Madras Cafe (Theme) - Madras Cafe by Shantanu Moitra

When Shantanu Moitra recorded Madras Cafe (Theme) - Madras Cafe, something special happened in the studio — and listeners have felt it ever since. The production by Shantanu Moitra is understated in the best way — supportive without overshadowing the vocal.

Shantanu Moitra understood what this song required and delivered it without excess — the restraint itself becomes the emotion. John Abraham, Ayushmann Khurrana, Nargis Fakhri, Rashi Khanna are at the heart of Madras Cafe, and Madras Cafe (Theme) - Madras Cafe captures their dynamic at its most compelling.

By the end of 2013, Madras Cafe (Theme) - Madras Cafe had moved well beyond its original audience and into everyday playlists. The emotional register of Madras Cafe (Theme) - Madras Cafe is wide enough to fit celebration and solitude equally well.

The 4:04 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.