Team FC
Tum jo mil gaye ho
(Hanste Zakhm, 1973): An uncharacteristic (though characteristically brilliant) Madan Mohan composition, with languorous, bluesy beginnings and a hysterical closing section (see-sawing violins, bongos going crazy) more apt for a Bachchan-era car chase.
Kitne bhi tu kar le sitam
(Sanam Teri Kasam, 1982): I love everything about this song.
Jalte hain jiske liye
(Sujata, 1959): SD Burman and Talat Mahmood conjure up a long-distance serenade for the ages, but it's really about Majrooh Sultanpuri's lyrics.
Channa mereya
(Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, 2016): Arijit Singh's pain-soaked voice hurtles across the octaves like an untethered astronaut.
Tum mere main teri
(Navrang, 1959): C Ramchandra tunes this love song like a lullaby, and for good reason.
Do dil toote
(Heer Ranjha, 1970): This heart-wrenching ballad is Hindi cinema's haunting riposte to Auden's Funeral Blues.
Hue hain tumpe aashiq hum
(Mere Sanam, 1965): Is just pure joy, stuffed with high-pitched flute trills and qawwali claps.
Paas nahin aana
(Aap Ki Kasam, 1974): The reason I keep returning to this song is the Rajesh Khanna-Mumtaz pairing, who've always vibed wonderfully off one another.
Tere bina zindgai se koi
(Aandhi, 1975): Time heals, sure, but it doesn't take much for the old what-ifs to make their presence felt again, and that's the wistfulness RD Burman imbues this number with.
Aaja re aa zara
(Love in Tokyo, 1966): Mohammed Rafi makes us see why so many of today's love songs seem so anaemic. There's no swoon anymore.