MUMBAI: Rajasthani culture has been the basis of many films and subsequently the songs in Bollywood. Be it some of the iconic songs or some recent chartbusters, influences of folk music can be traced in them. Let’s have a look at some of them.

Nimbooda - Hum Dil Chuke Sanam

This song brings the visuals of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan dancing in a blue lehenga. This song is sung beautifully by Kavita Krishnamoorthy and composed by Ismail Darbar. Though the movie has a Gujarati backdrop, the origin of this song is a folk song from Rajasthan.

Morni Baga Mein – Lamhe

The visual of Sridevi sitting on sand dunes with dreamy eyes is iconic. The song, she dances on, is Morni Baga Mein and is forever etched in your minds. Sung by none other than Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar along with Ila Arun and composed by Shiv-Hari, this is actually inspired by Rajasthani folk song sung by Banjaras (Gypsies). However, as the movie is based in Rajasthan thus, the adaption suits the situation.

Ghoomar - Padmavaat

 A traditional folk song in Rajasthan is beautifully merged in an original track. The song, however, landed in controversy, as the Rajput community took offense over the way their Queen was portrayed. This doesn’t take away the beauty of the song and melodious vocals of Shreya Ghoshal.

Kesariya Balam – Dor

A song, which is the most famous tune of Rajasthan, was used in Ayesha Takia and Gul Panag starrer Dor. The original version of this song is centuries old tune sung in the Mand singing style. This tune was initially used in the movie Lekin sung by Lata Mangeshkar and set to tune by her brother and ace music director, Lata Mangeshkar.

Dil Hoom Hoom Kare - Rudaali

A movie about a community of mourners, specific to the state of Rajasthan, Rudaali, has some of the most poignant songs and Dil Hun Hun Kare is one of them.  This song stands out for being pictured in Rajasthan and is about Rajasthani community, but the origin of this song is an Assamese folk tune. The composer of this song is Bhupendra Hazarika, who has seamlessly merged two cultures. What makes it even more aesthetic is that the lyricist Gulzar has incorporated Assamese phrase of Hoom Hoom describing the heartbeats instead of the Hindi film favourite Dhak Dhak.

Engine Ki Seeti - Khoobsurat

 A peppy number, which has Sonam Kapoor dance merrily on is based on Lok Geet from Rajasthan. The movie adaptation is of course crafted to suit the current language used in urban areas but the basic tune is from Rajasthan.

Khamaghani - Happy Ending

 The word Khamagani is a way of greeting the guests in Rajasthan. The song in Happy Ending is composed by Sachin Jigar, with flavours of Rajasthani culture.