10 sensational item songs of the decade!

An ‘item song’ is the proverbial (and quite literal) sizzle that sells the steak, meaning the movie, and any major Bollywood entertainer has at least one actress coming in to spin her magic on the dance floor. Films like Dabangg, Ragini MMS 2 and Shootout at Wadala would not have worked as well without an A List star coming and dancing his or her way into many hearts. Most of these songs have bizarre and inane lyrics such as ‘Main toh tandoori murgi hoon yaar, katkale saiyaan alcohol se’. As much as the audience is in love with these songs, they are slowly and steadily becoming more and more repetitive and, honestly, boring! However, with item songs being a fan favourite, fans come and watch their beloved actress setting the silver screen on fire, and the film benefits with rocking numbers at the box office. So, here’s listing 10 crazy, cheap Bollywood item songs that strangely worked in favor of their movies and drew fans to the theatre like a moth to a flame.

10) ‘Beedi’ – Omkara

We all remember the track that made Bipasha Basu the queen of item songs, don’t we? ‘Beedi’ had a strange likeability, be it Gulzar sahab’s witty lyrics, Vivek Oberoi and Saif Ali Khan’s facial expressions or Bipasha Basu’s oomph, ‘Beedi’ stole many a heart as it drew men to the theatres. Omkara was critically acclaimed, and it still remains a classic, but the song was its coup. #stillaclassic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLJCtZK0x5M

9) ‘Lovely’ – Happy New Year

Everyone still has ‘Main Lovely ho gayi yaar naam tera parh ke naam tera parh ke’ etched in their minds because of the song’s instant catchiness and Deepika Padukone (obviously!). Deepika’s introductory song to the film was nothing short of brilliant, amplified by her changing wardrobe and brilliant choreography by Farah Khan. ‘Lovely’ was a shot of adrenaline as it was both fiery and sexy. The film went on to do great business and Padukone’s song was one of the few things that stayed with us after the film was over. #goals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT7g_9eNnYk

8) ‘Anarkali Disco Chali’ – Housefull 2

Malaika Arora Khan has a strange way of pulling the viewers into her song and dance. Her slate of item songs remained very clean, giving out hit after hit. Anarkali went to the disco, and everyone rushed to the theatre to see her. Malaika’s perfect expressions and catchy tune made ‘Anarkali’ such a likable song and it helped the film to do great business at the box office. ‘Chodd charr ke apne Saleem ki galli, Anarkali disco challi!’ A perfect twist in the love story of Anarkali and Saleem. You go, girl, the disco is all yours! #girlpower

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sONw3dihCRs

7) ‘Mera Naam Mary’ – Brothers

Kareena Kapoor Khan’s special appearance in Dharma Productions’ Brothers was special for many reasons! She is so expressive that the viewer gets stuck on her face and she steals your eyes for the five minutes that she’s in the film. The song was placed at a very integral part of the film and as promised, the audience clapped and hooted for the beautiful Kareena. Sporting a silver and a gold blouse and skirt, Bebo managed to convince the audience that she is here to stay! Bebo said her name was Mary, and the audience became Sau Takka Uski! #sautakkayoursforever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHtLjTRdFBE

6) ‘Kajra Re’ – Bunty Aur Bubly

Back in 2005, Aishwariya Rai Bachchan gave us the item number of the decade. ‘Kajra Re’ was sleazy, cheap but classy at the same time. Ash’s gorgeous figure and haunting eyes were enough to make the audience member fall to the ground. Her single glance at the camera made millions swoon, and this was the very reason the song is still remembered and performed at every wedding. Everyone back in the day wanted to be Ashwariya and wanted to be as beautiful as her. ‘Surme se likhe tere vaade … Aankon ki zubaani aatey hai.. haye’. Haye is right! #deathbyglance

