Ali Abbas Zafar Makes His Music-Composing Debut with Parivarik ManuRanjan
Ali Abbas Zafar has spent much of his career shaping memorable moments in Bollywood, from high-energy action dramas to crowd-pleasing romances. Now, the filmmaker has added a new creative role to his résumé: music composer. His first compositions feature in Parivarik ManuRanjan, a slice-of-life entertainer starring Pankaj Tripathi and Aditi Rao Hydari that began streaming on Sony LIV on November 13.
The project marks a notable new chapter for Zafar, whose work as a director includes Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011), Gunday (2014), Sultan (2016), Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) and Bharat (2019). He has also worked as a writer and producer, and is known for films in which music plays an important part in the storytelling. With Parivarik ManuRanjan, he has moved from shaping a film’s musical atmosphere to creating songs himself.
From humming tunes to composing songs
Zafar’s musical contribution grew out of a combination of long-standing interest and practical filmmaking needs. Speaking exclusively to Bollywood Hungama, he said he had enjoyed listening to music since childhood and had developed musical ideas while working on films where songs were central to the narrative.
“I have liked listening to music since childhood,” Zafar explained. Over time, he began collecting tunes, often humming them or working them out on his guitar. When the team was developing Parivarik ManuRanjan, its limited budget made those ideas especially useful. Zafar suggested a few melodies to director Varun V Sharma, who responded positively. The tunes eventually became part of the film.
Zafar has composed three songs for the project. On “Jingle Bell,” he is also one of the lyricists. For “Sir Sir Sir,” he took on an even larger role: he composed and wrote the song, and sings it alongside Vishal Mishra. The songs demonstrate how an informal creative suggestion can develop into a finished part of a film’s identity.
How “Jingle Bell” found its place in the story
“Jingle Bell” accompanies a turning point in the life of Ranjan Dubey, played by Pankaj Tripathi. Ranjan’s circumstances begin to change for the better after Manu, portrayed by Aditi Rao Hydari, enters his life. Rather than functioning as a standalone musical interlude, the song helps express the emotional lift of that moment.
Director Varun V Sharma recalled that, during editing, the team initially used temporary music to establish the scene’s rhythm. One early sequence eventually became the setting for “Jingle Bell.” Zafar watched the scene and offered a tune he had already been considering, along with the hook line, “Dil Mein Baj Gayi Jingle Bell.”
Composer Joel Crasto, who created the film’s background score, helped the team put together a scratch version. Once the temporary track was placed against the visuals, the song felt like a natural fit. Sharma said a similar process helped bring “Sir Sir Sir” into the film: Zafar already had the tune, and it worked with the scene. Sharma then congratulated him on making his composing debut.
The everyday meaning behind “Sir Sir Sir”
“Sir Sir Sir” is a lively number played during a birthday celebration for Ranjan’s boss. Its repeated phrase is more than a catchy hook: it draws on a familiar workplace habit, particularly in government offices and other formal settings where employees address a superior with an emphatic string of “sir”s.
Zafar described the phrase as part of the local language and social behaviour that the film observes. If a boss suggests having lunch the next day, an employee might respond, “Sir, sir, sir,” rather than simply saying yes. The same expression might follow an instruction to bring a file. The repetition conveys respect, eagerness and, at times, the slightly comic formality of the workplace.
That context is especially meaningful for viewers familiar with central India, where the film’s social setting and everyday speech may feel recognisable. By turning an ordinary verbal mannerism into a song, the filmmakers give a small detail of office culture a memorable, humorous role in the story.
A playful callback to Gunday
The title “Sir Sir Sir” also connects to a light-hearted memory from Zafar’s earlier career. During promotions for Gunday, actor Ranveer Singh reportedly joked about the director’s habit of repeatedly saying the phrase. Zafar later recalled that it had become a private code shared by Singh, Arjun Kapoor and himself.
There is another musical coincidence linking the two films. