Top Indian Songs of the week 22nd February 2026

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Here are the best songs releasxed in India across languages and genres for the week ending 22nd February 2026

1. Vaada Hai

Composer - Vishal Bhardwaj

Lyrics - Gulzar

Singer - Ananya Wadkar

Music Arranger & Producer - Meghdeep Bose

Music Assistant - Anant Bhardwaj

Language: Hindi

Genre: Light Music/Pop

Mood: soothing

I was in a car as it came around the hills of Uttarakhand as we left from Bhimtal, and no sane person will close their eyes when such a heavevnly beauty beckons in front of their eyes. Yet I did it because I was listening to the album by Vishal Bhardwaj called ‘O Romeo, ' which I rated highly on my IG page. Incidentally, the brightest spot in that was Ananya Wadkar serenading me with her voice in this gentle song that substantially touched me emotionally. The last time I heard her was on her indie project, which I featured, but this one feels like a song that she deserved. Vishal ji, take a bow for showing your commitment to creating such striking melodies. 

The words belong to another legendary genius called Gulzar, and a native Hindi speaker might appreciate the lyrics even better than my review here. Meghdeep Bose is not just tantalising our spirit with his live guitars and bass; he is also the man behind the spectacular arrangements and music production. I feel the love immensely when Ananya teases with “ohh tere liye jeena apna iraada hai”. The string section slowly starts to feed in even more serenity, and the killer punch becomes the harmonies by backing vocalists “Rajiv Sundaresan and Shazneen Arethna” singing “ Vaada Hai Humdum, Vaada Hai Vaada Hai”. The interlude brings in the accordion and rhythms, and this is where I felt a touch of resemblance to A R Rahman’s “Ae Hairathe”, from the album ’ Guru ’. 

When the antara begins, the melody just starts sounding even sweeter, and Ananya is in peak form, giving a touch of playfulness with “tujhe andheron mein jhoom lenge”. The harmonies are constant, and when we sing the subsequent line “tera saaaya pakadke chalenge” the heart grows fonder thanks to the mild Bansuri and the Keys that accompany. When you listen to a song like this, it creates a dilemma between feeling joy that such talents still create splendour and sadness because the industry standards are low and compromised. Listen to what Meghdeep achieves with his arrangements and sound design after she delivers the line “jab koi bhi na hoga gali mein, main pukaroongi khidikiyon se”, with the chords, magic!. The tracks are mixed by SoundsLikeTintin, mastered by Christian Wright. 

2. Kya Bataun Tujhe

Vocal, Composition & Lyrics: Vishal Mishra

Music Production: Vishal Mishra, Vaibhav Pani

Language: Hindi

Genre: Alt-Pop

Mood: Pathos

I am looking forward to this album of 16 songs by Vishal Mishra, but the very firsts ong I heard already makes the cut for me, and here is my review of the song. Kandarpa Kalita makes us all sway away in delight with his Nylon guitar intro, taking us back to the solo interlude in “Hotel California” by the Eagles. Vishal Mishra goes for Pathos in his songs, and it works better than any other mood, thanks to his ability to write the lyrics as well as the melody that carries this melancholy and finally, when he sings with that achingly beautiful voice, the package is complete. 

I love the phrase when he sings “ pyaar karne tujhe phir se lenge janam” because he brings a few modifications right at the end with notes that differ from the earlier line “chahne ko tujhe waqt kam hai mila”. All hell breaks loose when you least expect and this is possible because Vishal has this wide vocal range, and he goes from 0-100 in 5 seconds, as we hear “kahoonga toh chalne lagenge sabhi, jo kehte hai chahat hai unka dharam”. The accmpanying strings arrangements is ncessary to give us a very impactful sound that adds to the grief. Vishal plays the Keys, synths, bass and rhythms and the music production is handled by the talented Vaibhav Pani and Vishal. I love the unexpected pause in all the background sound when he delivers the phrase “mohabbat se kam”, giving us a jolt and making us pay even deeper attention to his misery. 

We get some heavy-duty Alt-pop here with Kandarpa’s electric guitar solo, along with some synths as well. The dude just did some face-melting stuff on the lead guitar at the end of teh interlude, making things quite exciting. The music assistants are Kumar Gaurav Singh, Trihangku Lahkar, Bitupon Boruah and Kandarpa Kalita. The song ends on a powerful note thanks to the exhilarating arrangements and production. The tracks are mixed by Arnau Figueres (Spain) and mastered by Dave Kutch – The Mastering Palace (USA). Trihangku Lahkar is the recording engineer. 

