Maa Ki Mamta - Sham Ghansham - Sham Ghansham by Lata Mangeshkar, Suresh Wadkar, Hariharan

Not every song from Sham Ghansham lingers, but Maa Ki Mamta - Sham Ghansham - Sham Ghansham is the one that stays. Suresh Wadkar, Vishal Bhardwaj built the instrumental foundation carefully here — every element earns its place in the mix.

There are singers who perform songs and singers who live inside them. On Maa Ki Mamta - Sham Ghansham - Sham Ghansham, Lata Mangeshkar, Suresh Wadkar, Hariharan clearly belongs in the second group. The story told by a talented ensemble cast in Sham Ghansham finds its musical expression here — Maa Ki Mamta - Sham Ghansham - Sham Ghansham is where the film's heart beats loudest.

By the end of 1998, Maa Ki Mamta - Sham Ghansham - Sham Ghansham had moved well beyond its original audience and into everyday playlists. Whether it plays on a long drive, during a quiet evening at home, or through earphones on a crowded commute, the song meets the listener where they are.

The concision of Maa Ki Mamta - Sham Ghansham - Sham Ghansham — just 4:23 — is part of what makes it work. There is nothing here that should not be. It is, simply, one of the better songs to come from Hindi in recent memory — and the numbers agree.