''Muh Dikhai: Unveiling the Songs of Eternal Love'' (; ) is the third solo studio album by Pakistani classical and pop singer, songwriter, and composer

Shafqat Amanat Ali Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan (; ; born 26 February 1965) is a Pakistani pop and classical singer, songwriter, and composer belonging to the Patiala Gharana tradition of music. He was the lead vocalist of the Pakistani pop rock band Fuzön until ...

. It was released in India on March 20, 2015 by the

Times Music Times Music is an Indian music record label copyright music publishing company, owned by The Times Group, Headquartered in Mumbai, India. Times Music started operations in 1998 and has a catalogue of more than 60,000 tracks in all languages an ...

label.

Background and musical style

The album was released five years after Ali's previous album, '' Kyun Dooriyan,'' and does not specifically focus on a particular genre or theme. It features an eclectic mix of pop, folk, ''

ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

'', sentimental ballads, and Sufi devotional songs and includes songs in both

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

and

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

. ''Rolling Stone'' (India) characterized the album as "genre-bending" and "rock-ballad-meets-symphony-meets-Hindustani classical." While discussing the overall tone of the album, Ali stated: "I have given a slight twist to the traditional forms in terms of orchestration and arrangements." Ali has stated that the songs "Rang," "Muh Dikhai (Teri Khoj)," "Dil Dharhaknay Ka Sabab," and "Ratiyaan" were especially significant for him, and that they formed the framework for the rest of the tracks in the album. ''Muh Dikhai'' received positive reviews for "fusing various genres to create timeless melodies" and several of its songs topped musical charts across both India and Pakistan.

Composition and songwriting

Ali worked on the album for about three years and composed around 16 tracks for it, ultimately choosing nine of them for release. The track "Dil Dharhaknay Ka Sabab" is a popular ''

'' originally composed by Ali's father, Ustad

Amanat Ali Khan Ustad Amanat Ali Khan (; ; 1922 – 18 September 1974) was a Pakistani classical vocalist from the Patiala gharana tradition of music and is widely regarded as one of the finest classical and ''ghazal'' singers of all time. Together with ...

and written by prominent Pakistani poet

Nasir Kazmi Nasir Raza Kazmi ( was an Urdu poet from Pakistan. Kazmi was born on 8 December 1925 at Ambala, Punjab, Presidencies and provinces of British India, British India. Kazmi used simple words in his poetry, including "Chand", "Raat", "Baarish", "M ...

. The song has previously been sung by Ghulam Ali,

Asha Bhonsle Asha Bhosle (; ; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur, actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the media as one of the ...

, and

Pankaj Udhas Pankaj Udhas (17 May 1951 – 26 February 2024) was an Indian ghazal and playback singer known for his works in Hindi cinema, and Indian pop. He started his career with the release of a ghazal album titled ''Aahat'' in 1980 and subsequently rec ...

using traditional ''ghazal'' arrangements. However, Ali rendered the song in an unconventional orchestral style for the album, using primarily a vocal-and-piano arrangement, in addition to utilizing the cello and oboe. In an interview with ''Rolling Stone'' (India), while referring to this track, Ali remarked: "when you think of ''ghazals'', a certain idea comes to your mind; the conventional pattern usually, which involves

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

and

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

. I wanted to change that. I wanted to do things differently.” Veteran Indian actor

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He was notable in Indian parallel cinema and has starred in various international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfa ...

featured in the song's music video which was shot in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, India by renowned cinematographer Manu Anand, director of photography for Hindi movies such as ''

Dum Laga Ke Haisha ''Dum Laga Ke Haisha'' (), released internationally as ''My Big Fat Bride'', is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Sharat Katariya and produced by Maneesh Sharma. The film stars Ayushmann Khurrana a ...

'', '' Fan'', and ''Zero''. The music video also pays tribute to Pakistani singer

Noor Jahan Noor Jahan may refer to: People * Nur Jahan (1577–1645), Mughal empress * Noor Jehan (1926–2000), Pakistani singer and actress * Nurjahan Begum (1925–2016), Bangladeshi journalist * Nurjahan Begum (banker), Bangladeshi interim government ad ...

