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What were the best songs released in 2023? There is no objective ranking, but the year’s Indian screen music offered plenty worth revisiting: from a tragic love song in Ponniyin Selvan: II to a spare, forceful track in Animal and an intimate series-ending ballad in Kohrra. These selections look at what the songs do on screen, not just how they sound on their own.
How to think about the year’s screen music
Devarsi Ghosh’s December 26, 2023 year-end selection for Scroll.in treats its picks as an editorial selection, not a scored or comprehensive ranking. Ghosh observed “the disappearance of remixes, streaming platforms encouraging experimental albums for web series, and an uptick in unconventional romantic numbers.” That is a critical impression of the year, not a measured industry finding.
The list crosses languages and formats: feature films and web series, familiar Hindi-film spectacle and more intimate dramatic settings. A useful way to listen is to ask what a song adds to its scene—whether it extends a star persona, carries a character’s longing, or gathers up the emotional weight of a story.
Songs that deepen a story or character
“Chinnanjiru Nilave” — Ponniyin Selvan: II
A. R. Rahman’s tune is heard through the doomed passion between Nandini and Aditha. Rather than functioning as a detachable romantic interlude, the song carries the shadow of their history. Ghosh’s discussion also highlights lyricist Ilango Krishnan’s contribution to that emotional register.
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“Bas Tere Karke” — Kohrra
Placed at the end of the six-episode series, this torch song gathers the feelings the story has accumulated. Its minimalist production gives the vocal and the moment room to land; the placement matters as much as the song’s standalone mood.
“Onnoda Nadandhaa” — Viduthalai Part 1
Among the year’s selections, this track offers a different language and film-music context from the Hindi and Tamil blockbusters that often dominate year-end lists. It belongs in a screen-music conversation that makes space for the song’s relationship to its film rather than flattening every pick into a popularity contest.
Rank #2
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“Kabhi Kabhi Zindagi” — Mast Mein Rehne Ka
Ghosh’s selection also includes this song, a reminder that a year’s memorable film music need not be built around spectacle. Its presence broadens the list’s emotional palette beyond big dance numbers and sweeping romance.
Star image, romance and spectacle
“Jhoome Jo Pathaan” — Pathaan
The song plays as an extension of Shah Rukh Khan’s screen persona, while also fitting the action-hero image he carried through 2023. Its appeal is not only the dance-floor energy: it makes the star’s performance part of the song’s meaning.
Rank #3
“Pyaar Hota Kai Baar Hai” — Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar
Arijit Singh’s jaunty performance connects Ranbir Kapoor’s screen presence here to the breezy, mischievous image associated with Bachna Ae Haseeno and “Badtameez Dil.” The song turns that familiar persona into a playful take on romance rather than a conventional declaration of devotion.
Two more defining picks
“Sapta Sagaradaache Ello – Side A title track” — Sapta Sagaradaache Ello – Side A
The title track appears in Ghosh’s cross-film-and-series selection. Its inclusion underlines the value of looking beyond a single language industry when considering the year’s screen music.
Rank #4
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“Khairaat” — Chamak
This series song sits alongside film tracks in the year-end selection, reflecting how streaming dramas have become another setting for songs to carry a story’s mood and character work.
“Arjan Vailly” — Animal
Scroll describes Bhupinder Babbal as the song’s conception and performance force and notes Manan Bhardwaj’s spare production. Rediff’s December 2023 selection separately credits Manan Bhardwaj with the music and Bhupinder Babbal with lyrics and vocals. The lean arrangement helps the track feel stark and insistent rather than crowded.
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Other 2023 selections and recognition
Different outlets made different choices, so their lists and awards should be read as distinct editorial snapshots, not a consensus. Rediff’s December 12 selection also included “Tere Vaaste,” “Banjaare,” and “Chandu Naache” from Jubilee, among other Hindi film songs. Its credits list Sachin-Jigar as composers and Amitabh Bhattacharya as lyricist for “Tere Vaaste”; Amit Trivedi as composer, Shellee as lyricist, and Nikhita Gandhi as vocalist for “Banjaare”; and Amit Trivedi as composer, Kausar Munir as lyricist, and Swanand Kirkire and Amit Trivedi as vocalists for “Chandu Naache.”
Bollywood Hungama’s 2023 music honours named Animal Best Soundtrack, “Chaleya” from Jawan Best Song, Arijit Singh for male playback singing for “Tum Kya Mile,” Shilpa Rao for female playback singing for “Besharam Rang,” Ganesh Acharya for choreography of “What Jhumka,” and Amitabh Bhattacharya for lyrics for “Tum Kya Mile.” These are that outlet’s awards, a different kind of selection from a critic’s year-end list.
Where to listen to more
For a broader playlist around the year, Amazon Music’s Best of 2023: India page lists 50 songs and a stated duration of 3 hours and 1 minute. Apple Music’s Top Songs of 2023: India lists 100 songs and a stated duration of 5 hours and 48 minutes. Those figures describe the playlists as displayed in 2026, not industry-wide listening or performance statistics; catalog contents and availability can change.
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