Recap 2016 : Performances

Here's a look at all the performances of last year in varous categories, who took the top honors and who missed out.

Neerja and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil snatching wins in 7 categories each. With Ae Dil almost sweeping Music section with exception of Female playback singer. While Kapoor & Sons and Ms Dhoni The Untold Story with 4 and 3 wins respectively.

Presenting the winners along with the list of nominees in each category. Just a reminder, its entirely my personal opinion based list.



Best Actor Male : Sushant Singh Rajput (Ms Dhoni The Untold Story)

• Aamir Khan (Dangal)
• Manoj Bajpai (Aligarh)
• Randeep Hooda (Sarbjit)
• Ranbir Kapoor (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)

Not just for the brilliant mannerisms that totally resembled Dhoni, its the way Sushant handles the 1st half that deals with initial struggle of Dhoni while trying to get selected for Indian team that made me love his performance. Plus, I have loved Sushant's performance in every film he has done till date. Aamir Khan sadly comes 2nd, despite a strong performance in Dangal. While Manoj and Randeep are almost equal 3rd for me, and its a surprise that Randeep performance was hardly given due at any award shows which it deserved and I say that having not loved Sarbjit. Best actor nominee list is always incomplete without Ranbir, too good a actor to leave out. While Akshay Kumar just missed out for his good performance in Airlift (not Rustom, dear National awards). And Amitabh Bachchan has been highly over-rated at award shows for his performance in Pink, not worthy of top5 at all, I would instead prefer his Te3n act.


Best Actor Female : Anushka Sharma (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)

• Radhika Apte (Phobia)
• Alia Bhatt (Dear Zindagi)
• Vidya Balan (Kahaani 2)
• Sonam Kapoor (Neerja)

Will come as a surprise for many, but I totally loved Anushka in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and I had tweeted too that its her 3rd best career performance since Band Baaja Baraat and NH10. There's just too much in her 'Alizeh' character, the kind of filminess, romantic, emotional, friendly, sarcastic, rude but still a lovable girl. And Minus the bald look though, only not likeable aspect of her in film. Radhika Apte was easy choice at 2nd, she was wonderfully awesome in Phobia portraying the terror she goes through as if trapped inside a room. I didn't love the character of Alia in Dear Zindagi but her performance was too good to ignore. And Sonam had to be there in list, afterall its rare when you see Sonam act, which she did in Neerja. Unfortunately, Swara Bhaskar misses out, she was awesome in Nil Battey Sannata.


Best Director : Ram Madhvani (Neerja)

• Shakun Batra (Kapoor & Sons)
• Hansal Mehta (Aligarh)
• Nitish Tiwari (Dangal) 
• Karan Johar (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) 

It has to be some excellent direction if you get to see Sonam perform so well in acting department, Ram Madhvani uses drama and emotions very well along with the bravery act of character Neerja. Shakun Batra gave glimpse of how subtle he can be in the rom-com 'Ek main aur ekk tu', and with Kapoor & Sons, he lives upto the expectations, a film that shows a dysfunctional family, that finds it tough to be happy together. Any other director would had made it very over the top melodrama, but Shakun keeps it so subtle that at times you feel he should had kept atleast one complete breakdown scene in movie, but I am still happy without it. Nitish Tiwari got named as new Raju Hirani for a commercial entertainer movie that gives a message, would be interesting to see his work in next movie now. Meanwhile, Karan Johar gave his career's best and most matured movie, beating his last best 'Kabhi Alvida na Kehna'.


Best Film : Kapoor & Sons 

• Dangal
• Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
• Neerja 
• Pink 

Already written on them, here


Best Supporting Actor Male : Fawad Khan (Kapoor & Sons)

• Rajat Kapoor (Kapoor & Sons)
• Rajkumar Rao (Aligarh)
• Shahrukh Khan (Dear Zindagi) 
• Kumud Mishra (Airlift)

I won't go into the debate of whether Fawad should be in supporting or lead category, I loved his act in the film and thereby he wins in this category. Sadly, the political angle of our country means, we will miss him in future a lot. Rajat Kapoor was equally convincing in his performance, always been a great actor. To see Shahrukh in supporting category is in a way pleasant surprise, that means he is trying something different and it is working in terms of his performances atleast even if the films are not upto the mark. Kumud had a big role to play in Airlift even if with less screen time, think of it how the mission would had failed miserably if he didn't try to convince people at his side to help the Indians in Kuwait. Rajesh Sharma and Pankaj Tripathi were so lovable in MS Dhoni The Untold Story and Nil Battey Sannata respectively, unfortunately couldn't make to my top5.


Best Supporting Actor Female : Shabana Azmi (Neerja)

• Kirti Kulhari (Pink)
• Ratna Pathak Shah (Kapoor & Sons)
• Sakshi Tanwar (Dangal)
• Aishwarya Rai (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) 

Fairly easy choice, and not surprised to see Shabana Azmi win at every award show (atleast our awards are right in some category). That climax speech by Shabana where she is trying to balance her emotions at feeling proud of her daughter and missing her at same time, was alone enough to make Shabana top this category. I didn't see Kirti Kulhari to be the one I would talk of more from Pink, with Tapsee Pannu as main lead, but she was so good in almost all her dialogue scenes, specially those 2 scenes, one where she on phone changes from soft compromising tone to angry go to hell tone with Rajveer, and the courtroom scene where she ends up getting frustrated and accepting they took money. Sakshi Tanwar despite having very few dialogues in movie, you could just see her emote through her eyes all the time, and to be able to be so noticeable in a Aamir Khan movie, just tells about her performance. Aishwarya Rai, looked damn gorgerous and for a change didn't ham like her last 2 movies, for me this is her comeback movie. The scene where she tells Ayan, that its in our own hands when to end or go away from love, was her best moment from film. Yashaswini Dayama misses out in my list, she was very sweet in her friendly act of Phobia, that included a scene where her tshirt said 'bhoot raja bahar aaja'.