@vishalmishraofficial @vaibhavpani @kandarpakalita @b2pon_ @kumargauravsing @trihangkulahkar @arnaufigueres_ @tseries.official @nruti_s 

3. Doob Jaane De

Written and Performed by Kunal Pandit

Music Produced by Kunal Pandit

Language: Hindi

Genre: Pop

Mood: Dreamy

This is dreamy R&B/Pop that casts a spell, the moment the lead guitars, bass and rhythms start engaging, and we get snazzy strings in the background. This feels like we are entering the world of James Bond with the violins, like how Tina Turner gave us ‘Golden Eye’. Kunal Pandit goes solo on this one, with his melody, lyrics, vocals, programming and production duties. This feels like a perfect recipe to woo someone, and you can feel the mesmerism in his voice, words, and the soundscape as he sings “tere bin laage zindagi adhoori”. The lead guitar riffs feel like The Police’s “Everybreath You Take”.

It is not just in love, but one can fully drown in good music as well, and that is the feeling I get when I hear “Doob Jaane De Mujhe Ishk Mein”. The violins once again just elevate the song’s beauty in the interlude, and there is not just beauty but also tranquility is ths Baroque-Pop style sound. Kunal excels at all the vibrato and vocal improvisation, and that spices up an already impressive melody written by him. The Pianos in the outro are free-flowing, and when the violins join in, too, the end is like an icing on the cake. The mixing and mastering was handled by Prithvi Sharma and Kshitij Bhatt, was handles all the art design elements. Kunal is the keyboardist and also handles the Synths.  

@kunalpanditkp @prithvi2111 @vbhorparashar @hangar18.studio @theaaryanjoshi @takshikari 

4. Feeka

Vocals - gini

Composer & Lyricist - Nandini Nayal

Producer, Mix, Master & Engineer - NEVERSOBER

Language: Hindi

Genre: Pop

Mood: Romantic

gini, but not in a bottle, this talented artist could be like the genie with her magic when she writes and performs songs, but what I believe is that only an artist who never keeps anything bottled up emotionally can have the will and ways to write good music. The strong support of teh rhythm guitar walks side-by-side with her chirpy vocals. The Piano is ever so mild, but once we get to the chorus section, “Feeka Feeka sa”, a mild pause and then the keys, guitars and bass form a bed of such unshakable quality that the listener just wants to fall on it with arms and legs stretched and without a worry on earth. 

NEVERSOBER is already a name I am so keen to follow as he does the music production for this song. Just a couple of days ago I was impreesed imnmesley byu another track he was involved in, in an album called “Raja Hindustani” by King. gini writes this breezy melody along with her quirky and relevant lyrics, and when we hear the second verse, the backing vocal layers are like an extra ounce of sweetener. The rhythm guitars and choral humming are just exponentially getting more arousing with the chorus the second time around.

The bridge section, and especially the line “ kya kho gaya hai hosh, kya main hoon behaal” is where gini brings on her charm and skills in executing it with an improvised style. There are some lead guitar interventions and violins too in teh background, all adding to the various fragments of our emotional fabric. The tracks are mixed and mastered by NEVERSOBER, and as far as the music video goes, the direction is by Dar Gai with producers Dheer Momaya, Dar Gai & Pranit Sahni. The DOP is Vrushab Sansgiri, and the cast on screen includes gini, Chaar diwari & Rudraaksh. 

@this.is.gini @molfarnist @vrushabsansgiri @prod.neversober

5. Evelyn 

Composer, Vocalist, Lyricist: himanshu

Producer: Timothy Thampy

Language: English

Genre: Pop

Mood: Romantic

I have loved every song by himashu so far, and this too joins the list of praiseworthy work by this singer-songwriter. The music is produced by the dynamic Timothy Thampy, and Ayan De handles the engineering department. Everything else is by this man, and the sound of the guitar makes me go fragile, even before a word is uttered. The raw and untarnished vocals feel soothing, and once again, himanshu goes for ‘simple is beautiful’ in the songwriting and tonality space. 

As the second verse begins, Timothy starts engaging with some very catchy yet subtle rhythms. The string arrangements tease around with the heavy cellos and a solo violin used mildly as well. There is a beautiful moment after the line, “and I guess I am just really confused whether I should start believing this”. A 30-second pause, featuring only the rhythm guitar, takes us into his silent world of confusion. The drums start playing with increased intensity, and the cue is here that the silence and his confusion are about to face the end. This is all smart music production. 

