Jun 01, 2026 7:08pm IST
Imtiaz Ali on ‘Agar Tum Saath Ho’ from ‘Tamasha’ Becoming Spotify India’s Most-Streamed Song: ‘We Made It More for Ourselves’ (EXCLUSIVE)
More than a decade after its release, “Agar Tum Saath Ho” from Imtiaz Ali’s “Tamasha” has emerged as the most-streamed Indian song of all time on Spotify India. With over 717 million streams, the emotional ballad has overtaken “Kesariya” from “Brahmastra,” according to Spotify data.
Composed by A. R. Rahman, written by Irshad Kamil and sung by Alka Yagnik and Arijit Singh, the song remains one of the defining emotional moments of “Tamasha,” featuring Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone as Ved and Tara — two people deeply in love but forced apart by circumstance.
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Reflecting on the song’s enduring popularity since the film’s 2015 release, Ali says that the intention behind the song was not to create a chartbuster. “When we started with the song, we thought it was a very slow, emotional song. We made this more for ourselves than for popularity. That was not the aim,” the filmmaker says. “Rahman, Irshad and I decided to make a song that we would like, something through which we could express our emotions. And remarkably, that became the song that now has the honor of being the most-streamed song of all time on Spotify India,” he further shares.
For Ali, the milestone is proof that music made with the right intent eventually finds its audience. “It also tells us that music is something one should make for themselves. If you enjoy the music, there’s a chance others will too,” says the director, whose next film, Main Vaapas Aaunga, releases on June 12.
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