Best Actor in a Comic Role : Rishi Kapoor (Kapoor & Sons)

• Varun Dhawan (Dishoom)
• Akshay Kumar (Housefull 3)
• Lisa Haydon (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)
• Piyush Mishra (Happy Bhag Jayegi) 

Rishi Kapoor was hilarious throughout the movie, but the irony is his most funny scene, the one in trailer where he asks the guy if he doesn't have a mother, that laugh out loud moment didn't make me laugh at all, and kudos to Shakun for that, tension of movie is so high that a great comedy scene makes no impact. Special mention to the opening 'marne ki acting' act he does. Varun Dhawan I feel is getting typecasted in doing non-stop comedies, but then as long as he is making you laugh during the movie, you can't really complain much. Lisa Haydon's 'vaatavaran' is already a regular used word for people now. And Piyush Mishra's imaginary world where he wants plenty of well known Indian personalities to be Pakistani made for a great laugh.


Best Actor in a Negative Role : Jim Sarbh (Neerja)

• Nawazuddin Siddiqui (Raman Raghav 2)
• Manav Vij (Udta Punjab) 
• Tahir Raj Bhasin (Force 2)
• Akshay Khanna (Dishoom) 

Playing the terrorist Khaleel, Jim Sarbh was very menacing and uncontrollable for most part in the hijacked plane. Love the scene where he feels frustrated at following orders from his head as he believes other way out. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is powerful and very creepy in his act, watch out scene where he is making chicken dish while having his sister's family trapped in their own home. Tahir Raj Bhasin was good but it was such a dejavu of Mardani act, hopefully he would not make it a hat-trick of similar roles. And good to see Akshay Khanna in a movie, he had less screen-time sadly but was very impressive in it.


Best Music : Pritam Chakraborty (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) 

• Amit Trivedi (Fitoor)
• Pritam Chakraborty (Dangal)
• Clinton Cerejo (Te3n)
• Armaan Malik (Ms Dhoni The Untold Story)

Already written on them, here

Best Lyricist : Amitabh Bhattacharya, channa mereya (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) 

• Amitabh Bhattacharya, haanikarak bapu (Dangal)
• Manoj Muntashir, besabriyaan (Ms Dhoni The Untold Story)
• Irshad Kamil, jag ghoomeya (Sultan)
• Sayeed Qadri, ji huzoori (Ki & Ka)

Was tough to choose between Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Dangal, but in both cases it was Amitabh Bhattacharya's lyrics. Channa Mereya may not be my fav song like it is for most people but I did love the lyrics. Specially like the line 'dil ke sandukoon mein, mere acche kaam rakhna'. While Haanikarak Bapu had some hilarious lyrics. Manoj's lyrics in Besabriyaan were quite motivational. Irshad Kamil delivers yet again in a romantic track, while Sayeed Qadri made Ji huzoori a lot more special with his lyrics. I love Dangal title track lyrics, but it misses out in my list.


Best Playback Singer Male : Arijit Singh, ae dil hai mushkil (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) 

• Amit Mishra, bulleya (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)
• Armaan Malik, bol do na zara (Azhar)
• Daler Mehndi, dangal (Dangal)
• Arijit Singh, salamat (Sarbjit)

The day I heard only small portion of the song in 1st teaser of the film, I knew I would love this song and probably have Arijit as my winner in this category. Along with a great composition and good lyrics, its Arijit vocals that brings additional pain to this track. Amit Mishra really excels in Bulleya, specially the high pitch part. Even though I like the composition, but if it was any other singer I won't have loved Bol do na zara as much as I did due to Armaan Malik, his voice suits soft romantic numbers to the core. Whether he shows the consistency of Sonu nigam/Kay Kay or not, remains to be seen.


Best Playback Singer Female : Palak Muchhal, kaun tujhe (MS Dhoni The Untold Story)

• Sona Mohapatra, qatl e aam (Raman Raghav 2)
• Sunidhi Chauhan, just go to hell dil (Dear Zindagi)
• Neha Bhasin, jag ghoomeya (Sultan)
• Jonita Gandhi, gilehriyaan (Dangal)

One of the rare categories, where I feel every single nominee deserves to be a winner. Palak Mucchal I choose in the end, for her vocals in Kaun Tujhe made you feel for the deep love the girl has for the guy. Sona Mohapatra voice brings calmness to an otherwise very mad track. Neha Bhasin voice gives that freshness which male version missed. And Jonita Gandhi who was singer of the year for her numerous great songs, with Gilehriyaan being one of them. Kanika Kapoor had to miss out, despite the fact that Da Da Dasse was best song of her career.


Best Debut Male : Jim Sarbh (Neerja)

• Diljit Dosanjh (Udta Punjab)
• Aparshakti Khurrana (Dangal)
• Aditya Seal (Tum Bin 2)
• Harshvardhan Kapoor (Mirzya)

Jim Sarbh was a straightforward choice here, his villaneious act in Neerja as a debut was exceptional, look forward to see him in Raabta next. Diljit Dosanjh was one of few things that I had loved about Udta Punjab. While Aditya Seal performance was the only good aspect about Tum Bin2. And sorry Harshvardhan Kapoor, only reason I had to include you in my list was, I couldn't find any other decent debut performances I had seen in the year.


