Actor and director Sarmad Sultan Khoosat explains how and why Saakin - a somewhat new independent music group from Islamabad - impressed him enough that they are doing the background score and two songs for his upcoming film.
When Saakin broke on the music scene with their debut single, ‘Saki-e-Bewafa’ last year, they quickly rose to the top of nearly every chart and united critics and fans, both of whom fell in love with the song.
With a strong music video, the band also appeared on Jamal Rahman’s True Brew TV with their hit single as well as a new song, ‘Kundian’ reaffirming the faith that the Islamabad-based group is not a fluke but a wonder.
Since then, news has broken that filmmaker Sarmad Khoosat has roped in Saakin to produce the background score and do two songs for his upcoming bilingual film, Zindagi Tamasha.
Speaking to Instep about how Saakin first fell on his radar and how he actually managed to find them, Sarmad tells Instep an endearing story.
“‘Saki-e-Bewafa came out and it’s about the virtues of the cyber world now” says Sarmad. “I think Rafay Mahmood posted something about the band. I’m not sure if he tagged me or I came across it and it [the song] blew me away. Like the audio and the video, I don’t know how to define it, was otherworldly, sublime, it had beautiful poetry. So, I posted on my wall and one of the key vocalists, Ali Hamdani’s wife tweeted back. I messaged her and told her I’m in love with this and who are they and where are they.”
Sarmad adds: “I hunted them down, went to Islamabad and met them there. They are a lovely bunch of people and true artists. I think with artistic collaboration, one follows the vibe and without giving too much away, the flavour somehow seemed befitting to the film.”
Sarmad Khoosat confirms that of the two films planned, one is presently halted but the second one that features Saakin’s music is in post-production stages. The bilingual film (Punjabi/Urdu) is called Zindagi Tamasha and Saakin has done the background score for it as well as two songs for the original sound track.
Sarmad Khoosat admits that background score plays an important role in the film. “It is a song; it’s just an instrumental track.”
As for Zindagi Tamasha, scheduled to release this year, its protagonist is a brand new actor called Arif Hasan. The principal cast, besides Hasan, includes Samiya Mumtaz, Eman Suleman and Ali Qureshi.
