The music of Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hay, an upcoming big screen venture from Anjum Shahzad, packs quite a punch.
Karachi: Director Anjum Shahzad’s last release Mah-e-Mir may have been a mixed bag that left a chunk of the audience confused with its extensive use of archaic Urdu language but his upcoming venture is radically different; it is being anticipated as a saucy romance. Starring the hit pair of Feroze Khan and Sajal Aly, who shot to fame after being paired in the TV serial Gul-e-Rana, Shahzad’s next, Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hay is, according to him, a “musical, romantic, emotional family drama.”
It is now customary to kickstart a movie’s promotional drill with its soundtrack and therefore, we got to hear melodies from the ZKHH OST earlier this week. The event was attended not just by the film’s key cast and crew but also by some of the artists who have contributed to its soundtrack. We also bumped into several industry veterans, like Humayun Saeed, who showed up to lend their support to the cause of cinema.
Even though proceedings began late, they managed to leave a mark because of back to back performances by some of the artists who feature on the film’s soundtrack.
Farhan Shah and Shahid Rehman from Udan Khatola presented their Manqabat ‘Ali Ali’, one of the film’s strongest tracks. Speaking to Instep Shah explained how the song happened.
“We were asked to come up with a Manqabat based on Sufism so we decided to produce ‘Ali Ali’ which is a Sufi kalam of Peer Shams Tabrez. We have produced it in a contemporary way.”
Adnan Dhool and Rabi Ahmed of Soch, who were also nominated for IIFA Award for Best Music Director, have written, composed and produced four songs for the film.
Mustafa Zahid, known for fronting the rock band Roxen and having sung numerous songs for Bollywood, is also featured on the record, making this his first film music project in Pakistan. Present at the music launch gig, Zahid belted out ‘Udasiyaan’ which is his contribution to this expansive record; he also spoke about the intrinsic link between film and music.
Speaking to Instep on the sidelines of the event, Zahid noted, “The reason why I sang for the film is because it was a good song and a good project,” he shared. “I am glad to finally hear songs that make sense in the film. We keep talking about the revival of cinema. If you have to build a cinema, you have to have all the ingredients and for a film, music is the main ingredient. If it’s a hit music it’s a hit film.”
The final performance featured Adnan Dhool and Rabi Ahmed of Soch, who took centre stage and presented one of the four songs they have produced for the film.
“There has been a lack of original music in Pakistan till now and we have made sure to come up with something original that sounds ‘Pakistani’ and also has a cinematic feel,” Adnan Dhool said while talking to Instep. “There have been very few Pakistani films that have come up with good music so far and ZKHH is one of them. As the Pakistani film industry gains its momentum, the music industry has also been lifted up and the two will grow simultaneously,” he concluded optimistically.
Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hay has a promising soundtrack and consists of seven songs in total out of which four have been written, composed and produced by Soch while the other three are composed by Udan Khatola and Sohail Haider.
In between the performances, there was also a panel discussion that featured the cast and crew of ZKHH who spoke about the film’s journey and also answered some fairly senseless questions from the press. On his part, director Anjum Shahzad handled himself beautifully and stole the show by his sharp, one-liners, which is perhaps the only way one can address such bizarre, thoughtless questions.
Moving on, speaking about the film’s music, Shahzad noted, “It’s a couple’s story in which music is a very important element. The music will lift the film up.”
The film is expected to hit theatres on Eid-ul-Azha, this year.