From Chalte Chalte to Raajneeti: 5 soulful tracks by Aadesh Shrivastava

In a career that was cruelly cut short by his untimely death, Aadesh Shrivastava composed the music for over 70 films. He was one of the prominent composers of the 1990s, though he was often overshadowed by the likes of Jatin-Lalit, Nadeem-Shravan, Anand-Milind and Anu Malik.

Yesterday, 5 September, was Shrivastava's 2nd death anniversary and we look back on some of his impressive tracks.

'Say Shava Shava' – Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) 

This remains Shrivastava’s most famous number. With this song, he got the chance of making biggies like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji dance to his tune, quite literally.

The song is simulatneously picturized on two parties. One is the celebration of Amitabh Bachchan's character's birthday, and the other is Alok Nath's character's birthday bash. He succeeded in merging two diverse situations in the same song with ease. More than 15 years after the film’s release, ‘Say Shava Shava’ continues to be a much-in-demand song at family functions and weddings. 

'Sawan Barse Tarse Dil' – Dahek (1999)

Many a times, an impressive song goes unnoticed because the film in which it featured bombs at the box office. This was very nearly the case with this track from Dahek, but the fact that it escaped oblivion should tell you something about its music. The song, a rare, slow romantic number, was rendered quite brilliantly by Hariharan and Sadhana Sargam.

'Suno Na Suno Na' – Chalte Chalte (2003) 

Singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya’s voice has always suited Shah Rukh Khan very well. ‘Suno Na Suno Na Sunlo Na’ is one of the best numbers Bhattacharya has sung for the superstar, apart from ‘Main Koi Aisa Geet Gaaun’ from Yes Boss (1997). Of course, Shrivastava’s youthful tune plays an important role here, including the intelligent use of pots in the music. 

'More Piya' – Raajneeti (2010)

Along with typical romantic numbers, Shrivastava was also quite skilled at the light classical genre. But he got to display that skill only rarely in films. ‘Mora Piya’ from Prakash Jha’s Raajneeti was one such opportunity of which he made very good use. Despite the song being more of a classical number, Shrivastava used rhythm quite well in it. The composer also lent his voice to the song, enhancing the impact.

'Rang Deeni' – Dev (2004) 

This was another classical-based number from Shrivastava, helped by a great performance from Kailash Kher. Based on communal violence, the film had very little time to delve into the romance of the lead characters (Fardeen Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan). This song however, made up for it as Nida Fazli's lyrics and Shrivastava's music touch your heart.