With old hits like “Tumhe Apna Banane Ki Kasam,” “Ae Mere Humsafar” and “Jab Chaye Mera Jadoo” making catchy comebacks, the year saw music directors taking the ‘Old is Gold’ route as they revisited classic numbers from the past, writes Juhi Chakraborty. (#Bollywood, #HindiFilmSongs, @SIliconeer, #Siliconeer)

The new versions of the tracks, which also includes “Albela Sajan” from “Bajirao Mastani,” “Dheere Dheere”, which is a single and Sonu Nigam’s “Main Hoon Dewaana” recreated in the movie “Ek Paheli-Leela,” became instant favorite with fans.

Kumar Sanu and Anuradha Paudwal crooned “Tumhe Apna Banaane Ki Kasam Khayi Hai” more than two decades ago in “Sadak,” starring Sanjay Dutt and Pooja Bhatt. And this year, Armaan Malik and Neeti Mohan spinned a seductive version of the song in erotic thriller “Hate Story 3.”

Mithoon recreated the iconic “Ae Mere Humsafar” (Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak) for Abhishek Bachchan-Asin starrer “All Is Well.” The new song, by Tulsi Kumar and Mithoon, is a much slower, softer and sadder version as opposed to the original, which was more lively and romantic.

“Main Aur Charles” reworked the song “Jab Chaye Tera Jadoo,” which was originally sung by Asha Bhosle in “Lootmaar.” Singer Kanika Kapoor has reprised the song, featuring Randeep Hooda, in the film. The club feel of the original song has been retained in the latest track, which incorporates Kanika’s usual spunk.

Classical number “Albela Sajan” has been revisited many times over the years and Bhansali, who used the track in his superhit “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam,” brought out another version of the song – this time for his period love saga “Bajirao Mastani.”

While the “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam” track was more soft, this one is more cheerful and a number of singers like Shashi Suman, Kunal Pandit, Prithvi Gandharva, Kanika Joshi, Geetikka Manjrekar and Rashi Ragga have come together to deliver it.

Two of Sonu Nigam’s songs from his album found its way in films “Bhaag Johnny” and “Ek Paheli Leela.” Ankit Tiwari stepped into the big shoes of Nigam and brought out his take on “Is Kadar Pyaar Hai” from the singer’s album Deewana.

Arijit Singh took on the daunting task of revisiting Nigam’s hit ’90s romantic album number “Main Hoon Deewana Tera.” For those hearing it for the first time, it may have been appealing, but those who have grown up on the Sonu Nigam version preferred the original.

Another adapted version is “Dhol Baaje” from “Leela,” which is a rendition of the hit dance number featuring Aishwarya Rai and Salman Khan in “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.”

The year also spelled nostalgia in film music with the return of singers Kumar Sanu, Sadhana Sargam, Alka Yagnik and Altaf Raja.

Sanu’s nasal humming and Sadhna’s melodious voice came back to treat fans in “Dum Lagake Haisha” in the song “Dard Karara” and took the audience straight into the ’90s, the decade in which the film is set.

Besides this track, Sanu’s old songs play an important role in the film, which also features a cameo by the singer.

It was also refreshing to hear Yagnik after a long time in “Agar Tum Saath Ho” in “Tamasha.” Harshavardhan Kulkarni’s “Hunterrr,” featured both Raja and Bappi Lahiri in its soundtracks.

The title track was a throwback ’80s song crooned by disco king Lahiri, who didn’t disappoint and made this track a peppy number too.

After a long hiatus, singer Raja, famous for heartbreak songs like “Tum Toh Thehre Pardesi” and “Jaa Bewafaa,” came up with “Dil Lagaana” which was one of those numbers which gave an orchestra feel.

This year the earlier trend of actors appearing in private music albums came to the forefront with many Bollywood stars like Hrithik Roshan, Shilpa Shetty, Sonam Kapoor, Emraan Hashmi and Tiger Shroff featuring in singles.

Shot in Antalya in Turkey, Hrithik and Sonam’s “Dheere Dheere Se” recreated the magic of the hit romantic “Aashiqui” number. The remake of the ’90s love anthem topped the charts.

Hashmi reunited with his “Jannat 2” co-star Esha Gupta for “Main Rahoon Ya Na Rahoon” sung by Armaan Malik and composed by his brother Amaal. Hashmi comfortably slipped into the role of a lover boy pinning for his childhood sweetheart.

To spice up this wedding season, Shetty’s help was sought to enthrall the audience with her classic thumkas and she made everyone grove to her latest single “Wedding Da Season.”

And to keep up the fervor, Mika Singh and Neha Kakkar were perfect choice to croon the song.

“Chal Wahan Jaate Hai,” featuring youngsters Tiger and Kriti Sanon, reminded of the tastefully done ’90s indie pop music videos.

Directed by Ahmed Khan, the song in the melodious voice of Arijit Singh touched the hearts.

Actor Ayushmann Khurrana was back as a singer with his new single “Yahin Hoon Main” co-starring his “Vicky Donor” leading lady Yami Gautam.