Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar’s Sexy Saturday Songs

I had to try very hard to put together this playlist. Kindly excuse me if 15+1 songs are a bit much.

1. Ponmeni” from the Tamil film ‘Moondram Pirai’ (lyrics by Gangai Amaran, music by Ilaiyaraaja, sung by S. Janaki)

This song is extraordinary, uninhibited, and utterly powerful and sexy. It begins with orgasmic gasps and sets the stage for something so superiorly sexy it is unforgettable. S. Janaki spells sexiness with her voice, while Silk Smitha does the same on the screen , but it is really a pity that no link offers the entire song, right from the orgasmic gasps. There is also a Hindi version, “O Babuaa Yeh Mahua”, from the Hindi remake of ‘Moondram Pirai’, ‘Sadma’ (lyrics by Gulzar, music by Ilaiyaraaja, sung by Asha Bhosle). Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAAtcLyv1zw . The Hindi version, sung by Asha Bhosle, is good, but, sadly, it comes nowhere close to the original S. Janaki version. The Hindi version is naughty, teasing, and just that. The Tamil original is something primal—it is like an electric current that kicks you and makes you sit up and take notice.

2. “Bharo Maang Meri Bharo” from the Hindi film ‘Sabse Bada Khiladi’ (lyrics by Dev Kohli, music by Rajesh Roshan, sung by Jyoti and Abhijeet)

This song is my mood-elevator. Singing this song makes me happy. The female singer Jyoti’s voice and those lyrics: “Ang se ang laga ke / Prem sudha barsa de” (I am bad at translations but kindly bear with me: “Bring our bodies together / Shower your drops of love on me”) grab me each time. By the way, more than two decades after I fell in love with this song, Wikipedia told me that this song is a copy of Enigma’s “Back To The Rivers Of Belief: Eternity / Hallelujah / The Rivers Of Belief” – link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbO8KBGWXhA – but, well, I am not heartbroken.

3. “Rasiya” from the Hindi film ‘Mangal Pandey: The Rising’ (lyrics by Javed Akhtar, music by A. R. Rahman, sung by Richa Sharma and Bonnie Chakraborty) 

I am no relationship expert, but I do understand the emotions in these lyrics: “Beete nahin ratiya mori / Kat-te nahin ab more din / Wa se miloon ya na miloon / Ye bhi kathin aur wo bhi kathin / Jo na miloon toh mann mora tadpe mohe bhi tadpaye / Aur miloon toh dhyaan ye aaye woh mohe chhod na jaaye / Wo jo pyaar jataye koi kaise aajmaye jaane jhootha hai ya sachcha hai saanwariya”. Translation: ‘I am unable to spend my nights / I am unable to spend my days / Should I go an meet the man I love or should I not? / It is so difficult to decide / If I do not meet him and pretend I do not care, I am not at peace / And if I meet him, would he find me clingy and leave me for some other woman? / How do I test if his words of love for me are true or not?”. That feeling of insecurity in a relationship, Richa Sharma’s deeply-mad-in-love rendition of this song, and Sophiya Haque’s lithe dance moves on the screen. Sexy! But the video is an edited version and does not feature the lines that I have quoted here. Yet, do enjoy Sophiya Haque’s dancing.

4. “Akashe Jyotsna / Janmon Ki Jwala Thhi Tann Mein” from the Hindi film ‘Hey! Ram’ (Bengali poem “Akashe Jyotsna” by Jibanananda Das, Hindi lyrics by Sameer, music by Ilaiyaraaja, poem recited by Rani Mukerji, song sung by Asha Bhosle and Hariharan)

Rani Mukerji’s rendition – in her sexy, husky voice – of the Bengali poem “Akashe Jyotsna” by Jibanananda Das is the sexiest part of this song. Unfortunately, the videos available on YouTube – link to Eros Now channel have that part edited off. By the way, there are also these lyrics: “Kitna hai sukh bandhan mein / Pritam tere alingan mein”. Translation: “There is so much pleasure in this relationship / So much pleasure in your embrace, my beloved”.

