Having banked on a ‘mostly’ unfamiliar star-cast Sarmad Khoosat, director of the film, similarly banked on a relatively unknown band, Saakin, who had two songs to their release when they were roped in.
Their first release for the film, ‘Sik Mitraan’ – based on kalaam by Peer Mehar Ali Shah – is a colossal and profound success. Saakin outdid themselves and now Zindagi Tamasha has released the second vocal track. Titled ‘Zindagi Tamasha Bani’, the song is an ode to the “golden” years of Pakistani cinema, performed and composed by Nimra Gilani, with lyrics by Khwaja Pervaiz and produced by Saakin (Varqa Farhaid, Parham Farhaid, Ibrahim Akram) as well as music production by Ibrahim, Varqa and Shamsher Rana and mixing and mastering by Ibrahim Akram.
The music video, directed by Sundus Hashmi, with Sarmad Khoosat as executive producer, is homage to veterans Khwaja Pervez, Wajahat Attre, Afsheen and Mumtaz.
But just as it is a musical and visual ode to the days when Pakistani cinema held its own, the song also wraps up the story of the film, a truism that life is stranger than fiction. It also makes us wonder a great deal about Nimra Gilani – who has done an outstanding job as singer/composer. Like the music video of ‘Sik Mitraan’, this one is also interspersed with scenes from the film and of the singer against the backdrop of old glorious Pakistani movies.
Haunting and beautiful, ‘Zindagi Tamasha Bani’ just gave the film a darker hue while the video is both a great showcase for Nimra Gilani, Saakin (who produced the music but do not feature in the video) as well as the film. The lyrics by Khwaja Pervaiz somehow capture the film’s delicate subject with great ingenuity and the video takes the narrative of the film forward.
