Ishan - Chittagong by Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy, Bedabrata Pain, Pooja Gopalan, Aarti Sinha, Kshitij Wagh, Shreekumar Vakkiyil, Raman Mahadevan, Mani Mahadevan

Released as part of Chittagong, Ishan - Chittagong announced itself as a standout the moment it reached listeners. What makes Ishan - Chittagong musically distinctive is the composition by Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy, which balances simplicity with depth.

Every line Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy, Bedabrata Pain, Pooja Gopalan, Aarti Sinha, Kshitij Wagh, Shreekumar Vakkiyil, Raman Mahadevan, Mani Mahadevan sings feels considered, as though the performance was thought through long before recording began. Hearing Ishan - Chittagong without thinking of Manoj Bajpai, Vega Tamotia, Jaideep Ahlawat, Alexx Onell, Barry John, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Raj Kumar Yadav, Delzad Hiwale, Dibyendu Bhattacharya is almost impossible for anyone who has seen Chittagong.

When it came out in 2012, Ishan - Chittagong felt timely. Years later, it feels timeless. There is no right time to listen to Ishan - Chittagong. There is only the moment you press play and realise it was the right choice.

The 3:51 runtime feels perfectly judged — long enough to develop its ideas, short enough to compel a second play. It is, simply, one of the better songs to come from Hindi in recent memory — and the numbers agree.