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The tradition runs from the qissa — the long tragic narrative poems about Heer, Sohni and Mirza that end badly on purpose — through Shiv Kumar Batalvi's poetry, and into the modern writer-and-producer teams who can turn one line about a broken promise into a hit. What the songs below have in common is restraint: almost none of them shout. They are ordered editorially, by how well the writing holds up rather than by streams, and each entry says what the title actually means, because most of these songs are named after a single specific idea.
The full ranking — 10 picks
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1
Qismat
Ammy VirkWritten by Jaani, composed by B Praak and sung by Ammy Virk for the 2018 film Qismat. Song and film fed each other, and the word — fate, the thing you do not get to argue with — became shorthand for the kind of Punjabi story where the couple does not get to stay together.
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2
Mann Bharrya
B PraakB Praak singing his own composition to Jaani's words. The title translates roughly as 'the heart is full' — full in the sense of having had enough. It is the record that established B Praak as a voice in his own right rather than only as the producer behind other people's hits.
Photo: Vice President's Secretariat · Wikimedia Commons · GODL-India -
3
Titliaan
Afsana Khan, Harrdy SandhuAfsana Khan and Harrdy Sandhu, with Sargun Mehta in the video — a 2020 release that ran on Punjabi and Hindi playlists at the same time. Afsana Khan's vocal is why it works; there is a rawness in it that most polished heartbreak singles carefully sand away.
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4
Ik Kudi
Diljit DosanjhDiljit Dosanjh's version from Udta Punjab, adapting Shiv Kumar Batalvi's poem 'Ik Kudi Jida Naam Mohabbat' — a girl whose name was love, and who is now lost. It is the best-known modern route into Batalvi, and the only song here whose words are more than fifty years old.
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5
Laare
Maninder ButtarManinder Buttar on the receiving end of a string of empty assurances — 'laare' means exactly that, promises made with no intention of keeping them. It is mid-tempo rather than a ballad, which makes it one of the few sad Punjabi songs that also survives being played in a car.
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6
Judaa
Amrinder GillAmrinder Gill's signature heartbreak record, and one of the songs that defines him as a singer separately from his acting. 'Judaa' means separated. He sings it very plainly, with no vocal fireworks at all, which is a large part of why it has aged better than its contemporaries.
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7
The Last Ride
Sidhu Moose WalaReleased in 2020 and built around the idea of a life cut short. After Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead in May 2022 the song was reposted so widely that it effectively became his epitaph — a reading he never wrote into it, and one that can no longer be separated from it.
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8
Ranjha
Jasleen Royal, B PraakFrom Shershaah, sung by Jasleen Royal and B Praak. The title borrows from Heer and Ranjha, the Punjabi love story everyone in the audience already knows ends badly, and the song leans on that expectation instead of spending a verse explaining itself.
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9
Udaarian
Satinder SartaajSatinder Sartaaj writes in a denser, more literary Punjabi than almost anyone else on the charts. 'Udaarian' means flights or departures, and the song is about distance rather than betrayal — slow, restrained, and worth reading the lyrics alongside rather than only hearing.
Photo: This photograph was taken with a Canon EOS REBEL T3i by Laura Lee Dooley. This image was created with Adobe Photoshop · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 -
10
Temporary Pyar
KakaKaka writes, composes and sings his own material, which is unusual in a scene built around writer-producer-singer teams. This one turns the idea of love with an expiry date into a hook, and it is among the songs that carried his name well beyond Punjab.
About this list
Sad Punjabi Songs — The Heartbreak Playlist runs from 1 to 10. Qismat takes the top spot, and Temporary Pyar closes it out at number 10. It was first published on 27 July 2026 and last revised on 6 August 2026.
Spotted something out of date, or an entry you would rank differently? Tell us — the order on this page is revised as the picks change.
Frequently asked questions
What is number 1 on Sad Punjabi Songs — The Heartbreak Playlist?
Qismat is ranked number 1 on Sad Punjabi Songs — The Heartbreak Playlist. Written by Jaani, composed by B Praak and sung by Ammy Virk for the 2018 film Qismat.
How many entries are on this list?
There are 10 entries, ranked from 1 to 10. The top 5 are Qismat, Mann Bharrya, Titliaan, Ik Kudi and Laare.
How is this ranking decided?
The order on this page is the published ranking for Sad Punjabi Songs — The Heartbreak Playlist, from 1 (highest) down to 10. Qismat is number 1 and Temporary Pyar is number 10. The introduction at the top of this page explains the thinking behind the picks. It was last revised on 6 August 2026.
When was this list last updated?
This list was last updated on 6 August 2026. It was first published on 27 July 2026.
Which category does this list belong to?
It sits in the Music category. Punjabi and Indian music — songs, singers, rappers, playlists and labels. Every Music list is at trendingpunjabi.com/top/category/music, and all TrendingPunjabi top lists are at trendingpunjabi.com/top/.
