This is the last post to be published this year.
New year begins tomorrow and I take the opportunity to wish you a very happy and prosperous New Year 2026.
A post celebrating new year’s eve was awaited and this year I could get around doing it finally.
When I was searching for the songs, there were not many songs that I could think of, except the one from Anari (1959) which I guess is a relatively popular song. When I looked for other songs, I first came across a song from Julie (1975) which is popularly taken as a new year celebration song. But when I watched the movie, at least the portion having the song, it’s clearly a song at a Christmas party, not New Year party. So I decided not to include it. It’s nevertheless a good song and one of the few songs Rita Bhaduri lip-synced to, besides being popular too.
I was surprised not to find any song from the 60s, at least I couldn’t locate any! Knowledgeable readers can fill the gap. I got a lot of songs from the 80s, a few known to me (at least the mukhda) and a few not very popular.
So here we go…
As many of the songs on the list talk about the new year’s eve, I decided to publish the post on that very occasion. The songs are arranged in chronological order, I think by now the regular readers are used to this feature.
1. Sabko Mubarak Naya Saal – Samrat (1954) Asha Bhosle & Chorus / Hemant Kumar – Rajendra Krishan
A good song to start the list! Though I was aware of the film, I hadn’t heard this song before. Hemant Kumar has less number of western influenced songs to his credit, though this rock n roll based song is easy on the ears. It’s melodious and hummable. Though the video of it is not available, it sounds like a party song, with the invitees joining the host for singing. The film had Ajit and Rehana in the main lead.
2. Nineteen Fifty six Nineteen Fifty seven – Anari (1959) Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey, Mukesh & Chorus / Shankar Jaikishan – Shailendra
A good jazzy song, quite in contrast to the other songs from the movie. And I think it’s not as popular as the other songs from the movie. A club song welcoming 1959, the new year then. Helen et al dance to the tune, while Asim Kumar sings it cheerfully in Manna Dey’s voice. Mukesh gets the last stanza singing for Raj Kapoor. The song talks about the changes likely to happen over the years and it’s so true! Fashion has grown into an industry, wearing less clothes is a fashion, cutting hair and growing nails is a trend in women, so is wearing make-up. And what’s more, it has touched the men as well. Different haircuts, including sporting long hair, are in vogue and men’s apparels have taken a 360° change as well. Very foresighted Shailendra had been! And of course, चेहरे पे नक़ली चेहरा चढ़ाओ is not just about make-up.
3. Happy New Year to You- Do Jasoos (1975) Shailendra Singh & Chorus / Ravindra Jain – Hasrat Jaipuri, Ravindra Jain
It’s a very brief song, just a few seconds more above minutes. Shailendra Singh came to limelight after the release of Bobby (1973) as a playback singer. He tried his hand in acting and he was a good looking fellow. But he couldn’t succeed as a hero. This song is again a party song with the audience enjoying the party, singing and dancing to the tune.
4. Yeh Saal Ki Aakhiri Raat Hai – Beraham (1977) Shailendra Singh, Chandrani Mukherjee & Anuradha Paudwal / Laxmikant Pyarelal – Verma Malik
A cheerful party song celebrating the new year. The song is picturised on Reena Roy, Shatrughna Sinha and Sujata Bakshi (thanks to Atul’s blog where this song was discussed and a comment mentioned her name). Chandrani Mukherjee sang for Sujata Bakshi, while Anuradha Paudwal sang for Reena Roy. The song talks about being optimistic, and moving forward without letting the bitter memories of the past influence our future. Shailendra Singh singing for Shatrughna Sinha gets very little to sing.
5. Naya Saal Haye Tamashe Dikhye – Nazrana Pyar Ka (1980) Asha Bhosle, Amit Kumar & Anwar / Hemant Bhosle – Nida Fazli
Hemant Bhosle was an underrated composer, who couldn’t get many opportunities in Hindi films despite being the son of Asha Bhosle. He nevertheless composed good songs, albeit never for big banners. The song opens with piano, and the interludes with saxophone and violins are so charming. The orchestration is really good and the tune is good too.
This new year song is a bit different from the others on the list. It’s a cheerful moment, but the singing lady is not happy. There’re many undercurrents in her mind that reflect in the song.
6. Naye Purane Saal Mein – Raksha (1981) Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar & Chorus / R D Burman – Anand Bakshi
Not a particularly great song, except the singing by both the singers. They both steal the show. The song is picturised on Parveen Babi and Jeetendra at a new year party.
7. Sach Kehta Yeh Zamana – Jaagir (1984) Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar & Chorus / R D Burman – Anand Bakshi
As we can see in the video clip, there’s a competition on stage with a theme ‘New and Old’ with Zeenat Aman supporting the New and Dharmendra supporting the Old. A lot of familiar faces in the audience including the bad boys, Amarish Puri and Ranjeet.
An utterly unrealistic picturisation with a few real cars and bikes on stage. But the song itself is not disappointing. Here’s the link for full video.
8. Assalm Ailequm Saal Mubarak Ho – Telephone (1985) Asha Bhosle / Written & composed by Rajesh Roshan
I heard the song for the first time during the research for this post. A beautiful looking Deepti Naval sings the song along with a dancer with rather sleazy clothes, who also lip-syncs to Asha Bhosle’s voice. The song unfolds expressing a lot of optimism in the coming years. It seems the movie took a couple of years or so to complete, as this song welcomes 1983. But it was released, or at least got the censor certificate in 1985. And I wasn’t aware, Rajesh Roshan has penned songs for a Hindi film as well.
9. Aanewale Saal Ko Salaam – Aap Ke Saath (1986) Shabbir Kumar & Chorus / Laxmikant Pyarelal – Anand Bakshi
Shabbir Kumar rose to fame with the songs from Betaab. However he couldn’t survive the upcoming fresh voices of the 90s and soon faded away. He’s almost forgotten today. This is not a particularly great song, neither lyrically nor otherwise. But fits the bill.
10. Dekho Dekho Phir Aa Gaya – Teri Talash Mein (1990) Amit Kumar, Alka Yagnik & Chorus / Naresh Sharma – Sameer
This is an obscure movie of the late 80s that obviously went unnoticed. It seems to be a suspense thriller without a popular first rung mainstream star except Amla. The song doesn’t feature fully in the film, so no full video available. Here’s the available video and a full audio version.
And the full audio version,
Again wishing you a Happy New Year 2026.
Disclaimer –
Mehfil Mein Meri, claims no credit for any image, screenshots or songs posted on this site. Images on this blog are posted to make the text interesting. The images and screenshots are the copyright of their original owners. The song links are shared from YouTube, only for the listening convenience of music lovers. The copyright of these songs rests with the respective owners, producers and music companies.
