Masta - Tum Bin 2 by Vishal Dadlani, Neeti Mohan

Masta - Tum Bin 2 arrived from the Tum Bin 2 album and quickly became one of the most replayed tracks of 2016. Behind the melody is the work of Ankit Tiwari, whose composition choices give Masta - Tum Bin 2 its distinctive texture.

Vishal Dadlani, Neeti Mohan inhabits this song completely, making every phrase feel like it was written specifically for this voice. Hearing Masta - Tum Bin 2 without thinking of Neha Sharma, Aditya Seal, Aashim Gulati, Kanwaljit Singh, Farah Ahmad is almost impossible for anyone who has seen Tum Bin 2.

The song dates from 2016, but nothing about it sounds dated — the emotions it captures are not tied to a moment. Masta - Tum Bin 2 is the song for the end of a long day when you want music that understands something without being asked to explain it.

The 3:51 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.