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Ali Abbas Zafar began his journey as a director with Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011) and went on to deliver memorable films like Gunday (2014), Sultan (2016), Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), Bharat (2019), etc. At one point, he was the only filmmaker besides Rajkumar Hirani to have two films in the coveted Rs. 300 crore club. He also made his writing debut with Mere Brother Ki Dulhan and ventured into production with Khaali Peeli (2020). His latest production, Parivarik ManuRanjan, released on Sony LIV on November 13. Interestingly, with this slice-of-life entertainer, starring Pankaj Tripathi and Aditi Rao Hydari, Ali has added another feather, or rather, feathers, to his cap.
EXCLUSIVE: Blockbuster filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar debuts as composer, lyricist, singer with Parivarik ManuRanjan; turns his inside joke with Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor into ‘Sir Sir Sir’ song
With Parivarik ManuRanjan, Ali Abbas Zafar has made his debut as a music composer. He has composed the song 'Jingle Bell' and is also one of its lyricists. For 'Sir Sir Sir', Ali has gone a step further – he is the sole composer and lyricist, and has also lent his voice to the song alongside Vishal Mishra.
Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke to Ali Abbas Zafar to understand what prompted him to take the musical plunge. Ali explained, “I have liked listening to music since childhood. Over a period of time, I have worked on films where music has been an important part of storytelling. So, I had some ideas in terms of tunes. And as they say, necessity is the mother of all inventions! The budget of this film (Parivarik ManuRanjan) was very tight. Meanwhile, I had composed a few tunes by humming or playing them on the guitar. So, I suggested a few tunes for this film. Our director, Varun V Sharma, reacted very positively to them. All those songs are now in the film.” He added, “There are three songs that I have composed.”
'Jingle Bell' appears at a crucial juncture when Ranjan Dubey's (Pankaj Tripathi) life changes for the better following the entry of Manu (Aditi Rao Hydari). 'Sir Sir Sir', meanwhile, is a foot-tapping number that plays during the birthday celebrations of Ranjan's boss.
Interestingly, during the promotions of Gunday (2014), Ranveer Singh, in his trademark entertaining style, had revealed that Ali Abbas Zafar had a habit of repeatedly saying “Sir Sir Sir”. When reminded of this amusing anecdote, Ali laughed and said, “Yes. It was a code word between Ranveer, Arjun Kapoor and me.”
He then explained the context behind 'Sir Sir Sir', saying, “And yes, I used to say that. Go to any government office and you'll see this jargon used by employees while addressing their bosses. They don't simply say ‘sir’ when the boss instructs them or tells them something. They repeatedly say it. So, if the boss says, ‘Tomorrow, we'll have lunch together’, instead of saying, ‘Yes, sir’, the employee would say, ‘Sir, sir, sir’! If the boss instructs, ‘Shukla ki file leke aao’, the reply would be ‘Sir, sir, sir’ instead of ‘Sir, I'll get the file’.”
He added, “So, it's a part of the local context. When people in central India watch this film, particularly the ‘Sir Sir Sir’ scene and song, they'll understand and enjoy it. This is how the whole system works.”
Ali also had words of praise for the film's director, Varun V Sharma. He said, “Varun has always been very close to me as he was my assistant and co-writer on Bharat.”
Varun V Sharma reacts to AAZ's musical debut
Parivarik ManuRanjan's director, Varun V Sharma, also spoke exclusively to Bollywood Hungama about Ali Abbas Zafar's musical contribution. He revealed, “During the editing process, we insert temporary music to establish a rhythm in the scenes. Similarly, I had put some music in an early scene, where ‘Jingle Bell’ was eventually used. Now, Ali sir has a great sense of music, which is why his films like Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Gunday, Sultan, etc. were peppered with memorable songs. He also keeps composing tunes for his own interest and can even play the keyboard.”
Varun continued, “So, when he saw the said sequence, he suggested that we could insert a tune that he had thought of. He even had the hook line ‘Dil Mein Baj Gayi Jingle Bell’ ready. Joel Crasto, who has composed the background score, was called in and he helped us create a scratch version. We inserted it into the scene and realized that it was fitting perfectly.”
He further said, “Similarly, he also had the tune of ‘Sir Sir Sir’ and that, too, fit perfectly. That's when I told him, ‘Sir, mubarak ho! You have debuted as a composer with this film’!”
Interestingly, Gunday featured the popular song 'Dil Mein Baji Ghantiyaan', while Parivarik ManuRanjan has 'Dil Mein Baj Gayi Jingle Bell'. Pointing out this amusing coincidence, Varun V Sharma joked, “Ghanti bajane se Jingle Bell bajane tak, life has come full circle for Ali sir!”
More Pages: Parivarik ManuRanjan Box Office Collection , Parivarik ManuRanjan Movie Review
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