Composer Mannan Shaah has stepped into independent music with a deliberate throwback: his debut single Mohabbat Ki Zabaan Hai Khamoshi is a fully live recording built around a 50-piece string section, with lyrics by Javed Akhtar and vocals by Anuradha Juju.
The session brought in players from Chennai Strings and the Sunshine Music Orchestra, the ensemble founded by A.R. Rahman. Mannan says between 55 and 60 musicians were recorded, and that the track uses no synthesized or digitised sound anywhere.
What the song is
Arranged as a semi-classical raga-based love ballad with Carnatic influences at its core, the song treats silence as the language of love. The recording is intentionally organic: alongside the string ensemble, it features live sitar by Sweekar Katti, solo Carnatic violin by Shri Embar Kannan, and santoor and Indian percussion by Krishna Kishor.
“I had always dreamt of creating an independent song completely live, without any digitisation and totally synth-free,” Mannan said, describing it as one of the few Indian indie songs in at least two decades to be recorded 100% live.
The song is also a statement of intent for the composer. Mannan says it felt like the perfect entry into the indie space because it represents Indian cultural roots and expresses love with a certain etiquette — “adab”, as he calls it in Urdu — which he considers the beauty of the song.
Javed Akhtar’s 20-minute contribution
According to Mannan, the melody came first and Javed Akhtar wrote on top of it with unusual speed. Part of that ease comes from their history: Mannan describes Akhtar as a mentor and father figure, and says working with him feels effortlessly creative.
“It was one of the fastest songs he has written — he completed it in just 20 minutes,” Mannan said.
Akhtar’s own assessment points to the same rarity. “Mannan Shaah is immensely talented,” he said, adding that the melody has a certain warmth and stillness, a peace and repose that is hard to find in today’s songs.
Why it matters now
In a period when AI tools can generate an entire song, the single works as an argument for human craft. Mannan believes AI can assist musicians, but cannot replicate the imagination required for strong raga-based melodies or the emotional dimension live musicians bring.
For listeners, that makes this a headphones record rather than a casual drop. Fans of semi-classical and golden-era Bollywood sound get a bridge between old-school orchestration and independent storytelling.
- The scale: 50-piece strings, with 55-60 musicians recorded live.
- The sound: No synths, no digitised parts; live sitar, Carnatic violin, santoor and Indian percussion.
- The speed: Javed Akhtar’s lyrics were written in roughly 20 minutes on Mannan’s melody.
Source: Filmibeat