Main Jaagun Aksar - War Chhod Na Yaar by Aslam Keyi, Javed Ali, Shreya Ghoshal, Ali Aslam

There is an honesty to Main Jaagun Aksar - War Chhod Na Yaar that separates it from most Hindi songs released around the same time. The music, composed by Aslam Keyi, carries the song forward with a confidence that matches the performance.

Aslam Keyi, Javed Ali, Shreya Ghoshal, Ali Aslam inhabits this song completely, making every phrase feel like it was written specifically for this voice. The chemistry of Sharman Joshi, Soha Ali Khan, Javed Jaaferi, Sanjay Mishra, Mukul Dev is embedded in every moment of Main Jaagun Aksar - War Chhod Na Yaar, making it as much a performance as a song.

The song dates from 2013, but nothing about it sounds dated — the emotions it captures are not tied to a moment. Listeners have described the experience of Main Jaagun Aksar - War Chhod Na Yaar differently — romantic, melancholic, uplifting — which suggests the song is large enough to hold many truths.

Running to 5:49, the song is exactly as long as it needs to be, which is the hardest length for a songwriter to find. It is, simply, one of the better songs to come from Hindi in recent memory — and the numbers agree.