Best Debut Female : Disha Patani (MS Dhoni The Untold Story)

• Fatima Sana Sheikh (Dangal) 
• Shriya Pilgaonkar (Fan)
• Yashaswini R Dayama (Phobia & Dear Zindagi)
• Sobhita Dhulipala (Raman Raghav 2)

Disha Patani completely fitted the character of a innocent girl fallen in love with a new upcoming Indian cricketer on the rise. Hard to say if she would be able to pull off tough roles, but very much satisfied with her performance here. Fatima Sana Sheikh was able to give complete takkar to Aamir Khan in Dangal, be it her rebel act while being at the camp and then that standout akhaada scene with Mahavir. Shriya Pilgaonkar had a small role, but was able to leave a mark with her good performance, I specially love the way she silently reacts to Gaurav's mad obsession of Aryan as if telling how stupid this person is. Yashashwini  R Dayama is so cute, and both her roles had her in friendly supporting characters, would be nice to see her in a different role next. Sobhita Dhulipala was able to give a good performance despite a character that was very weakly written. Special Mention to Manini Chadha who was quite likeable in Kahaani2.


Best Debut Director : Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (Nil Battey Sannata) 

• Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury (Pink) 

Kind of wierd, but I could find only 2 eligible nominees. Ashwiny Iyer direction was terrific in a movie where she never went into melodrama territory and made sure the mood of film is mostly lighthearted. While Aniruddha Roy was also almost as good, only complaint I had was with 2nd half where the court-room drama could had been more serious with less of the entertaining bits even though it still worked mostly.


Best Story : Maneesh Sharma (Fan)

• Pawan Kripalani, Arun Sukumar, Pooja Ladha Surti (Phobia)
• Nitesh Tiwari (Nil Battey Sannata) 
• Krishna Hariharan, Gauri Shinde, Kausar Munir (Dear Zindagi)
• Karan Johar (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) 

The film may not have worked for me, due to that messy 2nd half. But story of fan was always exciting one, me being a firm believer of worshipping an actor is plain stupid activity, and then to see a film story based on a ardent fan who worships a particular actor and can go to any extent for him. When that obsession turns into hatred, what would such a fan do, oh wish they had explored this concept, or I hope someone else in future does it. While Phobia had an interesting concept too, a real life incident forcing this girl to have a phobia where she can't step out of her house, not even open door when bill rings. And in this case, it was executed pretty well too.


Best Scene : End part of Cutiepie song to the pre Channa Mereya song (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) 

• Geeta gets into a wrestling fight with her father Mahavir in akhaada (Dangal)
• Long conversation between Aryan and Gaurav at police station where Gaurav tells Aryan that without him, Aryan is nothing (Fan)
• Professor Siras having alcohol alone at his home at night while listening to classic 'aapki nazron ne samjha' and humming it (Aligarh)
• MS Dhoni waiting at platform and takes train back to Ranchi (MS Dhoni The Untold Story)

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil's scene is not just best of 2017, but among my all time fav scenes. To see Ayan faking happiness at Alizeh wedding, then the 'Ayan weds Alizeh' mirror scene followed by how he keeps looking at Alizeh in wedding dress, admiring her and soon the thought strikes that she is about to be someone's else and becomes heartbroken. Simply outstanding entire sequence! Dangal's scene where Geeta lets her childhood anger out while fighting with Mahavir in akhaada, where her father is angry too at her current behavior, makes for a hard tough fight viewing.


Best Jodi : Ranbir-Anushka (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)

• Krrish-Hetal (Dhanak)
• Shahrukh-Alia (Dear Zindagi)
• Naseeruddin-Kalki (Waiting)
• Manoj-Rajkumar (Aligarh)

Was a straightforward choice for me, Ranbir-Anushka pairing may not have worked well in Bombay Velvet but in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, right from that first disco/pub scene, their chemistry was too good. I think people who didn't like the film (find those ppl wierd) would also agree as how brilliant they were, almost close to the level Ranbir-Deepika have while working together. Krrish-Hetal were hilarious, and sweet playing brother-sister where sister is shahrukh fan and brother is salman fan creating some great laughing moments. Unusual pairing but Shahrukh-Alia clicked mostly because they both played their age very well.


Best Trailer : Fitoor

• Dangal
• Raees
• Fan
• Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Fitoor may have failed as a film, but it didn't in music and same the case here with trailer. I had loved the trailer, kept watching it on loop for many weeks. And even now when I have disliked the film, the trailer still looks so beautiful and romantic minus 'doodh maangoge' line. What a irony, best trailer isn't even available on youtube, makers of film deleted it, who knows if they intentionally did it. Dangal is close second, that created craze for Aamir's words regarding silver medal, Geeta and Babita's wrestling scenes looking good, and Daler Mehndi's inspirational title track. Gladly, the film lived upto the trailer's hype. Not the case though with Raees, the trailer was so fucking good, everyone including me felt its the best masala movie Shahrukh is doing since ages, all the dialoguebaazi, the angry avatar, laila item song of Sunny Leone and Nawazuddin as cop to counter Raees at every step, it was a trailer meant to be loved.  Raman Raghav 2 and MS Dhoni The Untold Story miss my list, and Special mention to Kapoor & Sons, whose trailer I didn't like at all when it came, but now that I love the film, its trailer is kinda of appealing.


Best Screenplay : Saiwyn Quadras (Neerja)

• Shakun Batra, Ayesha Devitre (Kapoor & Sons)
• Nikhil Mehrotra, Shreyas Jain, Piyush Gupta, Nitesh Tiwari (Dangal)
• Ritesh Shah (Pink) 
• Sujoy Ghosh (Kahaani 2)

Was a close one between Neerja and Kapoor & Sons. Neerja had slighty more gripping screenplay, keeps you engaged with the story directly focussing on night before the plane hack happens, all the emotional bonding Neerja has with her family and a guy who has feelings for her. And the simultaneous, planning of hijackers that is going on. Also, glad the past life of Neerja is shown in small flashbacks and serving a good purpose in taking the story forward. While Kapoor & Sons very well explored the dysfunctional punjabi family, and all the drama, fights and love they go through.


