The Most Legendary Songs of Arijit Singh That Make Him Unparalleled in Bollywood

Arijit Singh is arguably the most popular singer in Bollywood in the contemporary times. He has often been compared to the likes of Md. Rafi and Kishore Kumar. But what stands out for the listeners today is his versatility as a singer. Though, he is often celebrated for his sad songs which strike a chord with most of the audiences, Arijit Singh has constantly re-invented himself with his choice of genres. Arijit Singh is well known for his romantic songs, and he was dubbed a “romantic singer“.

Singh explained that the label of the romantic singer was mistaken, as he wasn’t preparing his career for that. He is satisfied with the music that comes his way and aspires to perform his best. Singh doesn’t think that focusing on one genre of song is “hindering” his progress.

Whenever people have tried to fit him into a certain category or genre or something he has a specialty for, he has always managed to break that mold and he has done something different every time. Today we will look at some of these songs that have made Arijit Singh’s discography so illustrious.

Binte Dil (2017)

Binte Dil is a song from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat. The song has been composed by Bhansali himself, with lyrics by A M Turaz.

Binte Dil is a sensuous song in which Jim Sarbh’s character Kafur has progressed beyond being a slave and little to being Khilji’s lover. The sexual implications of the two of them are evident in the song’s video, even though Bhansali did not establish Khilji and Kafur’s relationship in the film.

Kafur is so devoted to Khilji that he is okay with singing for him through the veil while Khilji makes love with another woman. Arijit’s passion while singing the verses written by AM Turaz contributes to the song’s romance.

Kesariya (2022)

Just a little fragment of the song was released as a reel to announce the wrapping of the shoot for Brahmastra Part 1 – Shiva. The song was an instant chartbuster even without being released. It was composed by Pritam, with the lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya.

Although it did cause a bit of a stir because of the inclusion of the lines “Love-Storiyaan” which was a bit sour for some of the initial listeners, it still did not manage to diminish the overall impact of the song in the film or otherwise, because it became the most listened to song of the year, bagging the Best Singer Award for Arijit Singh in almost all the award functions.

The song is quite catchy on the first listen, but what adds to the depth of the song are the beautiful lyrics by Bhattacharya which perfectly embodies love. The cherry on top of the cake is of course Arijit Singh’s voice which adds more stars to the song and makes it one of the most popular songs of all time.

Phir Bhi Tumko Chahunga and Pal Bhar (2017)

Phir Bhi Tumko Chahunga comes from the 2017 film Half Girlfriend. It is composed by Mithoon with the lyrics by Manoj Muntashir.

Though the film was quite bad, you still feel a lot of empathy for the characters of Madhav and Riya because the song is crooned by Arijit Singh. Muntashir almost makes up for the lack of establishment that the writing had for the character of Madhav, while Arijit Singh’s voice expresses his inner feelings better than what Arjun Kapoor was able to do.

The song has two other verses as well which extend the song, this version is titled Pal Bhar, which concludes the story which began with Phir Bhi Tumko Chahunga.

Janam Janam (2015)

Composed by Pritam and lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya, Janam Janam is a song for the film Dilwale.

The song again became a chartbuster before its release, it was just present for 30 seconds in the trailer, but that was enough for netizens, as within a day of the trailer’s release there were thousands of videos and audio which only consisted of those 30 seconds, and they had millions of views as well, which well defines the love that people have for Arijit Singh.

The song is a romantic ballad and is filmed in black and white as an ode to Raj Kapoor and Nargis from Pyaar Hua Iqraar Hua. It is one of his first collaborations with Shah Rukh Khan, who with his unbeatable charm makes it unforgettable. The blend that Arijit Singh had with Shah Rukh Khan’s voice was thoroughly appreciated which led them to collaborate a lot in SRK’s future projects.

Muskurane (2013)

Jeet Gannguli composed the song, and Rashmi Singh wrote the lyrics. The song was the album’s last composed track. Mukesh Bhatt, the song’s producer, desired a catchy melody that was ‘simple to sing along with but with depth’. Ganguly’s wife Chandrani thought the composition ‘amazing’ while he was playing his guitar.

He immediately contacted Bhatt and played the ‘mukhda’ for him, which he instantly enjoyed. On the next day, Ganguly composed the song ‘Antara’ and presented it to Bhatt and the film’s director, Hansal Mehta, who both loved it.