5. “Intezaar” from the Hindi film ‘Paap’ (lyrics by Sayeed Quadri, music by Anu Malik, sung by Anuradha Paudwal)

Anuradha Paudwal in full form, and this is another song that makes me happy. Sample these lyrics: “Koi badli kab iss tarah aayegi / Pyaas sadiyon ki pal mein bujh jayegi / Mujhko lauta ke teri aagosh mein / Dekhna waqt ki nabz thham jayegi” (translation: “When will those clouds come / Which will quench my thirst of centuries / After returning me to your embrace / The pulse of time will stand still”) and: “Khoobsurat se kuch gunahon ka / Intezaar” (translation: “I am waiting to commit some beautiful crimes”, this could also be: “I am waiting to commit some beautiful sins”). And, despite all of John Abraham’s songs, despite that yellow Speedo “Shut Up And Bounce” from ‘Dostana’ as well, “Intezaar” from ‘Paap’ is the song which gives me visions of a half-naked, beefed up John Abraham.

6. “Dekha Teri Mast Nigahon Mein” from the Hindi film ‘Khiladi’ (lyrics by Mahendra Dehlavi, music by Jatin-Lalit, sung by Asha Bhosle and Kumar Sanu)

Ah! The 1990s, and a shirtless, athletic-looking Akshay Kumar’s hairy chest! He smoulders on the screen with Ayesha Jhulka (Jhulka even undresses him at one point) and there are lyrics like: “Tu ne mujhe kyon chhu liya / Kaanp uttha mera badan” (translation: “Why did you touch me / My chill ran up my body”). Note the shiver in Asha Bhosle’s voice when she sings “Kaanp uttha”.

7. “Waada Na Tod” from the Hindi film ‘Dil Tujhko Diya’ (lyrics and music by Rajesh Roshan, sung by Lata Mangeshkar)

If I could flirt with a man, I would certainly use this song! Watching this song on YouTube now  makes me roll in laughter. Just look at the way a playful Rati Agnihotri bugs a pretending-to-be-serious Kumar Gaurav—putting her hand into his shirt to look for her “neend” (sleep) that he has stolen, patting him continuously on his cheek, calling a group of dancers to emulate a baaraat procession. This is a fun song, a song I will never tire of, and the fun element in this song makes it sexy.

8. “Ek Munda Meri Umra Da” from the Hindi film ‘Karan-Arjun’ (lyrics by Indeevar, music by Rajesh Roshan, sung by Lata Mangeshkar)

Oh god! Salman Khan is an eye candy in this one. Just look at his shy smile as he pretends to not care about Mamta Kulkarni dancing around him, and his jeans sticking deliciously to his crotch and buttocks! Haaye! This is another song I would use to flirt with a man. And the lyrics: “Kar de na paagal tujhe / Roop mera phir mere kis kaam ka” (translation: “If it does not drive you crazy / Of what use is my beauty to me?”).

9. “Dhik Ta Nana (Female Version)” from the Hindi film ‘Laadla’ (lyrics by Sameer, music by Anand-Milind, sung by Poornima)

Poornima’s voice is an aphrodisiac, and Sridevi’s femme fatale act in a sheer black dress is the Viagra. Helped by lyrics like “Kab se main tadap rahi hoon / Zaalim, aa tu maar de” (translation: “I have been suffering for so long / Cruel man, come and kill me”—although, in Hindi slang, “Zaalim, aa tu maar de’ could also mean “Cruel man, come and fuck me”), she turns on an indifferent Anil Kapoor, only to what in college slang one would say, ‘Anil Kapoor ka KLPD ho gaya.’

10. “Doore Theko Na” from the Bengali film ‘Monihar’ (lyrics by Pulak Banerjee, music by Hemanta Mukherjee, sung by Suman Kalyanpur)

This song has a historical importance—for me. The soundtrack album of ‘Monihar’ was one of the first audio cassettes I saw in my father’s collection and this peppy dance number by Suman Kalyanpur became my instant favourite in an album full of classical-based songs sung by the likes of Lata Mangeshkar and Hemanta Mukherjee himself. The lyrics that first caught my attention were: “Lojja rekho na / Bawlo kichhu bawlo / Emon kore laajuk hole / Bhalo laage ki” – this was all the Bengali I could understand nearly twenty-five years ago – translation: “Do not be shy / Say something / Being so shy / Does it make you feel good?

