Mannan Shaah on his indie musical debut that rekindles the charm of classic Indian melodies
What does love sound like when it says nothing? Composer Mannan Shaah explores that stillness in ‘Mohabbat Ki Zabaan Hai Khamoshi’ — his first independent single. Penned by Javed Akhtar and sung by Anuradha Juju, the romantic ballad features a 50-piece live ensemble led by Chennai Strings, live sitar, santoor and a Carnatic violin piece by Embar Kannan — with not a single synth in the mix.
We speak to Mannan to know more about the track.
Tell us about Mohabbat Ki Zabaan Hai Khamoshi.
Mohabbat Ki Zabaan Hai Khamoshi is a traditional semi-classical raga based song with some influences of Carnatic Music attached to its melody. It is purely a romantic love ballad with a traditional melody powered by profound lyric writing which has a strong storytelling to it penned by Javed Akhtar sahab and sung beautifully by Anuradha Juju.
If someone were to listen to Mohabbat Ki Zabaan Hai Khamoshi in the ideal setting, what environment or mood do you picture for them?
The song is a visit to the 70s, 80s and 90s era of music & romance. It carries simplicity and innocence in its love story. Gone are the days when I used to enjoy watching and listening to some of my favorite singles and independent music albums. Some of them being Lucky Ali’s O Sanam, Sonu Nigam’s Deewana and many more. Mohabbat Ki Zabaan Hai Khamoshi is my attempt to re-visit that era of music with an effort to create a melody which truly tugs at your heartstrings and brings nostalgia for the listeners who have lived that musical era including me.
In an era dominated by digital production and synth elements, you chose to record this track completely live with over 50 musicians. What made you take the harder route for your indie debut?
One thing I had always dreamt of while creating my debut independent song was to go completely live in my approach. It is my ode to the classic era of Indian music and I feel we’re as of lately being fed with content which sounds repetitive. I felt I should break the stereotype and do something which is totally raw and unfiltered, something which comes straight from my heart.
And I feel blessed that Mohabbat Ki Zabaan Hai Khamoshi is that one song which organically gives a feel of a live concert. We have not only recorded a 50 piece strings ensemble in collaboration with the Chennai Strings Ensemble and Sunshine Music Orchestra, but we have also recorded the sitar, which is played by Sweekar Katti, solo violin played by legendary Carnatic Violinist, Embar Kannan, Indian percussion, which is played by Krishna Kishor and many more. In all we have collaborated with about 55 to 60 musicians who have played for this song.
The creative high which I felt while making this song is something I can’t describe in words! One needs to be seriously blessed to be able to take this route! For that, I’d like to give credit to my producer, Anuradha Juju who has herself sung the song, the kind of support and creative liberty she gave me to do whatever I wanted to do is beyond words. I’m grateful to my producers Prashanth Palakurthi and Anuradha Juju for understanding and appreciating the very art form itself! With their support, this song is probably the first song in atleast two decades if not more into the Indie music space in India to have been recorded completely 100% Live.
How did bringing together musicians from both Chennai Strings and the Sunshine Music Orchestra shape the final texture of the song?
The whole experience recording them was very fulfilling and wholesome. We picked some senior players from Chennai Strings and some young players from Sunshine Orchestra and created a collaborative ensemble of combining young blood with the experienced ones and it paid off extremely well. The overall timbre and the tone which the song needed came out very well. Our idea was to create an ensemble which gives a feel of a live concert and I feel we have managed to achieve that. The sound of the song has a free flowing nature as planned by my arranger Prasad Sashte who himself has had a strong experience of recording with such big Live ensembles previously when he began his career with the likes of legendary composers like Kalyanji-Anandji, Laxmikant-Pyaarelal, Viju Shah and many others.
What does it mean to you to collaborate with someone like Javed Akthar?
Working with a living legend like Javed Akhtar Sahab is always an honour for any musician! I’ve had the honour and privilege to work with him on Namaste England and our very first track Tere Liye was an out and out chartbuster in 2018. We also created the International Purple Fest Anthem in 2024. We have created a few more tracks for our newly found Music Label Goongoonalo which would all be releasing soon and we’re also working on couple of more interesting projects together into film and non-film music space both.
I share a very different equation with Javed Sahab. He always keeps telling me that he loves writing for my compositions because I give him that space to express and write what he truly wants to write from the bottom of his heart. And this song too is not an exception! I feel truly honoured that a legend like him believes in my talent and musicianship. Whenever we meet, our jam sessions and creative discussions go on for hours and hours together and those moments that I spend with him are the moments I will forever cherish and celebrate!
He reportedly wrote the lyrics for this song in just 20 minutes over your melody. What was that moment like in the room when those words came together so fast?
I had created the melody first and Javed sahab wrote lyrics on it. We work in a very different way. I sing the melody to him live without any pre-created scratch track and he instantly takes his paper and pen and starts writing the lyrics. He loves it when I sing it live because he gets to understand the melody in depth while I sing it to him. And yes I must add here that this is one of the fastest written songs of Javed sahab as he wrote this song in flat 20 minutes! And to be frank, I love to take pride in it because this is exactly how we work. All the songs that we have worked on so far, he has been instinctively fast in creating the lyrics. He wrote Dhumal, the International Purple Fest Anthem of ours in just 10 minutes flat! So thats what Javed Sahab is for you when he works with me!
When you aren't composing or in the studio, what is one non-musical habit or ritual that keeps you grounded?
Theres barely anything non-musical as such. Because music is more of a personal journey to me than a professional one. Once I’m done with my professional commitments, all I want to do is go home, take my harmonium and do my riyaaz in the night. Those 3 to 4 hours of riyaaz are my golden hours of life. Being a student of late Padmavibhushan Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan Sahab, riyaaz for me has become a daily routine and a discipline over the years. Apart from that I spend an hour and a half on my fitness routine. I hit the gym and alternatively I also go for morning or evening jogs. Fitness routine and riyaaz are like meditation for me.
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