The baraat is the loudest hour of an Indian wedding. The groom rides out on a horse, his family and friends dance in front of him through the street, and a dhol player or brass band drives the procession to the bride's venue. It is also the event where the music matters most and is planned least: most families leave it to the band and hope for the best.
This guide follows the procession stage by stage, from the sehra at the groom's house to the milni at the gate, with a video for every song. The wedding season reopens with Dev Uthani Ekadashi on 20 November 2026, so there is still time to brief the band. For the other events, our guides to the best sangeet songs and the best mehendi songs cover the evenings before.
Planning the whole week? Our guide to Indian wedding songs covers every ceremony in order, and the best haldi songs and best vidaai songs cover the first and last events.
How a Baraat Playlist Works
A baraat has four stages, and each needs a different kind of song:
- Sehrabandi and ghodi chadhna: at the groom's home. Emotional, traditional, mostly older songs.
- The procession: the long middle stretch. A steady beat that a band or dhol can carry without a sound system.
- The final approach: the last few hundred metres, where the biggest dance numbers go.
- The milni: the formal greeting at the gate. The tempo drops and the songs turn ceremonial.
Plan for 25 to 35 songs for a procession of 45 to 90 minutes.
Sehra and Ghodi Songs
The women of the family often sing traditional ghodi folk songs while the sehra is tied, so keep the recorded music short and let the singing take over.
- Dulhe Ka Sehra (Dhadkan, 2000): Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's voice over a Nadeem-Shravan melody. Nothing else captures the moment the sehra goes on quite like it.
Dulhe Ka Sehra - Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai (Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, 2002): Jeet-Pritam's title song is the one the groom's friends want for the walk out of the house. It is sentimental and celebratory at once, which is exactly the mood of the moment.
Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai
Brass Band Classics
Any brass band will know these by heart. On trumpets and a big drum they are still the sound of a baraat across north India.
- Aaj Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai (Aadmi Sadak Ka, 1977): Mohammed Rafi's song has been the anthem of the groom's friends for almost fifty years. Every band in the country plays it, and every uncle knows the words.
Aaj Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai - Yeh Desh Hai Veer Jawanon Ka (Naya Daur, 1957): O.P. Nayyar's marching song, sung by Mohammed Rafi and S. Balbir, is patriotic on paper and pure baraat in practice. The rhythm is made for a procession.
Yeh Desh Hai Veer Jawanon Ka - Man Dole Mera Tan Dole (Nagin, 1954): Hemant Kumar's composition, sung by Lata Mangeshkar, gave the baraat its most famous dance. The snake-charmer melody, played on a clavioline by a young Kalyanji, is the cue for the naagin dance that someone always does on the road. There is more Lata in our list of her greatest songs.
Man Dole Mera Tan Dole - Tamma Tamma Loge (Thanedaar, 1990): Bappi Lahiri and Anuradha Paudwal's dance hit is the bridge between the old brass-band repertoire and the dhol songs that follow. Bands love it because the hook is easy to play.
Tamma Tamma Loge
Dhol and Bhangra Anthems
For the long middle stretch, nothing beats Punjabi dhol songs: a fixed tempo the dhol player can lock into, and choruses everyone shouts back.
- Tunak Tunak Tun (Daler Mehndi, 1998): the most famous Punjabi pop video ever made, and still the song that gets the oldest guests dancing on the road.
Tunak Tunak Tun - Bolo Ta Ra Ra (Daler Mehndi, 1995): the song that made Daler Mehndi a star. Its call-and-response chorus is perfect for a crowd in the street.
Bolo Ta Ra Ra - Mundian To Bach Ke (Panjabi MC, 1998): the bhangra track that crossed over into British and American clubs, with Labh Janjua's vocal over a bassline lifted from the Knight Rider theme. Every DJ truck has it.
Mundian To Bach Ke - Dil Le Gayi (Jasbir Jassi, 1998): Jasbir Jassi's breakthrough is as much a part of the nineties baraat as Tunak Tunak Tun. The tumbi riff carries even on a cheap speaker.
Dil Le Gayi - Ishq Tera Tadpave (Sukhbir): better known by its “Oh ho ho ho” hook, Sukhbir's bhangra hit was remixed for Hindi Medium in 2017 and found a whole new generation of dancers.
Ishq Tera Tadpave - Angreji Beat (Gippy Grewal and Yo Yo Honey Singh): the Punjabi single that Bollywood borrowed for Cocktail in 2012. It marks the moment the baraat playlist moved from the dhol to the DJ truck.
Angreji Beat
Bollywood Baraat Bangers
Save these for the final approach so the energy peaks at the gate, not halfway down the road.
- Mauja Hi Mauja (Jab We Met, 2007): Mika Singh's voice and Pritam's dhol-heavy beat make this the ultimate groom's friends' song.
Mauja Hi Mauja - Ainvayi Ainvayi (Band Baaja Baaraat, 2010): Salim-Sulaiman's song from the definitive Bollywood film about wedding planners, sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and Salim Merchant.
Ainvayi Ainvayi - Dhating Naach (Phata Poster Nikhla Hero, 2013): Nakash Aziz and Neha Kakkar on a Pritam track that sounds like a baraat band played through a DJ rig. Under three minutes and all chorus.
