Bollywood's Ten Best Choreographed Songs

What would a Bollywood film be without a song and a dance? Ever since the Alam Ara days, our films have been obsessed with dance numbers. Proof: you can even find one or two of them in our horror films! This might be a big surprise for those who are not too familiar with Bollywood but for the rest of us, it's the bread and butter of what we call masala entertainment. The best part of it - we have made a genre for ourselves - the "Bollywood musicals".

This is an attempt to shortlist ten best choreographed songs of Hindi cinema. The list may be limited as it only includes film songs that I have seen till date. Your personal choices and suggestions are most welcome.

#10. Pehla Nasha (Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander)
Choreographed by Farah Khan
Picturised on Aamir Khan, Ayesha Jhulka
#9. Humko Aaj Kal Hai (Sailaab)
Choreographed by Saroj Khan
Picturised on Madhuri Dixit
#8. Piya Tu (Caravan)
Choreographed by Suresh Bhatt
Picturised on Helen
#7. Hothon Pe Aisi Baat (Jewel Thief)
Choreographed by Sohanlal
Picturised on Vijayanthimala, Dev Anand
#6. Radha Kaise Na Jale (Lagaan)
Choreographed by Saroj Khan
Picturised on Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh
=6. Aplam Chaplam (Azaad)
Choreographed by N/A
Picturised on N/A


#5. Main Aisa Kyun Hoon (Lakshya)
Choreographed by Prabhu Deva
Picturised on Hrithik Roshan
#4. Chaiyya Chaiyya (Dil Se)
Choreographed by Farah Khan
Picturised on Shahrukh Khan, Malaika Arora Khan
#3. Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya (Mughal-E-Azam)
Choreographed by Lachchu Maharaj
Picturised on Madhubala, Dilip Kumar, Prithviraj Kapoor, Durga Khote

(The budget of this song was a staggering 10 million rupees. Considering the year in which Mughal-E-Azam was made (1960), this was a very big amount. Also the lyrics of the song were rewritten for around 105 times as the music director, Naushad, was not satisfied with the initial attempts.)
#2. Maar Dala (Devdas)
Choreographed by Saroj Khan
Picturised on Madhuri Dixit, Shahrukh Khan, Milind Gunaji
#1. Dola Re Dola (Devdas)
Choreographed by Saroj Khan
Picturised on Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit

Madhuri Dixit definitely is the contemporary dancing diva of Hindi cinema and although many of her other hits like Mera Piya Ghar Aaya and Choli Ke Peeche are not in my top 10, each one of them is still a classic in its own right. When it comes to yesteryear's cinema, Vijayanthimala and Helen top the list. In choreography, Saroj Khan is the undisputed champion in today's cinema but as far as versatility and creativity is concerned, it's got to be Vaibhavi Merchant and Farah Khan. (For those interested, Saroj Khan and Vaivabhi Merchant have come together as judges for the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhla Jaa on Sony).

P.S. What are your choices?

From Reviews etc by Bhargav Saikia