Navratri 2022: Interesting facts behind most famous Garba songs in Bollywood movies

From movies like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam to Ram Leela and Loveyatri, all had the elements of Navratri which made these movies more colourful and musically entertaining. Navratri season is here and what’s better than recalling movies that had the backdrop of ‘Navratri/ Garba’ in them and celebrated the spirit of Garba in a true sense, and are the Garba fashion trendsetter. Also, read about interesting facts behind the most famous Garba songs in these Bollywood movies.

Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)The movie had all the elements: the dance form, costumes, music, dance that shows the culture of ‘Gujarat’. The movie was shot at the Vijay Vilas palace in 1929 Mandvi town in Gujarat. Music:From the much played song in Garba – Dholi Taro Dhol Baje to Nimbooda, the songs compelled audiences to get up and start grooving.

The lyrics of the songs in the movie were written by Mehboob and the music was composed by Ismail Darbar. ‘Dholi Taro Dhol Baje’, one of the songs that is included in everybody’s Garba playlist was sung by Kavita Krishnamurthy, Vinod Rathod and Karsan Sagathia. The song is very high on dholak-beats.

Set interior for the song Dholi Taro Dhol Baje: Nitin Desai, the art director of the Garba song Dholi Taro, used marigold flowers to light up the acrylic floor. The floor with an orange background looked beautiful and nobody could get a hint that it was shining due to the marigold flowers and not because of the lighting. Choreography:The high on energy dance number was choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant and she won the National Film Award for Best Choreography for the song in 1999.

Salman Khan and the former Miss World, Aishwarya Rai grooved perfectly to the blend of slow and fast beats of the song. 20FAishwarya wearing a fiery red-and-pink outfit with heavy jewelleryFashion (Costume and Look):Aishwarya wore a fiery red-and-pink outfit that highlighted the colourful festival of Navratri. In the entire movie, the actress wears ‘ghagra-choli’ and her hairstyle- ‘plait’ was suggested by Bhansali.

Aishwarya’s multi-coloured, tasseled cholis with Gujarat’s embroidery and mirror work; with net lehengas, heavy ethnic accessories and dupatta is a style everyone would think of wearing during Navratris. Designer duo, Neeta Lulla and Shabina Khan’s designed Nandini’s (Aishwarya’s name in the movie) lehengas and sarees. Aishwarya wore Kundan jewelry that included light-beaded necklaces, silver sets, jhumkas with stone embellishments, heavy and light Mang Tikas, faux diamond jewelry and long necklaces to match the lehengas.

Ram Leela (2013)Set in Kutch region of Gujarat, Ram Leela stands one of the most revered movie for its Gujarati setting, music, dance and costumes. Music:The music of the movie was composed by the director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali himself and the lyrics were written by Siddharth–Garima. The track ‘Mor Bani Thanghat Kare’ is a 1944 Gujarati song translated by Jhaverchand Meghani and was composed by Hemu Gadhavi.

Music is a combination of classical, folk, fusion as well as contemporary sound. The song ‘Nagde Song Dhol Baje’ is loved by Garba lovers and is played during the entire Navratri festival. Shreya Ghoshal is the voice behind this groovy song and she still performs this song due to its huge popularity.

Choreography:The song ‘Nagde Song Dhol Baje’ was choreographed by Samir and Arsh Tanna. Bhansali brought traditional Garba dancers from Gujarat to train Deepika on traditional dance moves. Fashion (Costume and Look):Anju Modi designed Deepika’s costumes, especially the red lehenga choli she wore in the song.

The ghaghra had three different layers of fabrics and borders in a leaner skirt-like silhouette. The entire costume was made of organic cotton and cotton mulmul. Loveyatri (2018)The entire plot of the movie revolves around Garba.

The love story has hooking numbers like ‘Chogada Tara’, ‘Dholida’, and ‘Rangtaari’ which make everyone tap their feet and groove to the beats. Music:The Garba song ‘Chogada’ is sung by Darshan Raval and Asees Kaur while Lijo George – DJ Chetas has composed the music. Dholida, on the other hand, is sung by 90s singer Udit Narayan along with Neha Kakkar and Palak Muchhal while ‘Rangtaari’ song is sung by Dev Negi and Honey Singh.

Choreography:Just like Aishwarya’s Dholi Taro, Vaibhavi Merchant also choreographed Warina Hussain’s Chogada. The old Gujarati folk song was recreated at various locations in London. Song ‘Dholida’ is another Garba number with the lead pair wearing vibrant Garba outfits.

Warina Hussain- ‘Chogada’ song fameFashion (Costume and Look):Manish Malhotra, Alvira Khan Agnihotri, and Ashley Rebello designed the costume for the star cast. For Dholida Warina wore a floral lehenga skirt paired with shimmery black blouse and a red dupatta tucked with a kamar band. The designers accessorised her look with black bangles and beautiful waterfall earrings.

Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022)Alia Bhatt who plays the lead character Gangubai in the movie was shot in Kathiawad, Gujarat. Music:Composed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the song Dholida with no time became hit on Instagram. With more than 100 milion views, the Garba anthem is sung by Janhvi Shrimankar and Shail Hada in the film.

Choreography:Kruti Mahesh was the sole choreographer for this song as well as for all the other songs. Dholida song in Gangubai KathiawadiFashion (Costume and Look):The song started a trend of white sari and rose tucked in the bun. Interestingly, six similar saris were designed for the song by designer Sheetal Iqbal Sharma.

The sari was screen printed with florals and embroidery especially the pallu and sides. .