Dil Se, written and directed by Mani Ratnam, is one of my all-time favorite movies. I still consider its soundtrack to be A R Rahman’s greatest work. It’s just magnificent stuff.

When I was 15, I remember seeing the movie’s trailer¹ and being awestruck by this haunting background song² that didn’t make it into the official tracklist. The song is a rendition of a well-known poem, Sitaron Se Aage Jahan Aur Bhi Hai, by another genius Allama Iqbal.

I’ve been looking for this song for a long while, settling for shitty movie extractions (which are exactly that.) I went to the extent of trying to contact Madras Talkies, the director’s production company, several times to no response or avail.

Twenty four years later, and thanks to the internet, I’ve finally found good versions of this elusive song 🥰

• Amar Confronts Meghna
• Main Theme (in Tamil and Urdu)
• Main Theme (alternative, Urdu only)
• Amar Searches Meghna’s Room
• Kuch Log

All of these appear to be from a 20-year anniversary release I couldn’t find anywhere but here. The whole thing is just absolutely lovely. Oh and here’s another version at appears to be mostly the same as the one linked to, and a solo version by a guy named Sujay.

A most beautiful, graceful, and sublime rendition of one of my all-time favorite songs.

Lovely, lovely stuff 🙏❤️ (via Deepu)

See also: Worlds Beyond the Stars