All 6 Movie Songs From ‘Dangal’ Ranked
Music in Bollywood movies is the essence of these films. Dangal has been Indias highest grossing film ever created, and as a result has one of the most notable soundtracks. Most of the songs directly correlate to the actions of the characters in the movie, and therefore are integral in explaining the story from another lense. Here, we rank the songs of the film on the criteria of enjoyment, plot development, and importance to the films success (spoilers). This story follows the life of Mahavir, a former wrestling champion, and his two first born daughters, Geeta and Babita, soon to be wrestlers that Mahavir wishes to continue his dream through by bringing an international gold to India by them. The journey faces many problems, obstacles, and doubt, but continues nonetheless.
6. Naina — Arijit Singh
Naina follows the theme of Geeta continuing to disrespect her father’s wishes, but this time Geeta directly disrespects her father by physically embarrassing him in a wrestling match. With a very slow song, Naina speaks of how Geeta continues to drift away from her father and his teachings as she falls into an emotionless black hole, consisting of nothing but sadness. The mood produced by this song does not align well with the rest of the movie, and the drift between Geeta and her father and sister seems unnecessary because a separation between Geeta and her father had already been established, and will soon be patched, making this scene’s only purpose to disrespect Mahavir by the hand of Geeta. As a result, the song does not progress the plot much, and slows the momentum the movie had generated.
5. Gilehriyaan - Jonita Gandhi
A montage depicting the opposite of everything she has been taught in life, Gilehriyaan goes through Geeta’s exploration of all the temptations in life her father had kept her away from. Played with a slow tempo at a high pitch, the audience is left in an awkward mix of moods between happy and upset: happy for Geeta for finally being able to enjoy her young years, yet upset she has given in to all the wrestling-career-ending lusts Mahavir protected her from, directly going against her father’s dream. While other songs here will speak the direct actions of the plot, this song takes the approach of metaphor after metaphor describing Geeta’s awakening. Ultimately, this sequence initiates the downfall of Geeta in which she falls into hole she can not dig out of, and while this is a necessary tragedy for Geeta’s later reawakening, the audience is felt feeling irritated at Geeta’s indolence, briefly turning the audience against her.
4. Haanikaarak Bapu - Sarwar Khan, Sartaz Khan Barna, Saddy Ahmad
Geeta and Babita forcefully begin their harsh training to become the best wrestlers India has ever produced as Mahavir begins to train the two small-village girls. With every cent of resistance that the two sisters provide, Mahavir counters with a detached and unwavering force. Despite the lyrics of the song, which sings of how a cruel father forces his daughters into slavery by ridding them of every enjoyment life offers at the risk of their own health, Haanikaraarak Bapu is an upbeat lyrical that makes light of the girl’s suffering in the video that is played alongside the song, as the lyrics sync up with the tasks being performed. This song plays fun at the whining kids will express when told to do something they do not want to, but to the extreme of girls having no childhood but wrestling and the accompanying complaining. This style of the children despising their father occurs again, and corresponds to an underlying theme that children are only unappreciative because they are ignorant. Finally, the song is referenced in the latter of the movie as the foundation Geeta needed in order to overcome her biggest obstacles, making this essential to the plot.
3. Idiot Banna - Nooran Sisters
Definitely the most depressing lyrics in the entire movie, Idiot Banna has the most energetic and upbeat style in the film. Taking place during a wedding, Geeta and Babita are having the times of their lives as they attend without their father’s knowing. While people are drinking, dancing, and enjoying themselves, the bride sits surrounded by all her peers unexpressive and unresponsive. This song seems to be the thoughts of the bride, yet the beat and tempo are the emotions of everybody else. A bride of fourteen years is being forced to marry a man she has never met, and the remainder of the time is spent describing how deplorable of a husband he will be and how he is undeserving of the bride. The number is put to a sudden stop when Mahavir storms in, causes a scene, and exits with equal swiftness. The next scene serves as an enlightenment for the two sisters. As they complain of how awful their father is to their friend, the bride, they are taught a lesson of what a father who truly does not care about his daughter’s well being acts like: getting rid of his daughter because she has been nothing but a burden since her birth. This song has both an enjoyable factor in its presentation, as well as a necessary factor for triggering a change in the girls’ attitude towards their father.
2. Dhaakad - Raftaar
The fire of wrestling has been ignited in the two girls trained by the Indian legend Mahavir, and this war-like song propels primarily Geeta into the local, regional, and national level championships. The advancement of Geeta’s career in wrestling corresponds to the progression of the song, from the start of the cyclone to her defeating her enemy. The deep beat and booming drums symbolize the passions of Geeta and Mahavir for wrestling, and rhythmic chorus make for a memorable song.
1. Dangal - Daler Mehandi
The main song for the title sequence of the movie, a recurring song throughout the entire movie, and sung by the face of the movie, Amir Khan, it is no surprise that this would be the highest rated song on this list. During several important sequences throughout the movie Dangal made an appearance and helped guide all the characters to further success. Dangal can translate to either riot, or wrestling competition, depending on the language used to translate it, since there are so many different languages and dialects present in India. This could not be more accurate, considering the riot that was stirred when Geeta and Bebita began their wrestling training, as well as the level of competition they rose to in the wrestling community. Referencing the loss of hair for the sisters, the stars forcing their destiny, and the need to prove oneself, Dangal describes the entire journey that is faced by the characters, and is correspondingly incorporated throughout the entire movie. Finally, the chorus is so simple and rhythmic, the audience can not help but want to move and sing with it, especially with the amount of energy portrayed.
