7 Bollywood tracks to dance to

There has always been something about the Bollywood music which draws me in. I can hear the passion in the singers' voices and the joy they get from singing which I also seem to extract.

Singing in India is something else. Sometimes I have had the pleasure of watching Indian Idol with my parents and seeing tears in their eyes after watching a performance by one of the contestants. It is adorable and completely understandable. Indians wear their emotions on their sleeve and the stories behind the contestants just add to the emotions when they start singing.

Although I grew up in NZ, my Indian parents always had the Indian radio on in the car or my mother would have a radio in the kitchen when she cooked, which she did a lot of!

One of my sisters growing up had a lot of Indian friends and introduced me to more Bollywood movies and her excitement about a new movie or song was contagious. Thanks to her I went to one of her friend's weddings in India which was something I never thought I would experience.

When I was 12 I became best friends with a girl from India and her family became my family's closest friends. Her family also influenced my experience with Bollywood beats.

Here are the 7 songs which will hopefully transport you to an Indian wedding and get you up and shaking your hips, bobbing your shoulders and tapping your feet.

A lot of the review is on the experience of watching the song through the movie or video clip. It is just part of the Bollywood experience. They love colors, dance and storytelling. Songs are great on their own, but Bollywood uses dance and movies which help bring the songs to life.

1) Kashmir Main Tu Kanyakumari by Sunidhi Chauhan, Arijit Singh and Neeti Mohan (Film: Chennai Express)

It is a typical Bollywood film song. It is the song in the movie that probably has the best choreography and one that is meant to get the audience in a festive mood. It definitely made an impression, although I have watched the movie just once, it is a song I sought out and play if I am in a mood for amping up the beat.

2) London Thumakda by Sonu Kakkar, Neha Kakkar and Labh Janjua (Film: Queen - My favorite movie!)

There are so many reasons why I love this song. Firstly, it comes from my favorite movie. A movie I watch to reinvigorate my womanhood -I would highly recommend it. The movie starts with this song so you get a sense of who the main protagonist is about. It is an endearing song and it opens you up to what an Indian family can be like, especially when there is a wedding involved.

3) Uff Teri Adaa by Shankar Mahadevan and Alyssa Mendonsa (Film:Karthik calling Karthik)

I haven't watched this movie but the only reason I know it exists is because of my brother. He is a year older and has the habit to constantly sing the lines from his favorite song, at the time. He repeats 1-3 lines that he knows well until the song has exhausted itself or he has moved on to a new discovery. He kept singing this line which is the title of the song, it stuck, I began to listen to the song and here we are.

4) Sheila Ki Jawani by Sunidhi Chauhan and Vishal Dadlani.

Thanks to my dear friend, in the photo above, I know this upbeat tune. Again I haven't watched the movie but when I went to my friend's house for a visit in my teens, we watched the song more than once so this song was stuck in my head like glue. I played it repeatedly and out of this whole list, it is probably the one that has the fastest tempo and most addictive beats.

5) Deewangi Deewangi by a lot of people (Film: Om Shanti Om).

This song is pretty special in terms of Bollywood. It has a lot of actors making an appearance in the song and dancing with Shah Rukh Khan who is one of the most prominent actors to ever live. It held a memory for me and the collaboration within Bollywood was exciting to see.

6) Aaje Nachle by Salim-Sulaiman, Sunidhi Cahuhan and Piyush Mishra (Film: Aaje Nachle)

If there is one song to play as a video, this song is very appealing to the eye. There is storytelling, and the dresses and dancers are spectacular. I encourage to watch it to get the real sense of the song. I watched this in the cinema with the family and it brings me such fond memories of the movie and the magic of art. The movie is all about a choreographer trying to revive the village theatre by organising a play/musical so capitalists don't demolish it. It is heart opening and a joy to watch. Highly recommend!

7) Desi Girl by 4 artists (Film: Dostana)

Last but not at all least is this song in Dostana. It is probably the one movie that my whole family loved and watched together more than once. It has a comedic and youthful feel to the movie. All the songs in it are worthy to listen to and this one really makes you want to dance with Priyanka Chopra. The 2 other actors are awesome and so likeable too. I would highly recommend this movie as well as the song.

Here is the same list on Spotify if you enjoyed the music and would like to have your regular Bollywood beat box on demand.