Dhating Naach - Gallan Goodiyaan (Dil Dhadakne Do, 2015): Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's ensemble song works as well on the road as it does at a sangeet, because it was written to be sung by a crowd.
Gallan Goodiyaan - Kala Chashma (Baar Baar Dekho, 2016): Badshah and Neha Kakkar's version of Amar Arshi's Punjabi hit. The breakdown is the moment for the groom's friends to drag him off the horse.
Kala Chashma - Kar Gayi Chull (Kapoor and Sons, 2016): Badshah's reworking of his own Haryanvi hit Chull, recorded with Fazilpuria. Short, loud and impossible to stand still to.
Kar Gayi Chull - Sauda Khara Khara (Good Newwz, 2019): Diljit Dosanjh, Dhvani Bhanushali and Sukhbir on an update of Sukhbir's old bhangra song. It became the default baraat song the year it came out and has not left the list since.
Sauda Khara Khara - The Punjaabban Song (Jugjugg Jeeyo, 2022): Tanishk Bagchi's song, built on Pakistani singer Abrar-ul-Haq's Nach Punjaban, with Gippy Grewal and Zahrah S Khan. A modern wedding classic.
The Punjaabban Song - Hauli Hauli (De De Pyaar De, 2019): Garry Sandhu and Neha Kakkar on a Tanishk Bagchi track. Its slightly slower groove is useful when the procession has to pause at a junction.
Hauli Hauli - What Jhumka (Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, 2023): Pritam's tribute to Jhumka Gira Re, sung by Arijit Singh and Jonita Gandhi. Every generation in the procession knows one of the two hooks. Our piece on Arijit Singh and Pritam covers how the two built their partnership.
What Jhumka
Punjabi Pop for the DJ Truck
If there is a DJ truck, the younger guests will ask for these by name. They are the soundtrack of every Punjabi wedding of the last decade.
- Daru Badnaam (Kamal Kahlon and Param Singh, 2017): a cheerful song about drink getting a bad name, with well over a billion views. Expect the whole road to sing the chorus.
Daru Badnaam - High Rated Gabru (Guru Randhawa, 2017): the groom's song, more or less by definition. Play it as he gets back on the horse.
High Rated Gabru - Lehanga (Jass Manak, 2019): one of the most watched Punjabi videos ever made. It is about a girl asking for an expensive lehenga, which makes it a cheeky choice for the approach to the bride's venue.
Lehanga - Brown Munde (AP Dhillon, Gurinder Gill and Shinda Kahlon, 2020): the song that made AP Dhillon a global name. It is lower tempo than the rest, so it works best for the crowd standing round the groom at a stop.
Brown Munde
The Newest Baraat Hits
- Khalasi (Coke Studio Bharat, 2023): Aditya Gadhvi's Gujarati folk vocal over Achint's production. It is the rare non-Punjabi song that has become a baraat staple, and it is the one to play if the bride's family is from Gujarat. It is also on our list of the best Coke Studio songs.
Khalasi - Tauba Tauba (Bad Newz, 2024): Karan Aujla's Bollywood breakthrough and the dance hit of 2024. Its hook step has already become part of the baraat vocabulary.
Tauba Tauba
Songs for the Arrival and Milni
At the venue, the bride's family comes out, the elders meet for the milni and the groom is welcomed with the aarti. These songs mark the switch from street party to ceremony.
- Saajanji Ghar Aaye (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, 1998): Jatin-Lalit's song is sung from the bride's side, welcoming the groom to the house. Play it the moment the procession turns in through the gate.
Saajanji Ghar Aaye - Le Jayenge Le Jayenge (Chor Machaye Shor, 1974): Ravindra Jain's song, led by Kishore Kumar, has the line that gave Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge its title. It is the groom's side's playful promise to take the bride home, and the perfect last song before the milni starts.
Le Jayenge Le Jayenge
Baraat Playlist Tips from Wedding Bands
- Brief the band in writing. Most bands play from memory and default to their own set unless they have your list a week ahead.
- Check the route and the time limit. Loudspeakers are restricted after 10 pm in India. If the procession runs late, the DJ truck switches off and the dhol becomes the whole show.
- Keep songs short on the road. Ask the DJ to cut songs after two choruses; a procession loses energy fast.
- Plan the stops. Put your biggest songs at the two or three stops where the groom's friends dance.
- Agree the arrival cue. Tell the bride's family which song means you are five minutes away.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most popular baraat song?
Aaj Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai from Aadmi Sadak Ka is still the song most brass bands open with, almost fifty years after its release. Among newer songs, Sauda Khara Khara and Tauba Tauba are the most requested on DJ trucks.
How many songs do I need for a baraat?
Plan for 25 to 35 songs for a procession of 45 to 90 minutes, with songs cut short on the road.
Which song should play when the groom gets on the horse?
Dulhe Ka Sehra is the traditional choice while the sehra is tied, followed by Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai as he mounts the ghodi. For a more modern feel, High Rated Gabru works well.
Should the baraat have a brass band, a dhol or a DJ truck?
Many families use a dhol or band at the front and a DJ truck behind. If you can only have one, a good dhol player is the most flexible: it works on any street and needs no power.
What song should play when the baraat arrives at the venue?
Saajanji Ghar Aaye from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is the classic welcome song from the bride's side, and Le Jayenge Le Jayenge is a playful reply from the groom's side just before the milni begins.
