Nawazuddin Siddiqui – Bhumi Pednekar starrer Afwaah is a musical Delight; Set to mesmerize audience on OTT
by Prashant Kapadia/NHN
The underrated cinematic and musical delight is all set to wow the audiences at their homes as the film is all set to release on Netflix.
The critically acclaimed movie, ‘Afwaah’ starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Bhumi Pednekar, is set to release on the OTT streaming platform Netflix. Directed by Sudhir Mishra, the political thriller aims to reduce rumor-mongering and tackles the spread of fake news.
In the movie, the audience is also exposed to an extremely soul-stirring song ‘Aaj Yeh Basant’ composed by Shameer Tandon and set to vocals by Mame Khan and Sunetra Banerjee. The song advances the plot of the movie by capturing the essence of the trailer. It describes the aftereffect of one ‘Afwaah’ in which Bhumi Pednekar and Nawazuddin Siddiqui become the target of the whole town. In the midst of the chaos, they are fighting for their lives.
“The reason Sudhir considered me for this song was because they needed songs with a lot of gravitas and depth and they knew I would be able to pull it off well. I asked Mame Khan to lend his voice to give it some flavour. I also got him to do aalaps throughout the film, so the film’s background is particularly mesmerizing,” says Music Director Shameer Tandon.
Being a Rajasthani singer, Mame Khan usually sings in a higher pitch. For Afwaah, Shameer encouraged Khan to sing in a low octave for ‘Aaj Yeh Basant’. His rendition of the song went on to earn praise from director Sudhir Mishra, who said that “he hits it out of the park!” It was a brilliant move on Mishra’s part to incorporate Mame Khan’s rendition of the song in the teaser. It demonstrates the ability of music to engage an audience emotionally.
Commenting on the song, Director Sudhir Mishra said, “The folk singer Mame Khan and the debutante Sunetra Banerjee’s vocals have truly added a soulful essence to the background score of the film with the direction of Shameer Tandon. I am thrilled to bring this thought-provoking film to a global audience.” The director believes that with its hard-hitting narrative, exceptional performances, and stirring musicals the film will resonate with the viewers and spark intellectual conversations. He goes on to add, “I hope audiences around the world engage with the soulful background along with the serene vocals of Mame Khan and Sunetra Banerjee.”
“Afwaah is cinematically rich and also includes a gripping story. I was overly excited upon hearing the script and composing the title track – ‘Aaj Yeh Basant’ of this incredible and inspiring film,” adds Shameer Tandon. On crafting the music for a film like this, the ace composer speaks about the challenging yet rewarding experience. “These types of films demand a departure from traditional love songs or party tracks. The music had to be approached with intelligence, carefully crafted to complement and enhance the film’s storyline.”
Elements like political power, the dark side of the media, corruption, and covetousness are depicted in the movie. These topics have been inculcated by the director Sudhir Mishra in a very subtle way without being preachy. The unexpected twists and turns in the film will surely keep the audience on the edge of their seats and it is slated to debut on Netflix soon.