunal Singh was one of them who experienced it.

Please add your favourite Hindi songs from the year 2000. And I am going to continue the yearly review till the year 2005.

Disclaimer –Mehfil Mein Meri, claims no credit for any image, screenshots or songs posted on this site. Images on this blog are posted to make the text interesting. The images and screenshots are the copyright of their original owners. The song links are shared from YouTube, only for the listening convenience of music lovers. The copyright of these songs rests with the respective owners, producers and music companies.

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