Dhawno Dhanyo by Ishan Mitra

Few songs from 2019 have held their ground as well as Dhawno Dhanyo, a track that keeps finding new audiences. The music, composed by Dwijendralal Roy, carries the song forward with a confidence that matches the performance.

The performance by Ishan Mitra is the centrepiece here — controlled where it needs to be, open where it counts. The connection between a talented ensemble cast and this song is part of what makes it resonate beyond the film itself.

By the end of 2019, Dhawno Dhanyo had moved well beyond its original audience and into everyday playlists. The emotional register of Dhawno Dhanyo is wide enough to fit celebration and solitude equally well.

Running to 9:03, the song is exactly as long as it needs to be, which is the hardest length for a songwriter to find. It is, simply, one of the better songs to come from Bengali in recent memory — and the numbers agree.