Shalu - Bin Bulaye Baraati by Anand Raaj Anand, Anupama Raag

Few songs from 2011 have held their ground as well as Shalu - Bin Bulaye Baraati, a track that keeps finding new audiences. Anand Raaj Anand's arrangement gives the track a layered quality that rewards repeated listening.

The performance by Anand Raaj Anand, Anupama Raag is the centrepiece here — controlled where it needs to be, open where it counts. The connection between Rajpal Yadav, Aftab Shivdasani, Om Puri, Mallika Sherawat, Shweta Tiwari, Nisha Kothari and this song is part of what makes it resonate beyond the film itself.

By the end of 2011, Shalu - Bin Bulaye Baraati had moved well beyond its original audience and into everyday playlists. Listeners have described the experience of Shalu - Bin Bulaye Baraati differently — romantic, melancholic, uplifting — which suggests the song is large enough to hold many truths.

Running to 3:36, the song is exactly as long as it needs to be, which is the hardest length for a songwriter to find. This is music that holds up — not because it is perfect, but because it is honest, and honesty in a song is irreplaceable.