'Khwahishon': Saeed fails to impress

Former Jal member releases his debut original solo single.

KARACHI: When Farhan Saeed walked away from Jal in September this year, leaving Goher Mumtaz alone yet gain, everyone was certain the vocalist was up to something big. Keeping the drama alive with the release of a well-received cover of “Halka Halka Suroor”, Saeed — the second one to leave Jal after Atif Aslam — was ready to release an original song on his own.

However, to the disappointment of many, Saeed’s first original solo track “Khwahishon” lacks originality. Coming across as a half-hearted attempt to do something extra ordinary, “Khwahishon” fails to impress and, at places, sounds like an attempt to bring yet another “Aadat”.

Although the song, which starts off with the acoustics, has a good start, but the moment this melody ends, the song takes a complete U-turn and becomes a rock number. Saeed, who was initially shown to be very emotional in the first part of the track, is now seen rocking at a concert. This change may have been an important one in the video but it leaves the listener confused as to where the song is headed.

The failure of this number signifies the importance of the contribution of a good composer and a producer. Songs performed by Mumtaz for Jal were tailor-made for Saeed’s voice and any Jal fan can identify the difference. Saad Sultan, the producer of this single, should realise that he is brilliant at producing cover songs but he has wasted an already established star with “Kwahishon”.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th,  2011.