5) ‘Chikni Chameli’ – Agneepath

It was the beginning of 2012, and suddenly, a bomb called ‘Chikni Chameli’ was thrown at us. Katrina Kaif totally killed it; it was dope. Katrina’s avatar in the song was cheap and skimpy but at the same time, Katrina’s effortless sex appeal made the song so much classier. However, on the inside, it was still the cheap song that screamed about oily women and how they’ve arrived alone and have a shot to drink. Agneepath benefitted so much from this song that it was one of the highlights of a pretty drab film to begin with. #onlygoodthingaboutthefilm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQM7CNoAsBI

4) ‘Baby Doll’ – Ragini MMS 2

The video of this song starts off with.. “YOU’RE NEVER TOO OLD TO PLAY WITH THIS BABY DOLL”. *speechless*. Okay, honestly, ‘Baby Doll’ was so catchy, the first day it came out, it stayed on my playlist for two whole years. Kanika Kapoor’s rendition of the catchy tune is OUTSTANDING. But hold on: ‘Yeh duniya, yeh duniya pittal di.. yeh duniya pittal di.. ho Baby Doll main soney di’… Okay, firstly, who wrote these lyrics…All this with Sunny Leone dancing in a bathtub, in a cage, on a couch, on stools and in a Hotline Bling styled box as well. Ragini MMS 2 benefitted SO much from this song, that it became a huge sleeper hit, and the first for Sunny Leone. But whatever, the song’s damn catchy! #goldsong

3) ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’ – Tees Maar Khan

OKAY IT’S DOWN TO THE TOP THREE! And on number 3 is Katrina Kaif’s career changing song from Tees Maar Khan: ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’. ‘Sheila’ became the face of 2010 and it is because of her that Bollywood began to increase the number of item songs in movies. (I don’t know whether we should be thankful of regretful). Okay, back to her… Katrina was absolutely AMAZING in this song that it became her second name! Choreographed by Geeta Kapur and Farah Khan, she swayed, danced, and killed billions. Although it couldn’t even save a horrible film like Tees Maar Khan it has made its special place in the item song Hall Of Fame. Sheila once boasts ‘Paisa, gaari mehenga ghar.. I need a man who can give ma ll that. Jaiben khaali phattichar.. no no I don’t love you like that.’. Woah there, Sheila! You’re pretty high maintenance! #firstworldproblems

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTmF2v59CtI

2) ‘Fevicol Se’ – Dabangg 2

After the massive success of the first film, Salman Khan and co. brought us Dabangg 2. The film was fleeting but what stayed was Kareena Kapoor Khan’s item song, which is glued to our mind, heart and soul; Fevicol indeed! This song’s lyrics are so bizarre and crazy that you laugh out loud when you listen to it! So there is a line that goes ‘Main toh tandoori murgi hoon yaar, katkale saiyaan alcohol se’ and one that says ‘Main toh kab se hoon ready tayaar, pata le saiyaan missed call se’. Seriously, Javed Akhtar and Gulzar would be shaking their heads in dismay. But whatever you say, it was the song of the year and really was the only saving grace of a mundane film like Dabangg 2. #onlygoodthing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE7Pwgl6sLA

‘Munni Badnaam Hui’ – Dabangg

Malaika Arora Khan, Salman Khan, Farah Khan, Sajid Wajid and Mamta Sharma came together in 2010 to give us a song that will be remembered for decades to come. No one can EVER forget how Munni defamed herself for her darling and how she has Shilpa Shetty’s figure and Kareena Kapoor’s adaa. Munni was a complete package who stood out from the rest as she exclaimed ‘Hai mere jhatke main filmi mazaa’ and we can now watch a film on how she jolts and jerks around! Great. Munni and Sheila actually had to fight it out, because India was divided on who to support: Sheila whose youth is too sexy for you, or Munni who became badnaam for you. Very hard pick. Well Munni does stand a very good chance with lyrics like ‘Le Zandu Balm Hui, Darling Tere Liye’. Like seriously? Where did balm come into all of this? #yousaidWHAT?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn5hsfbhWx4

And here it is, folks! The cheapest item songs that really helped their movies to be successful! Let’s now check out Bollywood’s biggest item song ever, as the grand finale:

Deewangi Deewangi – Om Shanti Om

#youcanthankmelater