Someday in 2021, on their means again from a promotional exercise, filmmaker Mohit Suri and composer-lyricist Mithoon had been sharing a experience when the director shared a brainwave for what would grow to be Saiyaara, the romantic musical whose songs have damaged into world Billboard and Spotify streaming charts up to now week.
Mithoon, who has labored with Suri proper from the latter’s directorial debuts Zeher and Kalyug in 2005, says, “He thought of how a musician, or any artist, could not have the world, however their artwork is the world to them. It could possibly be the poorest individual on this planet. I’d say, on the similar time, their artwork makes them the richest. This worth of artwork and this worth of music is one thing that we needed to translate right into a music.” It led to the ethereal, dreamy music “Dhun,” sung by Arijit Singh, and extra importantly, a place to begin for the music and story of Saiyaara.
Suri tells Rolling Stone India, “I don’t suppose the honesty and the simplicity that I wanted for ‘Dhun’ could possibly be achieved by anybody aside from Mithoon. His music has that in it.”
A narrative revolving round a musician and a poet in love absolutely wanted a strong soundtrack, and Suri acknowledged that. Whereas the soundtrack album was launched on July 4, the songs obtained extra impetus after the theatrical launch of Saiyaara on July 18, 2025. The rock-driven title monitor, composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Faheem Abdullah, and Arslan Nizami, written by Irshad Kamil and that includes Abdullah as singer, charted at No. 10 on the Billboard International 200 and went from the 177th place to quantity 4 on the International Excl. U.S. chart. It additionally went to the highest spot of the Spotify Prime 50 International Viral charts final week.
Abdullah, who was tapped for his first movie undertaking after his millions-streamed music “Ishq” from 2024, says, “Identical to when ‘Ishq’ first made it to the charts, it felt unbelievable. And now seeing ‘Saiyaara’ breaking data and being the primary Hindi/Urdu music to be at quantity 4 globally, it’s a minimum of magic.” Nizami provides, “For each of us, it’s additionally deeply private. We come from Kashmir, from a spot stuffed with tales, silence, and songs. To hold even a little bit little bit of that into a movie that reaches so many, it means every little thing.”
Deeply intertwined with the visible storytelling of Suri, and likewise maybe a clutter-breaker within the Punjabi music-dominated Bollywood songs, the Saiyaara soundtrack was completely led by Suri in a hands-on trend, very like along with his earlier movie songs. It additionally served as a secret PR weapon for the movie forward of its launch, luring in audiences earlier than they may catch a glimpse of the rookie actors’ debuts.
Suri says, “Contemplating there have been no recognized names connected to the star forged, we truly forged the music first. I keep in mind telling my producer that we are going to not begin taking pictures until we have now recorded all of the songs as a result of that is the star of the movie.”
The sound of Saiyaara can also be an end result of Suri completely loving the music-making course of. He calls it one of the crucial necessary elements of filmmaking, and disagrees with filmmakers who solely give attention to the film and depart it as much as labels and music firms to “plant the music and push the type of songs they need within the movie.” “However that’s someway by no means occurred to me,” he provides. “Perhaps I get pleasure from that entire strategy of assembly a musician, jamming with him, getting a singer on board, getting a lyric author on board, combating, struggling, after which one thing magically comes out within the air and that’s an awesome music.”
The soundtrack additionally brings in Vishal Mishra and Hansika Pareek with lyricist Raj Shekhar on the electro-pop “Tum Ho Toh,” a sprawling pop-rock music known as “Humsafar” by Sachet-Parampara (with lyrics by Kamil and Prashant Pandey), and a shimmering R&B-informed music “Barbaad” by The Rish and sung by Jubin Nautiyal. Reprise variations of “Barbaad” and “Saiyaara” characteristic Shilpa Rao and Shreya Ghoshal, respectively, making for one star-packed lineup of latest and seasoned artists working with Suri.
