Kaise Kahein Alvida - Yeh Saali Zindagi by Nishat Khan, Javed Ali

Released as part of Yeh Saali Zindagi, Kaise Kahein Alvida - Yeh Saali Zindagi announced itself as a standout the moment it reached listeners. What makes Kaise Kahein Alvida - Yeh Saali Zindagi musically distinctive is the composition by Nishat Khan, which balances simplicity with depth.

There are singers who perform songs and singers who live inside them. On Kaise Kahein Alvida - Yeh Saali Zindagi, Nishat Khan, Javed Ali clearly belongs in the second group. Featuring Irfan Khan, Arunoday Singh, Chitrangada Singh, the song carries the weight of the film's emotional arc and delivers it with conviction.

2011 marked the release of Yeh Saali Zindagi, and Kaise Kahein Alvida - Yeh Saali Zindagi was the track that ensured the album would be remembered. Some music is background. Kaise Kahein Alvida - Yeh Saali Zindagi demands attention — not aggressively, but in the way a good conversation does.

Running to 4:15, the song is exactly as long as it needs to be, which is the hardest length for a songwriter to find. Songs like Kaise Kahein Alvida - Yeh Saali Zindagi are the reason people fall in love with Hindi music and never quite fall out of it.