Best Indian Indie Songs of 2020: 20 Lockdown Tracks

2020 was the year Indian independent music moved indoors. With gigs cancelled from March, artists released songs straight to streaming, often recorded at home. Some of the best-loved Indian indie songs of the decade came out of that strange year. Here are 20 of them, picked across genres and checked at the song level, so every track here first came out in 2020.

How we checked. Dates come from Apple Music India (iTunes catalogue, country IN), checked on 28 October 2026, using each song's own release date, not the date of the album it later joined. Only released songs are included. For full records, read our best Indian indie albums of 2020 guide.

Quick answer: 20 best Indian indie songs of 2020

• "World Gone Mad" – Thermal and a Quarter (20 March)
• "Maula" – Anuv Jain (3 April)
• "Dear Madeline" – Dhruv Visvanath (17 April)
• "Glued" – Aswekeepsearching (17 April)
• "Age of Limbo" – Mali (1 May)
• "Thandi Hawa" – Ritviz (5 May)
• "Watercolour" – Sanjeeta Bhattacharya feat. Dhruv Visvanath (20 May)
• "Lead" – Tejas (8 June)
• "Chitta" – Prabh Deep (12 June)
• "Mushkil Mein Jeena" – Swarathma (12 June)
• "Roshni" – Ritviz, Seedhe Maut & Sickflip (18 June)
• "Noor" – Lost Stories, Akanksha Bhandari & Zaeden (29 June)
• "Chhoti Si" – The Lost Symbols (20 July)
• "Alag Aasmaan" – Anuv Jain (31 July)
• "When We Feel Young" – When Chai Met Toast (2 August)
• "Drive-In Se Vastrapur" – Dhanji feat. Bandook & Rasla (17 August)
• "Dum Pishaach" – Seedhe Maut & Karan Kanchan (11 September)
• "Punya Paap" – DIVINE (23 September)
• "Ek Din Pyaar" – MC Stan (14 October)
• "Qareeb" – Kamakshi Khanna (15 October)

The songs, in release order

"World Gone Mad" – Thermal and a Quarter (20 March 2020). The title track of A World Gone Mad, out days before the national lockdown. It felt like a news report set to guitar rock.

"Maula" – Anuv Jain (3 April 2020). A quiet, prayer-like song released in the first weeks of lockdown. See our Anuv Jain songs guide for the full list.

"Dear Madeline" – Dhruv Visvanath (17 April 2020). A percussive acoustic guitar song that later opened his 2021 album The Book of I. He also features in our Indian fingerstyle guitarists guide.

"Glued" – Aswekeepsearching (17 April 2020). The opening track of their album Sleep: slow, warm and gently heavy.

"Age of Limbo" – Mali (1 May 2020). A big, stylish pop song about feeling stuck, which later went on her album Caution to the Wind.

"Thandi Hawa" – Ritviz (5 May 2020). Breezy, sunny electronic pop that later went on the Dev EP. Read more in our Ritviz albums guide.

"Watercolour" – Sanjeeta Bhattacharya feat. Dhruv Visvanath (20 May 2020). A soft, jazzy song with gentle guitar. Our Sanjeeta Bhattacharya songs guide has more.

"Lead" – Tejas (8 June 2020). Catchy guitar pop from Mumbai that later opened the album Outlast. See our Tejas Menon songs guide.

"Chitta" – Prabh Deep (12 June 2020). A serious, hard-hitting single from the Delhi rapper, released on Azadi Records. Read our Prabh Deep songs guide.

"Mushkil Mein Jeena" – Swarathma (12 June 2020). The Bengaluru folk-rock band sang about how hard life had become, and the song caught the mood of the year.

"Roshni" – Ritviz, Seedhe Maut & Sickflip (18 June 2020). A rare meeting of dance-pop and Delhi rap that works surprisingly well. See also our Seedhe Maut songs.

"Noor" – Lost Stories, Akanksha Bhandari & Zaeden (29 June 2020). A gentle electronic-pop collaboration released on Bombay Electric Collective.

"Chhoti Si" – The Lost Symbols (20 July 2020). A tender Hindi song that later appeared on the Jaipur duo's debut album The Diary.

"Alag Aasmaan" – Anuv Jain (31 July 2020). One of his best-known songs; the title means "a different sky". An acoustic version followed in November 2021.

"When We Feel Young" – When Chai Met Toast (2 August 2020). The happy, nostalgic title song of their first full album, which came out in October 2021. Our When Chai Met Toast songs guide has the rest.

"Drive-In Se Vastrapur" – Dhanji feat. Bandook & Rasla (17 August 2020). From the album Drive-In Cinema: a sharp, funny Ahmedabad rap song.

"Dum Pishaach" – Seedhe Maut & Karan Kanchan (11 September 2020). Heavy, fast and loud, made with Karan Kanchan.

"Punya Paap" – DIVINE (23 September 2020). The title song of his album Punya Paap, released more than two months ahead of it. More in our DIVINE songs guide.

"Ek Din Pyaar" – MC Stan (14 October 2020). A loose, emotional love song from the Pune rapper, later on his debut album Tadipaar.

"Qareeb" – Kamakshi Khanna (15 October 2020). A soft, close-up Hindi love song. Read our Kamakshi Khanna songs guide.

What we left out

Prateek Kuhad's cold/mess package is dated 2020 on Apple, but its songs are dated 2018, so we left them out. Many 2021 albums, such as The Book of I, When We Feel Young and The Diary, collect 2020 songs; we counted those songs here by their own release date.

More lists

For the next year, read best Indian indie songs of 2021. For lists across all years, try best Hindi indie songs and Indian indie love songs.

FAQ

When did "Alag Aasmaan" come out? Anuv Jain released "Alag Aasmaan" as a single on 31 July 2020, according to Apple Music India.

Is "Roshni" by Ritviz and Seedhe Maut a 2020 song? Yes. Apple Music India dates the song to 18 June 2020, and it was made with producer Sickflip.

What was the best Indian rap song of 2020? "Punya Paap" by DIVINE, "Ek Din Pyaar" by MC Stan and "Dum Pishaach" by Seedhe Maut are three strong picks.