Main Sharabi Nahin - Khilona by Asha Bhosle, Mohammed Rafi

The Khilona album has several strong tracks, but Main Sharabi Nahin - Khilona is the one most listeners come back to first. Laxmikant, Pyarelal sets the tone from the very first bar — it is clear from the opening notes that this song means business.

Asha Bhosle, Mohammed Rafi brings a warmth to Main Sharabi Nahin - Khilona that no production choice could manufacture — it has to be felt, and here it is. Featuring Durga Khote, Bipin Gupta, Ramesh Deo, Malika, Mridula, Sanjeev Kumar, Alka, Chand Usmani, Jagdeep, Shabnam, Mumtaz, Jeetendra, Jayashree, Shatrughan Sinha, Jankidas, Brahm Bhardwaj, the song carries the weight of the film's emotional arc and delivers it with conviction.

1970 marked the release of Khilona, and Main Sharabi Nahin - Khilona was the track that ensured the album would be remembered. Listeners have described the experience of Main Sharabi Nahin - Khilona differently — romantic, melancholic, uplifting — which suggests the song is large enough to hold many truths.

The concision of Main Sharabi Nahin - Khilona — just 5:11 — 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.