Best Dialogue : Ritesh Shah (Pink)

• Sudip Sharma (Udta Punjab)
• Nikhil Mehrotra, Shreyas Jain, Piyush Gupta, Nitesh Tiwari (Dangal) 
• Karan Johar, Niranjan Iyengar (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) 
• Pranjal Choudhary, Neeraj Singh, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Nitesh Tiwari (Nil Battey Sannata)

Loved most of the dialogues in Pink, be it regular conversations, or the ones Amitabh gets in court-room scenes which just about manages to not have a preachy feel. Udta Punjab was able to make the already good setting of a city getting addicted to drugs look more authentic with the dialogues, and as I said in one of my blogpost, despite not loving the film, in technical department it was really good.


Best Editing : Monisha R Baldawa (Neerja) 

• Shivkumar V Panicker (Kapoor & Sons)
• Namrata Rao (Kahaani 2)
• Meghna Manchanda Sen (Udta Punjab) 
• Bodhaditya Banerjee (Pink) 

Neerja had excellent editing, and wins from rest nominees very comfortably. Its not just the parallel cuts used at start with Neerja happily enjoying party at home against the terrorists going through final preparation on other hand. But the way a balloon burst is cut to bomb packing by terrorist. No idea if it was done intentionally during shooting or entirely edit table work. Monisha kept pace and rhthym of narration intact, I don't think a single scene felt unrequired or too long, some may argue if 'Maa' track was needed but it gives a nice feel to the already shown flashback and the tough situation in front. Kapoor & Sons is at no.2 alone for that special scene, where 3-4 parallel cuts are done, one is Tia telling Arjun about her parent incident, 2nd is Rahul finding truth about his dad, 3rd is Rahul's mom finding truth about her son. And once these 3 revealations end, we get 4th one involving truth about Rahul getting favour from her mom for a novel betraying Arjun. That entire parallel cutting was so on par with the way Nolan's editor usually cuts scenes in his films, like that interstellar sequence that begins with Matt Damon revealing his real identity. Or the famous Inception one where all dream levels from Limbo to present are one by one shown. Also, in those Nolan films and here in Kapoor & Sons case, another common thing is the use of great bg that enhances the drama even further.


Best Choreography : Bosco-Caesar, kaala chashma (Baar Baar Dekho)

• Vishnu Deva, tung lak (Sarbjit)
• Vaibhavi Merchant, jabra fan (Fan)
• Adil Shaikh, kar gayi chull (Kapoor & Sons)
• Farah khan, baby ko bass pasand hai (Sultan) 

To be honest, none of these 5 nominees are worth of winning but thats how last year was in this category. Choreographers need to come up with lot better work in 2017 for sure. Among these five, Bosco-Caesar was more likeable in Kaala Chashma. Tung Lak had nice punjabi steps, and Jabra fan also gave some funny fanatic steps on which Shahrukh danced.


Best Background Score : Sameer Uddin (Kapoor & Sons)

• Vishal Khurana (Neerja)
• Pritam Chakraborty (Dangal) 
• Julius Packiam (Sultan) 
• Mithoon (Shivaay) 

Bg of Kapoor & Sons was very good throughout the movie, be it the humming version of Bolna (which I prefer more than the song) or the immense dramatic moments in 2nd half. Neerja's bg was great in a sense that usually suffering movies or where the people's life are in danger every second, in such movies often bg is used to manipulate emotions but not so here. One particular bg in Shivaay was really awesome, pity it was used way too often in the film thereby reducing the impact.


Best Cinematography : Aseem Bajaj (Shivaay)

• Anay Goswami (Fitoor)
• Priya Seth (Airlift)
• Pawel Dyllus (Mirzya)
• Mitesh Mirchandani (Neerja)

Shivaay had great eye-catching cinematography, wish the movie was as good too. Same applies for Fitoor and Mirzya which were really well shot. Specially loved how beautiful Kashmir looked in Fitoor, almost making it as one of character of movie, and had a song on it too 'agar jannat hai kahin toh yahin pe hai hami asto'.


Best Action : Peter Fernandes, Junaid Sheikh (Shivaay)

• Suniel Rodrigues, Kecha Kammpakdee (Rocky Handsome)
• Sham Kaushal (Dangal)
• Kecha Kammpakdee, Javed Eijaz (Baaghi)
• Franz Spilhaus, Allan Amin (Force 2) 

Totally loved action sequences in Shivaay, and the special thing was the way it was shot and cut. Be it the car chasing one or mountain one (that resembles slightly with Baahubali1).  Rocky Handsome action sequences reminded me lot of John Wick, fast and hand to hand combat mostly, alas the story and performances weren't on the same level.


Best Art Direction : Aparna Sud, Anna Ipe (Neerja)

• Gautam S Mondal (Kapoor & Sons)
• Rupam Paul (Udta Punjab)
• Subrata Barik, Kaushik Das (Kahaani 2)
• Tiya Tejpal (Raman Raghav2) 

Neerja's art direction was great for the way they constructed the entire panem aircraft making it look real as most of the movie takes place there only.


Best Costumes : Manish Malhotra, Anaita Shroff, Samidha Wangnoo (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)

• Niharika Bhasin, Manish Malhotra, Sanam Ratansi, Anaita Shroff, Akshay Tyagi (Fitoor)
• Arjun Bhasin (Baar Baar Dekho)
• Natascha Charak, Nikita Mohanty, Archana Walavalkar (Kapoor & Sons)
• Sheetal Sharma (Airlift) 

Totally adored the costumes in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, specially the ones for Anushka, yellow costume during trip scene plan and red costume during breakup song. Katrina looked gorgeous in the red outfit in Fitoor, and Aditya Roy Kapoor also never looked as great in previous movies. Baar Baar Dekho was actually the only movie where every next scene I waited to see their costumes more than where the boring story is leading to.

