Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Mirzya is a full-blown musical and musicans Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy are pulling out all stops to make the production epic.
The title song alone involves the blended talents of Sufi singers from India, Pakistan and Balochistan. Daler Mehndi and the upcoming young Sufi singers The Nooran Sisters — Jyoti and Sultan comprise the Indian contingent of singers for song. Pakistan’s legendary Sufi singer, Sain Zahoor who sings predominantly at religious shrines, has also been roped into the project along with celebrated Balochi folk singer Akhtar Chanal Zahri.
Shankar says, “Sain is an interesting character. He is truly immersed in his own music and world. Until 2006, he never recorded himself in a studio. The unique thing is, when you teach him the lyrics of the song, he draws pictures instead of writing syllables. That’s how he remembers the words. He was truly a delight to work with.”
Shankar is equally taken by Balochi folk singer Akhtar. “Akhthar bhai’s voice has an amazing texture, which represents Afghanistan. We had to compose the pieces around these two exquisite singers’ voices so that their presence doesn’t look forced into the song.”
Approximately 300 hours of music has been recorded by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy for Mirzya. From this, a large chunk has been used in the film. In fact, there are two separate love stories in Mirzya and one of them is told only through music and songs.
