Monday, December 8, 2014

Great Dramas, Beautiful OSTs

Just for a change of pace, today I thought I'd focus on the OSTs of some particular dramas.

While Pakistan's music scene has gone from being once-spectacular, in the past several years, it has landed completely flat on its face.  Coke Studio and Nescafe Basement aside (which both put out brilliant music), we have very little scope for good mainstream music in Pakistan.  What we do have are some excellent composers and singers who work for the drama industry (Waqar Ali being one) and put out incredible songs for these dramas.

Today, I just wanted to post (and discuss) some really wonderful drama original soundtracks that are currently on air.  We know that each OST is made with the intention of the drama itself, keeping the situation and feel in mind when writing lyrics and composing the music.  However, these songs are so  beautiful, they could stand alone without the drama!

Goya OST

This one just has to be mentioned, because it is completely, totally my obsession these days.  I can put this song on repeat over and over again and not tire of it.  The singing by Ghazal Ali and Shujat Haider is brilliant, the composition by Shuja Haider and the "feel" of the song are not only foreboding of what's to come in the show, but also contribute to how beautiful the song is in itself.

Dusri Biwi OST


This Ahmed Jahanzeb composition sounds like something that belongs on his own private album.  It's musically on par with his past works and his singing here does not let his fans down.  Beautiful.

Chup Raho


Alycia Dias is a favorite of mine when it comes to OSTs, because regardless what the situation is, she always hits the right notes, understands the mood of the composition and just "gets it."  While Chup Raho as a drama is not completely winning me over (I have my issues with it), this song is just perfect for explaining Rameen's predicament, turmoil and her problems with life.  What could've been a depressing, slow soundtrack is instead elevated by electric guitars and Alycia's vocals in a high-energy composition!

Mehram


In both the male and female versions of this OST, the listener is completely won over.  While Sara Ali Khan's singing is absolutely flawless and heart-wrenching, Waqar Ali's rendition is soul-stirring and romantic.  This song not only conveys the feelings of Iqra and Hamza in the drama perfectly, but also makes it to the list of Pakistani OST gems.

While there are other great OSTs out there right now as well (Sadqay Tumhare, Jackson Heights, etc.), these four are the ones currently making a loop on my playlist.  Hope you love them as much as I do!

Happy watching! 

2 comments:

  1. A couple of comments on your post:
    1) I REALLY wish the channels would release albums of the drama OSTs! I don't know about others, but I would totally buy high quality songs without dialogue. I think it's a disservice to the singers to download them for free and the quality is not always good. Thought I'd write this in case someone from ARY or Hum is reading. :)
    2) I am frustrated with the naive characters portrayed in Chup Raho, but I do believe there are idiots like that in real life. I think it is a very well made drama and issues like this need to be addressed in our society. Waiting for justice.

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  2. Hi,
    Nice blog:) I was looking for a translation of Mehram song but I couldn't find one..Could you please post a translation for its lyrics?

    Thanks

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