Special Mention - 

Child Actors 

• Suhani Bhatnagar, Zaira Wasim, Ritvik Sahore (Dangal)
• Krrish Chhabria, Hetal Gada (Dhanak)
• Ria Shukla (Nil Battey Sannata) 
• Zeeshan (MS Dhoni The Untold Story) 

Dangal child actors actually were the best part of the film for their cuteness 'teekha thoda kam hai papa' or their hilarious anger, and the frustration they show at their dad's stubborn behavior. In terms of  akhaada wrestling scenes, Zaira Wasim looked far better though. While Krrish and Hetal shared a brilliant chemistry as bro-sister in Dhanak who rightly had unique varying celeb idols, Shahrukh and Salman, hence making a case for some funny sequences, and apart from that also, they make you love them in entire movie with their acting. Fine acting by Ria Shukla, though the way her character is, you tend to dislike her in some parts of the movie. Zeeshan very much like Sushant has ditto mannerisms like Dhoni, specially the face expression while wicketkeeping.

Recap 2016 : Top100 Songs

Fourth year in a row, when my top song belongs to the first half of the year. I did not made my list for 2015, but if I had, my song of the year would had been either 'Jeena jeena' (Badlapur) or 'Humnava' (Hamari Adhuri Kahani).

People keep complaining about the over-dose of Arijit songs, sometimes I do too, but the fact is he keeps giving outstanding songs so you can easily ignore the songs that don't work which gonna be there. 'Ae dil hai mushkil' title track and 'Salaamat' (sarbjit) were my top picks last year. 

Amaal Malik had excellent year with melodies like  'Bol do na zara' (azhar) and 'Jab tak' (ms dhoni the untold story). Also it was nice to listen him in a song very unlike him like 'Besabriyaan (ms dhoni the untold story). 

Jubin Nautiyal sang some brilliant romantic tracks, 'Tere liye' (Fitoor), 'Kaabil hoon' and 'Kuch din' (Kaabil). Would love to listen more of him in 2017.

Not a fan of Badshah, but 2 of his songs made my top25, 'Kar gayi chull' (Kapoor & Sons) and 'Bolo har har har' (Shivaay)

Nooran sisters were terrific, be it being chorus in Dangal title track or the lead in 'Tuk tuk' (sultan) and 'Hota hai' (mirzya). 

Even though Palak Muchchal sang the best song of year (female wise) with Kaun tujhe (MS Dhoni the untold story), Jonita Gandhi was without a doubt the female singer of the year for being consistently so good and showing her versatility with 'Sau tarah ke' (Dishoom), 'Breakup song' (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) and 'Gilehriyaan' (Dangal),

It was nice to see a veteran like Sunidhi Chauhan back at her best, firstly in a duet in Tere liye (Fitoor) and then the heart-breaking solo 'Just go to hell dil' (Dear Zindagi). Meanwhile, Shreya Ghoshal had only one worth remembering track, 'Foolishq' (Ki & Ka).

Here's my list of top100 songs, as always reminding, preference is given to songs which I like to hear repeatedly, not the creative aspect of song.

TOP 100 Hindi Songs : 

1. Tere liye - fitoor

It was a track that slowly kept growing on me, and then never got tired of it. A fantastic romantic song composed by Amit Trivedi, sung by Jubin Nautiyal and Sunidhi Chauhan. Jubin has a great voice for romantic songs (if you listen Kaabil songs, you can notice it) and the kind of uplift he gives to the lyrics penned by Swanand kirkire, that already talk about a certain unconditional love is really commendable. Also, lovely to see Sunidhi in a romantic song. I obviously love the entire song, but the the final min of the song is magical when there's a silence and later Jubin's lines 'jo main kehta hoon', makes a stronger impact almost like wanting to tell the other person how much I love you despite not getting the love back. My most heartfelt romantic track of the last year!

yeh ulfat hai ya koi nasha hai, jise choona chaahe tu woh dhuan hai 

2. Ae dil hai mushkil - ae dil hai mushkil

A heart-break song that talks about one-sided mad love and loneliness. Amitabh Bhattacharya lyrics are just too good, can't remember last song that portayed the feelings of one sided love so beautifully. Easily Arijit's best track of the year, his voice always suits romantic songs that have a pain backdrop (as Khatana bhai said once, dard chahiye awaaz mein to be loved). Once again, the final stanza gets extra love from me, both for the lyrics that tries to say that it doesn't matter whether you care for me or love me because I will keep loving you, and Arijit's rendition brings that feeling very well. Another great addition to the never-ending melodies that Pritam keeps giving, this one would make to top10 of many people I guess.

maana ke teri maujoodgi se yeh zindgaani mehroom hai, jeene ka koi dooja tareeka na mere dil ko maloom hai

3. Dangal - dangal

Dangal may not have surpassed Chak de India as a film, but I certainly prefer dangal's title track anyday over chak de. Sung brilliantly by Daler Mehndi and lyrics penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya, dangal is a superb motivational track that one can apply on themselves even if you don't belong to a sports field, urging you towards your dreams/goals. Daler Mehndi is perfect choice for this track that required powerful voice, and also notice good use of chorus (my guess is its nooran sisters) at some places in the song. Dangal is a very good addition to Pritam's biography that mostly consists of romantic melodies as composer, a song he can be proud of as most likely it will be played a lot in future years at many events. 

thos majboot bharosa apne sapno pe karna, jitne muh utni baatein gaur kitno pe karna

