Zubaan

About the film

Zubaan (transl. Promise or voice) is a 2015 Indian musical drama film written and directed by Mozez Singh, starring Vicky Kaushal, Sarah Jane Dias and Raaghav Chanana, with music composed by Ashutosh Phatak.

The film is the coming of age story of a young boy Dilsher (Vicky Kaushal) who loses his faith and develops a fear of music, and of his journey in fighting that fear and finding himself.

Plot

The story starts with the flashbacks of a young man, Dilsher (Vicky Kaushal) who grew up in a village in Gurdaspur, Punjab. His father used to recite Shabad Kirtan in Gurudwaras, but after his death, Dilsher has developed a fear of music. He instead grows up with a speech impairment and stammers. He comes to Delhi to meet a businessman, Gurcharan "Guru" Sikand (Manish Choudhary), who is often referred to as the Lion of Gurdaspur.

A flashback speaks of how, while being bullied by some of his schoolmates, Dilsher met a young Gurcharan who told him about how life often becomes cruel to people, and how one should fight back. He even gives Dilsher a pen, which is symbolic of Gurcharan's own struggles, and his audacity to write his own destiny. Dilsher is encouraged to write his own destiny in Delhi.

Dilsher befriends Tulsi Ram, the leader of a workforce employed in one of Gurcharan's projects, and learns more about Gurcharan from Tulsi Ram. Thereafter, he joins a security agency in hopes of getting to Kapoor Sikand Industries Limited, better known as KSIL, which is owned by Gurcharan. However, he lands a job at a music show, and notices a young girl, Amira (Sarah Jane Dias) dancing to a song.

Production

The shooting for Zubaan began in March 2014. A major part of the shooting took place in Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan, while the last phase was shot in Mumbai. In Punjab the film was shot in Kila Raipur & Pathankot and in Rajasthan the shooting took place at the Sambar desert.

Zubaan's costumes were designed by Aki Narula, who was the costume designer of Kill Dil, Highway, and Rockstar.

The choreography was done by Uma Gaiti. One of the songs in the film features the choreographers-dancers Les Twins.

Accolades

Zubaan opened the 20th edition of the Busan International Film Festival. This was the first time that a mainstream Bollywood film opened the biggest film festival in Asia.

Here the director of the film, Mozez Singh, won the 'Rising Director Asia Star Award'.

Music

The soundtrack of Zubaan was composed by Ashutosh Phatak. Lyrics were written by Varun Grover, Ashutosh Phatak, and Surjit Patar. The first song "Music is My Art" (Niamat Salaamat) was released on 20 January 2016. The second song "Ajj Saanu O Mileya" (The Anthem of Dreams) sung by Mandar Deshpande was released on 8 February 2016.

Key details