Mutiyare Ni by Gippy Grewal, Happy Raikoti

Mutiyare Ni is the kind of song that earns its place in a playlist and then refuses to leave. Behind the melody is the work of Gippy Grewal, whose composition choices give Mutiyare Ni its distinctive texture.

There are singers who perform songs and singers who live inside them. On Mutiyare Ni, Gippy Grewal, Happy Raikoti clearly belongs in the second group. The connection between a talented ensemble cast and this song is part of what makes it resonate beyond the film itself.

The song dates from 2022, but nothing about it sounds dated — the emotions it captures are not tied to a moment. The emotional register of Mutiyare Ni is wide enough to fit celebration and solitude equally well.

The concision of Mutiyare Ni — just 2:23 — 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 Punjabi in recent memory — and the numbers agree.