It grows on you like a soft drizzle. Meri jaan, from Basu Bhattacharya’s 1971 film Anubhav, is a rare gem of Bollywood music — its lustre soft and deep like raindrops.

Composer Kanu Roy lets Gulzar’s lyrics shine in Geeta Dutt’s honeyed voice. At a time of belligerent orchestration in most film songs, Roy keeps instruments to the minimum — the barest hint of keys, strings and the gentle beats of rain. But his bravery pays off.

It can be called Dutt’s swansong — she died on July 20, 1972, barely eight months after Anubhav released. Battling heartbreak and alcoholism, she was only 41 when the world lost her.

She must have been ailing when she recorded the song, but you get to hear only her consummate artistry. It was the time when the Mangeshkar sisters ruled the airwaves. But Dutt, who could effortlessly infuse the hint of a sob and peals of laughter in melody, proved she had game, and how.

Much of the song’s freshness lies in its words. The young Gulzar pulls off a clever wordplay with “jaan”, interchangeably to mean beloved, life and knowledge.

Meri jaan, mujhe jaan na kaho meri jaan,

Meri jaan, meri jaan

Jaan na kaho anjaan mujhe

Jaan kahan rehti hai sada

Anjaane, kya jaane

Jaan ke jaae kaun bhalaa...

In 1971, Gulzar wasn’t a new kid on the block — his nuanced directorial venture, Mere Apne, had released a couple of months before Anubhav. He’d go on to be the versatile wordsmith with lyrics as diverse as Iss mod se jaate hain, Jungle jungle baat chali hai, Mera kuch samaan, Chhaiya chhaiya and Beedi jalaile.

Bollywood has a gazillion love songs and counting. Every generation will get its Saiyaara. Meanwhile, Meri jaan will quietly get under your skin.

Sulagana Biswas