4. Qatl e aam - raman raghav 2.0

I prefer this version over the unplugged one more for the environment composer Ram Sampath sets this one in. We have singer Sona Mohapatra singing a melody with an electric backdrop having a discotheque feel in the beats. There's a sense of madness in the way the male singer Yash Divecha reacts to female vocals with 'qatl le, qatl le' as if only those words mattered to him and her rest stanza didn't. Also the 'tak dhin dha' bit before last antara is very well done. Lovely lyrics from Varun Grover, and Sona's best song since 'Ambarsariya' (Fukrey). Qatl e aam is damn addictive track, you won't stop listening to it once you listen it.

hai ghaneemat dil yeh patthar ho chuka tamaam hai, aapki aankhon mein varna aaj qatl e aam hai


5. Kaun tujhe - ms dhoni the untold story

There's something special about Palak Muchhal voice when it comes to romantic songs (like was during Aashiqui2), the same song if Shreya sang I would have found it listenable but nothing memorable. But Palak gives the song a lot more with her voice, and if the composition is very good which is the case here by Amaal Malik then you are in for a brilliant track. Kaun Tujhe is a solo female love track, very minimal arrangements like a typical Amaal track and simple yet appealing lyrics by Manoj Muntashir. Its a song that talks about how much the girl loves her lover, as Palak completely nails those feelings.
main tujhse hi chhup chhup kar, teri aankhein padhti hoon 


6. Bulleya (amit) - ae dil hai mushkil 

Took time to love this song, because at first the visuals were somewhat similar to 'Saadda Haq', not the same angst, but the dejected look and feel was there. Bulleya is like a romantic lighter version of Saadda Haq for me, less angst and more pleading of love/pain going in this song. Pritam and Amitabh Bhattacharya combine together towards a great composition, I specially love the bg that plays when Shilpa's part ends.  Special mention to the lines used in the end of song as additional vocals (only in film version, not album), 'bin tere main kya hoon, itna toh zaahir hai..mujhpe jo guzri hai chehre pe likha hai, chehra toh padhne mein tu bhi toh maahir hai'. There's a Arijit version of this song in deluxe album, but its Amit Mishra's rendition (used in film too) that works for me, really sang it well and worthy of a nomination at every award show, or for that matter a win too.
tere caravan mein shaamil hona chaahun, kamiyaan taraash ke main kaabil hona chaahun

7. Salamat - sarbjit 

Romantic songs with simple arrangements in composition, letting vocals do the main job and having a melody tune throughout are the best songs for me. Salamat comes in that category, and the fact that despite Tulsi Kumar (extremely irritating for me) being the female singer, the song's impact stays the same. Arijit Singh once again is terrific in his rendition, and Amaal Malik again has a composition that makes you hit the repeat button. Beautiful lyrics penned by Rashmi Virag that talks of a lifelong love. Unless you belong to the category who loves only selective Arijit songs, you would definately find Salamat worthy of a top10 position.
chaahe main rahun jahaan mein, chaahe main na rahun.. tere mere pyaar ki umar salamat rahe

8. Bol do na zara - azhar

Amaal Malik has a thing with romantic melodies, few years back it was emraan-esha single video, then the 'main hoon hero' from Hero. 'Bol do na zara' falls in the same league, with a difference that it outdoes all his previous songs. Lyrics penned down by Rashmi Virag are very good at places, but its Armaan's rendition that makes the song so much lovable. As long as I don't get a repetitive feeling in the compositions of his songs, I guess I will have more of his songs in top10 in future years. 

ik tumhe chahne ke alaava, aur kuch humse hoga nahi

9. Ji huzoori - ki & ka

A song where the lover is expressing his love and also demanding some level of understanding from his partner. Mithoon's composition and rendition is fantastic, but its Sayeed Qadri's lyrics that get more attention. Special mention to the background repeat of 'jee haan' which is well done throughout the song. Hardly a year goes by, when Mithoon doesn't give atleast one trippy romantic track..

kaise khush tujhe rakhu nahi pata, par chahta hoon tere labon pe hasi

10. Da da dasse - udta punjab 

Kanika Kapoor is famous for her item songs like 'Baby doll' and 'Chittiyaan kalaiyaan', but it was 'Chhil gaye Naina' where she really appealed to me. And with 'Da da dasse' she totally showcases her singing talent in what is easily her best song till date. Amit Trivedi's composition with a brilliant rap by Babu Haabi (honey singh and baadshah, you guys need to learn a lot) inserted beautifully that gives the song a slight haunting feel specially due to Shellee's lyrics.
kitte game khatam na ho jaave, main khud se hi ab lukta chhipta haan


11. Just go to hell dil - dear zindagi 

Slight familiarty in the starting tune with Aisha's 'lehren', but apart from that Sunidhi Chauhan excels and dominates this fantastic breakup song literally (not celebrating kind like the trend is these days). Kausar Munir's lyrics presents lots of pain one goes through after a breakup with the female here talking to herself and cursing herself. Composed by Amit Trivedi, who makes sure the song doesn't end one-dimensional as Sunidhi pitches in with angst towards the end perfectly. And I love the chorus that follows after that 'o roothe dil, roothe dil, roothe dil'. One of the best heart-break song last year, that you will just love.
deti hoon khudko main kharashein kyun nayi, koi mujhko mujhse hi bachaaye


12. Pashmina - fitoor 

The feelings one gets when you discover you have fallen in love with someone, the thought process and dreamy like mindset you suddenly have, all of this is beautifully taken in Pashmina by Amit Trivedi, who himself sings this solo track. We have seen Rahman sing some great romantic soulful tracks, while Pashmina may not quite be to that level, but Amit does a commendable work, hard to not fall in love with this track. And you gotta see the film version (not the promo video song that rather presented it in seductive dance moves) to see how well the song works.
khayalon mein yun, yeh guftagu.. chalti rahe.