, who sang a version of the ''ghazal'' in 1984. The

sentimental ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...

s in the album—"Ratiyaan," "Tere Liye," and "Tum Nahi Aaye"—revolve around familiar romantic and emotional tropes of longing, loneliness, and memories. Consistent with love ballads, each of the three songs is narrative in nature and slower in tempo. They also follow a

strophic form Strophic form – also called verse-repeating form, chorus form, AAA song form, or one-part song form – is a song structure in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music. Contrasting song forms include through-composed, ...

and feature musical arrangements that use acoustic instruments such as pianos, guitars, and orchestral sets. The album features two

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

tracks – "Muh Dikhai (Teri Khoj)" and "Rang." * Referring to the name of the album and the eponymous title track, "Muh Dikhai" (literally: revealing one's face), Ali noted that the song "equates God to a bride whose face remains hidden under a veil. You have to let go of your corporeal existence to catch a glimpse of the divine." The notion of God's face being concealed behind a veil and yearning for the sight of God's face are prominent motifs in

Sufi mysticism Sufism ( or ) is a mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic purification, spirituality, ritualism, and asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are referred to as "Sufis" (from , ), and ...

and Sufi mystical poetry. The song is based on the

poem titled "Rabb" from a collection of verses called ''Saave Pattar'', written by noted Indian poet

Mohan Singh Mohan Singh (4 March 1945 – 22 September 2013) was an Indian politician from the Samajwadi Party. He was elected three times to the Lok Sabha from Deoria in Uttar Pradesh. He was the General Secretary of the Samajwadi Party. He died on 22 S ...

. * Ali adapted the track "Rang" from the well-known 700-year-old

qawwali Qawwali is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing originating in the Indian subcontinent. Originally performed at Sufi shrines throughout the Indian subcontinent, it is famous throughout Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and has ...

" Aaj Rang Hai," written by the 13th-century Sufi poet

Amir Khusrau Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253 – 1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau, sometimes spelled as, Amir Khusrow or Amir Khusro, was an Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar, who lived during the period of the Delhi Sult ...

, where he (Khusrau) describes to his mother his ecstasy and joy upon finding his ''pir'' or ''

murshid ''Murshid'' () is Arabic for "guide" or "teacher", derived from the root ''r-sh-d'', with the basic meaning of having integrity, being sensible, mature. Particularly in Sufism it refers to a Spiritual director, spiritual guide. The term is freque ...

'' (spiritual guide) in the Sufi saint

Nizamuddin Auliya Khawaja Syed Muhammad Nizamuddin Auliya (sometimes spelled Awliya; 1238 – 3 April 1325), also known as Hazrat Nizamuddin (), Sultan-ul-Mashaikh () and Mahbub-e-Ilahi (), was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar, Sufi saint of the Chishti Order, a ...

. The original verses by Khusrau occupy a prominent space in the soundscape of

Sufi music Sufi music refers to the devotional music of the Sufis, inspired by the works of Sufi poets like Rumi, Hafiz, Bulleh Shah, Amir Khusrow, and Khwaja Ghulam Farid. Qawwali is the best-known form of Sufi music and is most commonly found in ...

in South Asia. Numerous vocalists have sung variations of this popular song over the years — most notably

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997), also known by his initials NFAK, was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. Khan was primarily a singer of qawwali, a form of Sufi devot ...

Abida Parveen Abida Parveen (; ; born 20 February 1954) is a Pakistani singer, composer, musician of Sufi music, painter and an entrepreneur. Parveen is one of the highest-paid singers in Pakistan. Her singing and music have earned her many accolades, and s ...

, and more recently,

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (, ; born 9 December 1974) is a Pakistani Punjabi singer, primarily Qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music. Khan is one of the most popular and highest paid singers in Pakistan. He is the nephew of Nusrat Fateh Ali Kha ...

and

Amjad Sabri Amjad Farid Sabri (23 December 1970 – 22 June 2016) was a Pakistani qawwali singer and a proponent of the Sufi Muslim tradition. Son of Ghulam Farid Sabri and nephew of Maqbool Ahmed Sabri of the Sabri Brothers, he emerged as one of So ...

for Coke Studio ( Season 9). While the song is traditionally sung in a high-energy, fast-paced tempo consistent with the qawwali genre, Ali gave it a relatively softer and leisurely treatment, infusing mellow and earthy vocals into a contemporary arrangement, while still retaining rapturous elements of the qawwali.

Track listing

Most tracks are written and composed by Shafqat Amanat Ali. The title track "Muh Dikhai (Teri Khoj)" is written by noted Indian poet

. "Rang" is written by

. "Dil Dharhaknay Ka Sabab" is written by

, composed by Ali's father, Ustad

, and arranged by Pakistani record producer Shani Arshad.

References

{{reflist 2015 albums Pop albums by Pakistani artists Sufi music albums

Background and musical style

Composition and songwriting

Track listing

See also

References