Hindi cinema · 1960 onward
RaagsRaagA recognisable arrangement of notes and musical behaviour that guides melody. A raag’s identity involves how notes are used, not just a list of pitches.Source: N2 §2.1, pp. 14–15; §2.2.1, p. 15. and 1 moreMore in the glossary in film songs, decade by decade
1400 songs on Ragapedia have a raagRaagA recognisable arrangement of notes and musical behaviour that guides melody. A raag’s identity involves how notes are used, not just a list of pitches.Source: N2 §2.1, pp. 14–15; §2.2.1, p. 15. and 1 moreMore in the glossary named by a cited source. This page groups them by the decade of the film. It shows what those sources wrote about. It does not measure how often composers used each raagRaagA recognisable arrangement of notes and musical behaviour that guides melody. A raag’s identity involves how notes are used, not just a list of pitches.Source: N2 §2.1, pp. 14–15; §2.2.1, p. 15. and 1 moreMore in the glossary.
Read these numbers with care
- A song appears here only when a named source states its raagRaagA recognisable arrangement of notes and musical behaviour that guides melody. A raag’s identity involves how notes are used, not just a list of pitches.Source: N2 §2.1, pp. 14–15; §2.2.1, p. 15. and 1 moreMore in the glossary. Sources cover some decades and composers far more than others, so a tall bar can mean more writing, not more raagRaagA recognisable arrangement of notes and musical behaviour that guides melody. A raag’s identity involves how notes are used, not just a list of pitches.Source: N2 §2.1, pp. 14–15; §2.2.1, p. 15. and 1 moreMore in the glossary-based songs.
- Some decades rest mostly on one source. The source list under each decade shows this.
- Many sources name a raagRaagA recognisable arrangement of notes and musical behaviour that guides melody. A raag’s identity involves how notes are used, not just a list of pitches.Source: N2 §2.1, pp. 14–15; §2.2.1, p. 15. and 1 moreMore in the glossary as an influence, or name two raagsRaagA recognisable arrangement of notes and musical behaviour that guides melody. A raag’s identity involves how notes are used, not just a list of pitches.Source: N2 §2.1, pp. 14–15; §2.2.1, p. 15. and 1 moreMore in the glossary for one song. A musician has not yet checked these songs note by note.
Songs with a cited raag, by decade
The 1960s · 264 songs
Kind of evidence
- Composer said so2
- A musician on the song said so1
- Record label's notes1
- A named writer's analysis260
- Teaching example1
Sources
- Amrita Dutta, doctoral thesis (University of Delhi, 2018)98
- Rajan Parrikar, Hindustani raag articles59
- Neha Shrivastava, doctoral thesis on Ravi (Banaras Hindu University, 2022)38
- Suneel Kumar Gupta, doctoral thesis on Madan Mohan (Banaras Hindu University, 2015)21
- Radha Tyagi, doctoral thesis on Naushad (University of Delhi, 2015)13
- Pooja Tiwari, doctoral thesis on semi-classical styles in film music (University of Delhi, 2020)12
- Sakshi Sharma, doctoral thesis (University of Rajasthan, 2025)10
- Gagan Singh, doctoral thesis on raags with both madhyams in film songs (Panjab University, 2007)10
- Harshdeep Kaur, doctoral thesis on raag Khamaj in film songs (Panjab University, 2013)9
- Punit Jaipal Shah, doctoral thesis (Newcastle University)7
- The Record News, issue 4 (examined 7 Oct 2026)3
- Published composer, musician and record-label statements (collected 7 Oct 2026)3
- Neetu Gautam, doctoral thesis on R.D. Burman (Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya, 2025)2
- Naushad, interviewed by Nasreen Munni Kabir (1987)1
- Rachel Dwyer, film-song analysis1
- RagaSphere, Charukeshi lesson1
The 1970s · 157 songs
Kind of evidence
- Composer said so2
- A musician on the song said so1
- A named writer's analysis153
- Teaching example1
Sources
- Amrita Dutta, doctoral thesis (University of Delhi, 2018)70
- Rajan Parrikar, Hindustani raag articles33
- Suneel Kumar Gupta, doctoral thesis on Madan Mohan (Banaras Hindu University, 2015)14
- Anubhaw Pandey, doctoral thesis on Ravindra Jain (Banaras Hindu University, 2020)13
- Sakshi Sharma, doctoral thesis (University of Rajasthan, 2025)11
