Love songs are a dime a dozen, but coming-of-age songs are rare.

Ghar se nikalte hi, a song from the forgotten 1996 film Papa Kehte Hain directed by Mahesh Bhatt and starring Jugal Hansraj and Mayoori Kango, is one such gem.

Papa Kehte Hain, of course, is a nod to the 1988 Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak youth anthem where a young, guitar-strumming Aamir Khan stole a gazillion hearts singing “Papa kehte hain bada naam karega”. The film became such a hit that it started the trend of abbreviations — QSQT, MPK, HANK, DDLJ....

The 1996 film, with an interesting premise of young love set in the backdrop of a broken home and a girl’s search for her dad, couldn’t set the box office on fire. The year belonged to Aamir’s Raja Hindustani. But Papa Kehte Hain’s music became a rage, selling next only to Raja Hindustani.

Songs like Ghar se nikalte hi (Udit Narayan), Pyar mein hota hai kya jaadu (Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik) and Pehle pyar ka pehla gham (Kavita Krishnamurthy), written by Javed Akhtar and set to music by Rajesh Roshan, genuinely had the Nineties kids go hmmmm.

Ghar se nikalte hi, however, stands apart. Because it isn’t really about young love. It’s about something more precious. The prelude to what may become love. That fleeting, innocent attraction before lust, ego and calculations set in.

Ghar se nikalte hi/ Kuch door chalte hi/ Raste mein hai uska ghar/ Kal subah dekha toh/ Baal banati woh/ Khidki mein aayi nazar

Masoom chehra, neechi nigahein/ Bholi si ladki, bholi adaayein/ Na apsara hai, na woh pari hai/ Lekin yeh uski jaadugari hai....

It is to the credit of Javed Sa’ab, who was around 50 then, that he could conjure up so accurately the feelings of a boy who sees a girl framed by a window, combing her hair, oblivious to him.

And that she’s no apsara or pari and yet the subject of such flattering attention, is heartening to this day. Any girl, 15 or 50, would understand.

Rajesh Roshan’s music adds sensitivity to the lyrics. Notice the use of the jal tarang, the wordless female refrain, almost like a breeze, the sudden change in the tempo of the orchestration towards the end.

Udit’s voice, so grainy yet velvety at the same time, caresses each word lovingly while keeping an iron grip on the deceptively simple sur. No unnecessary murkis. Just a voice that goes straight to the heart. Notice how he pronounces ‘masoom’, for instance.

Some songs have a messy afterlife. In 2018, a different Ghar se nikalte hi came out, sung by Armaan Malik and “composed by reprised by Amaal Mallik”, with “lyrics by Kunaal Vermaa”, a year later came the female version, sung by Madhusmita. Initially, when the Armaan Malik single released, there was no mention of the original creators. An angry Javed Akhtar in an interview from that time said he had taken legal recourse.

“The new version of ‘Ghar se nikalte hi’ makes no mention of my lyrics, Rajesh Roshan’s composition and Udit Narayan’s singing. This is sheer vandalism,” Akhtar had said. The matter was sorted out and “adapted from” added to the remakes.

Technology’s level playing field ensures you can listen to all three. But guess which one you’ll come back to again and again.