Trains have played an important part in pushing forward the story in Bollywood films — from Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman’s 1960 classic Kala Bazar to Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone’s 2013 film Chennai Express. With Vande Bharat Express debuting from Howrah station for New Jalpaiguri, we pick six iconic songs shot on trains, marking the long tryst between Indian Railways and Hindi cinema.

Mere Sapno ki Rani (Aradhana)

This superhit song from Shakti Samanta’s 1969 film Aradhana, sung by Kishore Kumar, became the very idea of romance for the ’70s generation. With Anand Bakshi’s lyrics set to tune by Sachin Dev Burman, it begins with a distinctive harmonica prelude. The song sequence is set against the beautiful mountainous landscape that the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway route cuts through. There’s Sharmila Tagore on the toy train, with Rajesh Khanna serenading her by car.

Chaiyya Chaiyya (Dil)

Shah Rukh Khan and Malaika Arora Khan breaking into a dance with many others on top of a moving train left us spellbound when Mani Ratnam’s Dil released in 1998. The song is set on a train that chugs along the green Nilgiri mountains of Tamil Nadu. Written by Gulzar with elements of Urdu poetry, the song was composed by A.R. Rahman and sung by Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi.

Kasto Mazza (Parineeta)

Helmed by a chorus, Kasto Mazza was sung by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghosal for Parineeta, Pradeep Sarkar’s 2005 adaptation of the Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay novella. Composed by Shantanu Moitra, the song has lyrics by Swanand Kirkire. The catchy number features Saif Ali Khan and Vidya Balan singing on a toy train cutting through the green cover of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway route, in a throwback to the train sequence in Aradhana with Saif’s mother, Sharmila.

Hoga Tumse Pyara Kaun (Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai)

Long before Shah Rukh Khan, Rishi Kapoor had been picturised on top of a moving train, singing Hoga Tumse Pyara Kaun to woo Padmini Kolhapuri in Nasir Hussain’s 1981 film Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai. Shailendra Singh did playback for the song composed by RD Burman and written by Majrooh Sultanpuri, which has the train passing along the rolling greens of a hill town.

Hum Dono Do Premi (Ajnabi)

The four-minute-long Hum Dono Do Premi from Shakti Samanta’s 1974 film Ajnabee was the first Hindi film song to be shot entirely on top of a train. Composed by RD Burman, with lyrics by Anand Bakshi, this catchy number sung by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar has Rajesh Khanna and Zeenat Aman romancing in a pile of haystacks on a freight train.

Zindagi Ke Safar Mein (Aap Ki Kasam)

This evergreen journey song from J. Omprakash’s 1974 hit film Aap ki Kasam features a despondent Rajesh Khanna boarding a train, not knowing where he is headed. Composed by RD Burman to Anand Bakshi’s lyrics, Zindagi Ke Safar Mein urges one to look back at all the milestones one has left behind as the train is shot passing through towns, stations and tunnels.