13. Jag Ghoomeya (neha) - sultan

Rahat version maybe more famous due to those salman dance moves, but its Neha Bhasin's soulful rendition that makes this version better. Plus, you get a refreshing feel which is little missing in Rahat one as we have heard him sing such songs so often in past. Special mention to the lovely instrumental (don't know what it is) tune used after end of every stanza. Irshad Kamil has penned down beautiful romantic lyrics. Vishal Shekhar composes this track pretty much like a unplugged version (sort of, not completely), one of their best tracks since Dua (shanghai).
raaton ka sukoon bhi hai, subah ki azaan hai... chaahaton ki chaadaron mein, kare rakhwali tu


14. Chitta ve - udta punjab

Just like Da da dasse, Babu Haabi's rap is mindblowing here in Chitta Ve, as he takes you into the madness of this rock track. The proceedings however are calmed down when Shahid Mallya and Bhanu Pratap take the centre stage, and Amit Trivedi does this transition very effectively. Babu gets another rap later in the song, however the followup to it this time around is weak, and its the only reason why I couldn't fully love this song. Still Chitta ve has enough going in it that can make you go trippy on it, something you would expect from a drug based track, and Shellee lyrics does full justice to that.
mujhe gyan na pilana, main hoon antaryami.. tum hari gun gao, main paidaishi harami


15. Ranga re (english) - fitoor

Superbly sung by Caralisa Monteiro in english, supported well by Amit Trivedi singing the final part in hindi. Ranga re is a romantic track composed with a seductive feeling right throughout, and Swanand Kirkire lyrics helps too. I always like to listen this track, rather than the complete hindi version by Sunidhi Chauhan. Somehow Caralisa brings a lot extra factor to the song and the english lyrics makes it more lovable and the amaze feels.
I feel you burning inside of me, leaving me in this misery.. give me a sign that you are mine


16. Kyun re - te3n 

A song on love and loss of a dear one, composed and sung by Clinton Cerejo. He uses minimal arrangements mainly guitar and lets the vocals make Amitabh Bhattacharya lyrics bring in a deeper pain. Other version sung by Amitabh Bachchan is pretty good too, but listening to that the feeling of an elder person lost someone dear to him comes out lot more (which is the case for film). In Clinton's version, you can refer it to anyone who is no longer in your life, whom you miss and wish somehow returned back. Pretty sad track!
ghar ka woh kona tera, soona bichona tera.. teri gair maujoodgi mein bhi lage hona tera


17. Jab tak - ms dhoni the untold story 

The starting 10 secs of soft instrumental is one major reason why I prefer this one lot more over redux version, and other reason is the lyrics by Manoj Muntashir that are slightly better here. In a way, Jab tak can be termed as male version of 'Kaun tujhe' though its not as excellent as that one was. Wish they had kept 2 antara's in the song, rather than having 2 versions with 1 antara. Amaal Malik in his routine manner still successfully does enough to make you love this song both by his vocals and simple composition, kind of melodies he has made a name in by now.
jab tak teri lehar mein, khawaaishein meri beh na le.. haan mere paas tum raho, jaane ki baat na karo

18. Kar gayi chull - kapoor & sons

Recreation of Badshah's own song 'Chull', I definately like this film version over that one (against the majority like always). Amaal Malik does good work as composers, main aspects of original are kept intact like the hook lines and tunes, but the added female part with vocals by Sukriti Kakkar and Neha Kakkar makes Kar Gayi Chull even more worthy of shaking a leg to. One of best dance tracks of the year, even with lyrics that may sound stupid, but these kind of songs work that way only.  The starting 7 sec tune used a lot later too, and 'larki beautiful' phrase definately main highlights of the song.
kya naache tu dilli, hile hai london.. matak matak jaise raveena tandon

19. Haanikaarak bapu - dangal 

A super fun song, with some very witty lines written by Amitabh Bhattacharya and the debut of kids Sarwar Khan and Sartaz Khan Barna in singing is brilliant as they completely nail it. Last time a kid singer was impressive in debut was Durga in 'Chi cha ledar' (Gangs of Wasseypur 2), unless I am forgetting any other track. Its a very unlike Pritam song, and the fact that it worked so well, should do the composer a lot good. It will be a song that school kids specially will associate a lot more if they have a dad who is strict towards them.
sote jagte chooth rahi hai, aaansoo ki pichkaari.. phir bhi khush na hua mogambo, hum tere balihari


20. Bolo har har - shivaay 

A very messy track that has too much going in it, and it took a while before I started to like it. Its one of those rare songs where Badshah rap gives the song a lift and takes to a very trippy mode. Mithoon's composition starts with soft vocals of Mohit Chauhan (who is as always brilliant in his rendition), and then all the electronica enters but my fav part is how the various shloks of shiva are inserted, specially love 'nagendra haraya trilochanaya' one. Wonder why Sukhwinder Singh was limited to just 'toh bolo har har har' verse in song, when he could had made even bigger impact in this kinda of song with his powerful voice. Special mention to the guitar riff used in middle of song that I like a lot. I think down the years, I would still be listening to this song despite the flaws.
aankh moond kar dekh raha hai, saath samay ke khel raha hai


21. Hota hai - mirzya

Don't think I have liked any folk song before, always a first as 'Hota Hai' is pretty good for the way its composed. Nooran sisters gets the lead for most of the song and they expectedly are marvellous, there's something special about how well they both sync while singing. Its a song that describes the hardships of love. There's Akhtar Channal rendition before start of both antara's, that sounds good despite not able to understand the meaning (don't know name of the language). Post 3.25 mins, the song is a complete bliss, firstly for Shankar Mahadevan vocals, then the ending with Daler Mehndi's 'O mirzya' words and the finishing background music.
hota hai aksar, chot kahin lagti hai jaakar.. zakhm kahin pe hota hai, ishq mein

