Jaan-E-Jaan - Saawariya by Monty Sharma, Kunal Ganjawala, Shreya Ghoshal

Not every song from Saawariya lingers, but Jaan-E-Jaan - Saawariya is the one that stays. Credit goes to Monty Sharma for a score that understands exactly what the song needs and nothing more.

The performance by Monty Sharma, Kunal Ganjawala, Shreya Ghoshal is the centrepiece here — controlled where it needs to be, open where it counts. For fans of Ranbir Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Salman Khan, Rani Mukherji, Zohra Sehgal, Jaan-E-Jaan - Saawariya is one of those songs that immediately conjures specific scenes and emotions.

When it came out in 2007, Jaan-E-Jaan - Saawariya felt timely. Years later, it feels timeless. Listeners have described the experience of Jaan-E-Jaan - Saawariya differently — romantic, melancholic, uplifting — which suggests the song is large enough to hold many truths.

Running to 5:59, the song is exactly as long as it needs to be, which is the hardest length for a songwriter to find. Years from now, Jaan-E-Jaan - Saawariya will still be the track that plays at the right moment and lands exactly as it did the first time.