The Organ Piano is a beautiful addition to the soundscape with all the keys, rhythms and when himanshu sings “ So I'll Stay with you” with an improvised play on the word “stay”. The writing is more promising as you can listen to the words, showing that the protagonist is now is sure about his relationship with words like “now let the night fade out, let the sun come in”. The use of harmonies is just one more element to sonically show that change of spirit. It is impossible not to feel uplifted with all the guitars, keys, and bassline support. The video credits go to Riddhi Goenka and Samar Thakur. 

@himanshu.c_ @timothythampy 

@riddhigoenka @samarvthakur 

6. Tu Jaane Hai Kahan

Singer: Lucky Ali

Composers: Mikey McCleary & Suraj Gulvady

Lyricist: Kausar Munir

Genre: Pop

Mood: Uplifting

Lucky Ali and Mikey McCleary collaborate again, and this time, we have the song’s composition done by Suraj Gulvady and Mikey. The acoustic guitars feel like the breeze on the sea coast, and when Lucky Ali starts humming, I am taken back to “O Sanam”. Wonder how he still sings like this. The acoustic guitar does provide more than just a rhythm support, and when he sings Kausar Munir’s words “Jo hai aur nahi bhi hai” the rhythms start beating like our hearts, and that flute solo takes away our souls into the high seas. 

The writing is like a meet-cute story, and it is filled with boyish romance “darta hai dil mera, paas aane se tere, darta dil door jaane se”, kudos to Kausar for depicting the immortal pain and dilemma of love. The producers lavish the instrumental arrangements with ethnic strings, guitars, bass, and keys, decorating the soundscape. Is there a hint of the Sarangi, Esraj or the Dilruba I hear? The song shifts dramatically in the final act with the drums , lead guitars and Piano giving us a whiff of Alt-Pop. 

@mikey_mcleary @surajgulvady @kausarmunir @kumartaurani 

7. Kaane

Written, Composed and Performed by Haniya Nafisa

Music Production, Arrangement and Guitars : Raunaq

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Pop

Mood: Groovy

Here is Haniya Nafisa, who is making steady progress as an artist that cannot be ignored. What impresses me the most about her work is her consistency in releasing original indie tracks, and none of her songs falls short in terms of quality. Haniya carries a lot of the weight all by herself, writing the melody, lyrics, and performing the vocals with a touch of style. Can you feel the sizzling heat emanating from Raunaq’s lead guitars, as the usual suspect in all of Haniya’s projects, Raunaq gives us a very groovy pop texture as the arranger and producer. 

It is not the guitars alone, her haunting humming, the backing vocals, the jaunty rhythms all combine to create great appeal. I love how the keys start following mildly as riffs along with the choral support just ahead of the interlude. When the guitar plays that savvy melody in the interlude, I feel like I’m listening to an old Ilaiyaraja 1980’s epic song like “Mandram vandha” from ‘Mouna Ragam’. Haniya excels in the charanam with the high-pitched delivery that allows her to show some vulnerability as the protagonist performing in the video. Somehow, the melody does have shades of another fantastic Malayalam song by Vishnu Vijay from 2025 called “Kedathe’. The video is shot and directed by Aslam Seju, assisted by Gayathri Deepa Santhosh and Antony Joby on cinematography. The tracks are mixed and mastered by Rajan KS. 

@haniyanafisaa @aslam.seju @the_gayuart @dopantony @thirodhaanam @awal_india @rajan_k_s_music 

8. Welcome to The Temple

Composer, Vocalist, Lyricist: Ladders

Produced by Anwoy and Ladders

Language: English

Genre: Pop/ Lo-Fi

Mood: Dreamy-Hypnotic

I may have arrived at the temple late, but I did get here didnt I? This is hypnotic stuff, and it gets more intense andrives you into a state of trance thanks to Ladders’ sensual delivery. Her singing is also purposefully kept a little vague, where you have to pay close attention to decode the lyrics. The additional vocal harmonies enhance the steaminess of the song. Anwoy and Ladders co-produced this and packaged it like something you can get high with. Listen to the line “You feeling all the things that I intended” makes the listener feel that she is in utter control.

The soundscape, writing and delivery make you wonder if the female lead is chasing the guy and has him trapped and caught exactly where she wants. “Welcome to the temple, thought I might find you here” she sings. The Lo-fi and ambient sounds come and go, giving so many mixed emotions, mainly maintaining the element of surprise. 

@wavesandladders @royanwoy @rsbhau @adhithya.sivakumar @firstwav