Tirupati Balaji - Aaj Kaa M.L.A. by Kishore Kumar, Bappi Lahiri

Tirupati Balaji - Aaj Kaa M.L.A. arrived from the Aaj Kaa M.L.A. album and quickly became one of the most replayed tracks of 1984. What makes Tirupati Balaji - Aaj Kaa M.L.A. musically distinctive is the composition by Bappi Lahiri, which balances simplicity with depth.

Every line Kishore Kumar, Bappi Lahiri sings feels considered, as though the performance was thought through long before recording began. Rajesh Khanna, Shabana Azmi, Shatrughan Sinha are at the heart of Aaj Kaa M.L.A., and Tirupati Balaji - Aaj Kaa M.L.A. captures their dynamic at its most compelling.

1984 was a strong year for Hindi music, and Tirupati Balaji - Aaj Kaa M.L.A. was among the reasons why. Tirupati Balaji - Aaj Kaa M.L.A. is the song for the end of a long day when you want music that understands something without being asked to explain it.

The 7:15 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.