11. “Yeh Raat” from the Hindi film ‘Aks’ (lyrics by Gulzar, music by Anu Malik, sung by Anupama)

Before Malaika Arora did a pole dance in the “Maahi Ve” song in ‘Kaante’ and Katrina Kaif did a striptease in the “Kamli” song in ‘Dhoom 3”, Raveena Tandon did both in “Yeh Raat” in the film ‘Aks’. What a song it turned out to be! When Anu Malik is original, he is really good. And Anupama – with her strong, assertive voice – sings Gulzar’s lyrics – like, “Aabi-aabi raat badi tezaabi”, translation: “This liquid, acid-like night” – with such power, such sexiness.

12. “Mushkil Bada Yeh Pyaar Hai” from the Hindi film ‘Gupt’ (lyrics by Anand Bakshi, music by Viju Shah, sung by Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan)

‘Bite him! Bite him! Bite his face!’ I was egging on a clearly turned on Manisha Koirala as she made a biting gesture before a sleeping Bobby Deol’s face in ‘Gupt’. That was in 1997, I was 14 years old, and I was watching that sexy spectacle unfold before my eyes at a single-screen cinema hall in my hometown. And I have not forgotten this song, and certainly not that biting scene. Sexy!

13. “Chahe Maar Dalo Raja” from the film ‘Sardari Begum’ (lyrics by Javed Akhtar, music by Vanraj Bhatia, sung by Asha Bhosle)

What coquettishness! Simple, flirtatious lyrics – “Chahe maar dalo, Raja / Chahe kaat dalo, Raja / Hum toh yaari karenge, dildaari karenge”, translation: “Even if you kill me, my beloved; even if you cut me into pieces; I will still love” – sung playfully by Asha Bhosle make this a sexy number.

14. “Main Tere Ishq Mein Mar Na Jaaoon Kahin” from the Hindi film ‘Loafer’ (lyrics by Anand Bakshi, music by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, sung by Lata Mangeshkar)

This is a beautiful song, no doubt, but the tension in its lyrics cannot be missed. There is a woman who is almost challenging a man to love her, who is asking her man to not test her love for him. Sample this: “Yaad chahe na kar / Tu mujhe gham nahin / Haan magar bhool jaane ki koshish na kar”. Translation: “It’s okay of you choose to not remember me / It won’t make me sad / But yes, do not ever try to forget me”. This, and the beautiful Mumtaz and a handsome Dharmendra in a printed shirt and sleek trousers make this song a pretty sexy one.

15. “Ho Gayi Hai Mohabbat” from the Indipop album ‘Ho Gayi Hai Mohabbat’ (lyrics by Roop Jauhari, music by Aslam Mustafa, sung by Aslam Mustafa featuring Shibani Kashyap)

It’s the 1990s again and another eye candy. Nakul Kapoor. The music video, shot in the lush, green, rain-soaked Kerala by Krishnan Seshadri Gomatam, a partner of ace cinematographer Santosh Sivan, gave us what the “Jiya Jale” song from ‘Dil Se..’ – whose director of photography was, co-incidentally, Santosh Sivan – did not give us: a half-naked eye candy better than a half-naked, hair sleek with gel Shah Rukh Khan. As the video draws to an end, Shibani Kashyap curiously ogles at a wet, bare-bodied Nakul Kapoor emerging from a backwater before the camera stops just at his navel. The video of “Ho Gayi Hai Mohabbat” might be reminiscent of the video of Aerosmith’s “Crazy” – link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMNgbISmF4I – but “Ho Gayi Hai Mohabbat” has a charm of its own.

16. Special mention: “Kal Saiyan Ne Aisi Bowling Kari” from the Hindi film ‘Vijaypath’ (lyrics by Anwar Sagar, music by Anu Malik, sung by Alisha Chinai)

Silk Smitha again. Anu Malik again. And this time with Alisha Chinai. Volatile combo, isn’t it? I had wanted to stop at just fifteen songs, but couldn’t help including this number. And because of some reason – obscenity, double innuendo – the video of “Kal Saiyan Ne Aisi Bowling Kari” is still not available. Try looking for the video of this song on YouTube and just see what all search results come up! But the audio is there.

Tune in to the playlist of all of Hansa Sowvendra Shekhar's Sexy Saturday Songs here.