22 . Cutiepie - ae dil hai mushkil 

Surprise! I like this song lot more than Channa mereya and breakup song. Cutiepie gives a vibe of Dev.D song, even the picturisation is similar to some extent. A fun track where the lead actor is actually going through deep pain but faking happiness outside. And then ofcourse those final 30 secs instrumental is unforgettable. Nakash Aziz  and Pardeep Singh Sran vocals completely suit the mood of the song, and like how Pritam uses punjabi lyrics through backup vocals.
boyfriend ki tujhe koi fikar nahi, pehli date pe kahe.. okay bye

23. Kya tujhe ab yeh dil bataaye - sanam re 

Now a bigger surprise! It is kinda of heavily melodramatic feel to it like those 90's songs and the lyrics by Manoj Muntashir are inconsistent specially that aansoo line and the last antara that I found ordinary. So it isn't in any way as awesome as Saajna and Judaai were, but still Falak Shabir's vocals makes this a very good listen for me. If you are not fond of routine sadistic tracks, which this one is, then it may not work for you at all.
kya tujhe ab yeh dil bataaye, tere bina kyun saans na aaye


24. Tuk tuk - sultan

By now you should know, how much I am fond of Nooran sisters. Another of their song in my list as they again sync together beautifully with a little dose of haryanvi accent, and this is Vishal Dadlani as composers at their experimental best. Tuk Tuk talks about the hardships of life but in a positive way, almost like inspiring to keep going by calling it 'meethi thaari zindagi'. Vishal's english rap is slightly off-track, works with visuals better, but Irshad Kamil lyrics don't divert from the motive of song so its a minor problem that can be ignored. Also, like the way song starts with male singer (don't know who it is) singing 'doorie dard milan hai masti'. My most loved song from Sultan after Jag Ghoomeya.
resham hai ya malmal hai, ya phir gehri daldal hai.. zindagi ya ra ra 


25. Teen gawah hai ishq ke - mirzya

I often end up thinking of Qayamat se Qayamat Tak song 'akele hai toh kya gham hai', when I listen Teen gawah. Both songs are quite apart though in lyrics, its just the kind of love felt in the songs and knowing the sad destiny the lovers will face sooner that makes me compare it. Composed by Shankar Ehsan Loy in a very light manner, and lyrics penned by Gulzar, its the vocals by Siddharth Mahadevan that gets the major attention in this song along with the chorus by the Salvation Singers. Totally love the background tunes used in the final 50 secs, very romantic. Except for the starting vocals which I assume were by Sain Zahoor, I very much liked this S-E-L melody.
khawaab tha, khawaab hai.. khawaab mein rehne do 

26 to 100 ----

26. Qatl e aam (unplugged) - raman raghav 2.0 

27. Gilehriyaan - dangal

28. Haminastu - fitoor

29. Channa mereya - ae dil hai mushkil 

30. Ae zindagi gale laga le (arijit) - dear zindagi 

31. The breakup song - ae dil hai mushkil

32. Haq hai - te3n 

33. Yeh fitoor mera - fitoor

34. Teri khair mangdi - baar baar dekho 

35. Ikk kudi (diljit) - udta punjab

36. Jag ghoomeya (rahat) - sultan

37. Nashe si chadh gayi - befikre

38. Kho gaye hum kahan - baar baar dekho

39. Kuch toh hai - do lafzon ki kahani

40. Aisa kyun maa - neerja

41. Rootha - te3n 

42. Sau tarah ke - dishoom

43. Sanam re - sanam re 

44. Taarefon se (ali) - dear zindagi 

45. Bolna - kapoor & sons

46. Ude dil befikre - befikre

47. Dhaakad (aamir) - dangal

48. Jabra fan - fan

49. Jab tak (redux) - ms dhoni the untold story

50. Darkhaast - shivaay 

51. Gehra ishq - neerja

52. Kuch din - kaabil 

53. Mera junoon - sarbjit 

54. Phir kabhi - ms dhoni the untold story

55. Jeete hai chal - neerja

56. Ek nadi thi - mirzya

57. Oye oye - azhar

58. Toh dishoom - dishoom

59. Grahan - te3n 

60. Kheech meri photo - sanam teri kasam 

61. Jagaa khunnas - saala khadoos

62. Rock the party - rocky handsome

63. Kaala chashma - baar baar dekho 

64. Lets break up - dear zindagi 

65. Kyun re (amitabh) - te3n 

66. Tu hi hai (ali) - dear zindagi 

67. Foolishq - ki & ka

68. Alizeh - ae dil hai mushkil 

69. Mehram - kahaani2 

70. Hone do batiyan - fitoor

71. Meherbaan - sarbjit 

72. Bulleya - sultan 

73. Tu hai - mohenjodaro

74. Paani ka raasta - raman raghav 2.0

75. Jeetne ke liye - azhar

76. Kaabil hoon (sad) - kaabil 

77. Tung lak - sarbjit

78. Tere naal ishqa - shivaay

79. Kuch der - traffic

80. Udja re - rock on 2

81. Kaari kaari - pink

82. Dum-a-dum - dhanak 

83. Raaz aankhein teri - raaz reboot 

84. Dariya - baar baar dekho

85. Besabriyaan - ms dhoni the untold story

86. Ud daa punjab - udta punjab 

87. Allah hu allah - sarbjit 

88. Baby ko bass pasand hai - sultan 

89. Love you zindagi - dear zindagi  

90. Re sultan - sultan

91. Saala khadoos - saala khadoos 

92. Rehnuma - rocky handsome 

93. Parwah nahin - ms dhoni the untold story

94. Woh jahaan - rock on 2 

95. Wajah tum ho (mithoon) - wajah tum ho 

96. Ishq mubarak - tum bin 2 

97. Hum mein tum mein jo tha - raaz reboot 

98. Sau aasmaan - baar baar dekho 

99. Saathi re - kapoor & sons 

100. Maths mein dabba gul - nil battey sannata