Kisne Tha Bata Tujhe - Jiyo To Aise Jiyo by Bhupinder Singh, Jayant Kulkarni

The Jiyo To Aise Jiyo album has several strong tracks, but Kisne Tha Bata Tujhe - Jiyo To Aise Jiyo is the one most listeners come back to first. Raamlaxman's arrangement gives the track a layered quality that rewards repeated listening.

Bhupinder Singh, Jayant Kulkarni understood what this song required and delivered it without excess — the restraint itself becomes the emotion. Arun Govil are at the heart of Jiyo To Aise Jiyo, and Kisne Tha Bata Tujhe - Jiyo To Aise Jiyo captures their dynamic at its most compelling.

1981 was a strong year for Hindi music, and Kisne Tha Bata Tujhe - Jiyo To Aise Jiyo was among the reasons why. Some music is background. Kisne Tha Bata Tujhe - Jiyo To Aise Jiyo demands attention — not aggressively, but in the way a good conversation does.

The concision of Kisne Tha Bata Tujhe - Jiyo To Aise Jiyo — just 8:04 — is part of what makes it work. There is nothing here that should not be. It is, at the end of it, a very good song — and sometimes that is the only explanation that matters.