Dekho Ri Kaisi Sundar Bala - Aaj Ka Mahatma by Lata Mangeshkar

Released as part of Aaj Ka Mahatma, Dekho Ri Kaisi Sundar Bala - Aaj Ka Mahatma announced itself as a standout the moment it reached listeners. The music, composed by Laxmikant, Pyarelal, carries the song forward with a confidence that matches the performance.

Lata Mangeshkar delivers the lyrics with a nuance that turns an already strong song into something genuinely moving. Hearing Dekho Ri Kaisi Sundar Bala - Aaj Ka Mahatma without thinking of Randhir Kapoor, Rekha, Bindu, Ranjeet, Kumud Chuggani, Manmohan, Keshto Mukherjee is almost impossible for anyone who has seen Aaj Ka Mahatma.

By the end of 1976, Dekho Ri Kaisi Sundar Bala - Aaj Ka Mahatma had moved well beyond its original audience and into everyday playlists. The song rewards full attention but also works as company in the background — a flexibility that most tracks never achieve.

Running to 4:55, the song is exactly as long as it needs to be, which is the hardest length for a songwriter to find. The song continues to find new listeners, which is the surest sign that it was made with something genuine at its core.