For seasoned artists like Mithoon and Bagchi, it was about taking over a brand new storytelling problem, however with the consolation of a well-known collaborator like Suri. Mithoon says, “The state of affairs modifications each time, however our rules, our work ethic, and the way in which we [Suri and I] bond over music hasn’t modified over 20 years.” Whereas they initially needed a more moderen, youthful voice for “Dhun” to replicate the fresh-faced male protagonist essayed by Ahaan Panday, they didn’t wish to essentially painting a vulnerability within the voice on the music. “I needed to place the command and the maturity that Arijit has, for this character. It was a really fascinating determination that Mohit and me took collectively, and I’m glad that it’s paid off so properly,” Mithoon says.
Bagchi, for his half, provides, “I actually needed to strike a stability between depth and ease, one thing that might really feel timeless, but rooted in emotion. We used a whole lot of dwell devices, and I used to be very explicit about each sound, and each voice—every layer needed to really feel prefer it belonged to the journey of the characters.”
He’s notably joyful that Suri gave him the liberty to work with Abdulah and Nizami on the music. “This movie is about artists, and I imagine that’s why the music linked: it got here from a spot of reality,” Bagchi factors out.
Abdullah, for his half, says he had no thought what to anticipate when the title monitor from Saiyaara went up. “That’s the neatest thing about doing one thing for the primary time. For somebody who comes from an indie background, movie music could be a new studying curve. I needed to see how I perform when I’m put into a distinct field.”
Lyrically, Kamil says he first wrote the poem that seems in the course of the opening scenes of the movie, which led him into “the harmless, fragile and complicated nature of affection that this movie is evoking.” Writing the title monitor in addition to “Humsafar,” Kamil provides, “Each state of affairs within the movie was a battlefield of feelings for me. I used to be gravitating in direction of purity, rawness, and vulnerability.”
The Rish’s “Barbaad” with Jubin Nautiyal and Shilpa Rao got here from the artist being launched to Suri through Saiyaara’s music supervisor, Yash Anand. The Rish had the music thought in his vault. He says, “I keep in mind once I first made the music, I’d performed it to my peer, who’s a producer, and we had been each saying how Mohit Suri-coded this melody is.”
Along with working with Nautiyal (“His soul made the music what it’s,” Rish says), the artist additionally created a feminine model for Shilpa Rao, providing lyrical counterpoints that made every model really feel like a thinking-out-loud but intimate dialog between the 2 protagonists within the movie. “The feminine model lyrics are particular to me. I really feel like whereas the male model ends on the considered give up, the feminine model (“Haari fundamental, haari fundamental”) ends on the considered defeat. Each, whereas sounding unfavorable, are written by me as emotions which can be good for the individual that’s going by them,” The Rish says.
Suri describes “Barbaad” barely in another way: “‘Barbaad,’ opposite to the phrase which, in isolation, feels all about destruction, it’s truly a music about falling in love. It’s a man reluctant to fall in love, [that] is what the [current] era is catering to.”
Typically drawn to working with newer musicians (it began out of frustration when a “senior music director” wouldn’t signal on with Suri), the filmmaker says he’s at all times going to launch “one new music director and one new voice in each movie.” He provides, “I believe after we get profitable and we have now a whole lot of reward, we are inclined to distance ourselves from the people who find themselves actually making the music on the bottom, within the streets, within the bars, within the golf equipment, within the espresso retailers. We begin transferring in automobiles and sitting in high-rise buildings and never listening to them. I believe by wanting and in search of out that one new individual on a regular basis, you might be at all times holding your music related. So actually, I don’t suppose I’ve given these new individuals an opportunity… I believe they’ve stored me related for 20 years.”
Impressed by the music of Aashiqui and meaning to craft the music of Saiyaara as a tribute to romantic film soundtracks, Suri cites Yash Chopra movies like Chandni and Veer Zara in addition to his mentor Mahesh Bhatt’s movies, together with Phir Teri Kahaani Yaad Aayi. He says, “There could possibly be some movies of his that the movie didn’t do properly, but it surely was by no means that the music didn’t succeed.” There’s additionally the works on Nadeem-Shravan, A.R. Rahman, and soundtracks like 1942: A Love Story by R.D. Burman.
“I’ve by no means strived to hit the charts,” Suri says. “I’m very joyful they [the songs] have. It’s only a validation that the work that you just put in, the love that you just put into the music, has been accepted and is making a mark in historical past. Nevertheless it additionally provides the strain, like, ‘When would be the subsequent time?”