The tune serves as a guitar-based song that combines a Bengali traditional idiom with modern music, with a hint of Sufi. The song was composed mostly using the piano, with extra usage of violins in the primary antara and esraj for the second.

Raabta (2012)

Composed by Pritam and lyrics by Irshad Kamil and Amitabh Bhattacharya, the first four renditions of the tune were published on February 10, 2012, alongside other tracks from the album. The music video for the song was made available on March 9, 2012, through T-Series’ YouTube account. This music video features Arijit Singh’s original version of the song.

However, the film uses the “Night in Motel” rendition, which has been performed by Aditi Singh Sharma alongside Singh.

The first four renditions of the song were together placed #7 in Bollywood Spice’s “Best Songs of 2012” list published on January 8, 2013. On January 2, 2013, Koimoi issued a list of “Best Male Singer 2012” that includes Arijit Singh. The song was ranked third in the compilation of “The Most Popular Love Song on Gaana” published by The Times of India on February 14, 2013.

The reworked version of the track was published on April 27, 2017, to much acclaim, as an emerging practice of remaking old songs is taking over movies. In less than a month, the song has received over 35 million YouTube views. It also received accolades for its beat.

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016)

This song again became popular before releasing through the trailer of the film. It was composed by Pritam and the lyrics were again by Amitabh Bhattacharya.

Pritam remembers being nervous while performing the title song before it was released, but he was congratulated by Johar, Aditya Chopra, and Shah Rukh Khan after hearing it. When visiting Panchgani, he performed a tune on guitar while it was being composed. Speaking on The Kapil Sharma Show, songwriter Amitabh Bhattacharya said that the title tune was written in the backseat of a car.

He recalled his scheduled arrangement with Johar.

Bhattacharya had been in contact with Pritam, the tune’s maker, since the morning. While they were driving between Oshiwara to Khar, the first person wrote the lyrics. The tune was composed in the quickest possible time. By the moment the duo arrived at the office, they had finished writing the song. In an interview with Livemint, Bhattacharya claimed that he was unhappy with the way he first wrote the title track for Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

He thought it was predictable because there were lines where the word “shaamil” resembled one another with a “kaabil” which was followed by a “manzil“. However, after its great reaction, he commented that “a little bit of predictability also works”.

Laal Ishq (2013)

Laal Ishq is a song from the 2013 film Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram-Leela. The song, created by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and performed by Arijit Singh, is their debut collaboration. Bhansali came across Singh on the reality television show Fame Gurukul. In a conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Bhansali stated, “[Singh] is a very special singer.”

Today’s music sounds different. But I appreciated dealing with the younger crowd for my music. “The song begins with the ringing of temple bells and is supported by various instruments such as shehnai, sitar, and guitar. Shail Hada arranged and produced the music for the song.

Khul Kabhi Toh (2015)

Written by the legend Gulzar and composed by Vishal Bharadwaj for the Haider, Khul Kabhi Toh presents Arijit Singh’s voice in a way no other song has.

Arijit Singh has always been quite critical about his voice, he has always been weary about the working standards of the music industry as he feels that a lot of it consists of a lot of artificiality.

But this was quite a new experience for him as Bharadwaj was open to the imperfections during the recording of the song and going a step ahead, he retained those imperfections in his voice which made it more natural and added to the joy of the singer, as he feels that these imperfections make him a human being, and it is a reminder of that for him.

Channa Mereya (2016)

It is perhaps the most popular song of Arijit Singh’s career and is still a chartbuster, as it ranks one on many charts. The song was composed for the film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

The verses of the song with a  Sufi touch generate the emotions from a heartbroken soul and then try to soothe an injured soul with the additional poetic verse –

“Sachi mohabbat shayad wahi hai, jisme junoon hai, par do dilon ki yaari mein bhi toh kitna sukoon hai”

which translates to “True love is motivated by passion, but no less is the friendship of two hearts in which dwells peace” and also with the couplet –

“Ek tarfa pyaar ki taqat hi kuch aur hoti hai. Auron ki rishton ki tarah ye do logo mein nahi battata, sirf mera haq hai ispe” discusses love that is unrequited and its consequences.