Radha by Iman Chakraborty, Shovan Ganguly

There is an honesty to Radha that separates it from most Bengali songs released around the same time. What makes Radha musically distinctive is the composition by Bickram Ghosh, which balances simplicity with depth.

There are singers who perform songs and singers who live inside them. On Radha, Iman Chakraborty, Shovan Ganguly clearly belongs in the second group. Jeet, Nusraat Jahan gave the film its soul, and Radha is the song that most directly channels that feeling into music.

The song dates from 2019, but nothing about it sounds dated — the emotions it captures are not tied to a moment. There is no right time to listen to Radha. There is only the moment you press play and realise it was the right choice.

Running to 5:08, the song is exactly as long as it needs to be, which is the hardest length for a songwriter to find. The song continues to find new listeners, which is the surest sign that it was made with something genuine at its core.