- Pooja Tiwari, doctoral thesis on semi-classical styles in film music (University of Delhi, 2020)11
- Neetu Gautam, doctoral thesis on R.D. Burman (Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya, 2025)11
- Punit Jaipal Shah, doctoral thesis (Newcastle University)5
- Gagan Singh, doctoral thesis on raags with both madhyams in film songs (Panjab University, 2007)3
- Neha Shrivastava, doctoral thesis on Ravi (Banaras Hindu University, 2022)3
- Harshdeep Kaur, doctoral thesis on raag Khamaj in film songs (Panjab University, 2013)2
- RagaSphere, Charukeshi lesson1
- Published composer, musician and record-label statements (collected 7 Oct 2026)1
The 1980s · 55 songs
Kind of evidence
- A named writer's analysis55
Sources
- Amrita Dutta, doctoral thesis (University of Delhi, 2018)35
- Neetu Gautam, doctoral thesis on R.D. Burman (Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya, 2025)5
- Sakshi Sharma, doctoral thesis (University of Rajasthan, 2025)5
- Pooja Tiwari, doctoral thesis on semi-classical styles in film music (University of Delhi, 2020)4
- Gagan Singh, doctoral thesis on raags with both madhyams in film songs (Panjab University, 2007)2
- Rajan Parrikar, Hindustani raag articles2
- Anubhaw Pandey, doctoral thesis on Ravindra Jain (Banaras Hindu University, 2020)2
- Siddhi Bhatnagar, doctoral thesis (Banasthali Vidyapith, 2022)2
- Neha Shrivastava, doctoral thesis on Ravi (Banaras Hindu University, 2022)1
The 1990s · 260 songs
Most-cited raags
- Pahadi38
- Kafi35
- Bhairavi33
- Nat Bhairavi27
- Khamaj20
Kind of evidence
- A named writer's analysis260
Sources
- Siddhi Bhatnagar, doctoral thesis (Banasthali Vidyapith, 2022)197
- Gunjan Kapoor, doctoral thesis on Vishal Bhardwaj (Lovely Professional University, 2025)42
- Amrita Dutta, doctoral thesis (University of Delhi, 2018)19
- Pooja Tiwari, doctoral thesis on semi-classical styles in film music (University of Delhi, 2020)5
- Rajan Parrikar, Hindustani raag articles3
- Anubhaw Pandey, doctoral thesis on Ravindra Jain (Banaras Hindu University, 2020)2
- Sarha Moore, doctoral research1
- Sakshi Sharma, doctoral thesis (University of Rajasthan, 2025)1
- Neetu Gautam, doctoral thesis on R.D. Burman (Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya, 2025)1
The 2000s · 382 songs
Most-cited raags
- Pahadi89
- Khamaj53
- Nat Bhairavi49
- Kafi48
- Bhairavi38
Kind of evidence
- Composer said so5
- A named writer's analysis380
Sources
- Siddhi Bhatnagar, doctoral thesis (Banasthali Vidyapith, 2022)328
- Gunjan Kapoor, doctoral thesis on Vishal Bhardwaj (Lovely Professional University, 2025)44
- Sakshi Sharma, doctoral thesis (University of Rajasthan, 2025)6
- Punit Jaipal Shah, doctoral thesis (Newcastle University)6
- Amrita Dutta, doctoral thesis (University of Delhi, 2018)5
- Published composer, musician and record-label statements (collected 7 Oct 2026)3
- Sarha Moore, doctoral research2
- Pooja Tiwari, doctoral thesis on semi-classical styles in film music (University of Delhi, 2020)2
- Anubhaw Pandey, doctoral thesis on Ravindra Jain (Banaras Hindu University, 2020)2
- Shankar Mahadevan at the MTV India Music Summit (Loudest, 2018)1
- Gagan Singh, doctoral thesis on raags with both madhyams in film songs (Panjab University, 2007)1
The 2010s · 275 songs
Most-cited raags
- Pahadi79
- Khamaj41
- Kafi36
- Bhairavi33
- Nat Bhairavi32
Kind of evidence
- Composer said so1
- A named writer's analysis274
Sources
- Siddhi Bhatnagar, doctoral thesis (Banasthali Vidyapith, 2022)226
- Gunjan Kapoor, doctoral thesis on Vishal Bhardwaj (Lovely Professional University, 2025)47
- Sakshi Sharma, doctoral thesis (University of Rajasthan, 2025)5
- Pooja Tiwari, doctoral thesis on semi-classical styles in film music (University of Delhi, 2020)5
- Published composer, musician and record-label statements (collected 7 Oct 2026)1
The 2020s · 7 songs
Most-cited raags
Kind of evidence
- Composer said so1
- A named writer's analysis6
Sources
- Siddhi Bhatnagar, doctoral thesis (Banasthali Vidyapith, 2022)5
- Published composer, musician and record-label statements (collected 7 Oct 2026)1
- Gunjan Kapoor, doctoral thesis on Vishal Bhardwaj (Lovely Professional University, 2025)1