Bandeya Rey Bandeya - Simmba by Arijit Singh, Asees Kaur

Few songs from 2018 have held their ground as well as Bandeya Rey Bandeya - Simmba, a track that keeps finding new audiences. Tanishk Bagchi sets the tone from the very first bar — it is clear from the opening notes that this song means business.

Arijit Singh, Asees Kaur's vocal here has a quality that is difficult to describe but impossible to miss — it simply feels true. The chemistry of a talented ensemble cast is embedded in every moment of Bandeya Rey Bandeya - Simmba, making it as much a performance as a song.

When it came out in 2018, Bandeya Rey Bandeya - Simmba felt timely. Years later, it feels timeless. The emotional register of Bandeya Rey Bandeya - Simmba is wide enough to fit celebration and solitude equally well.

The concision of Bandeya Rey Bandeya - Simmba — just 4:14 — is part of what makes it work. There is nothing here that should not be. It is, at the end of it, a very good song — and sometimes that is the only explanation that matters.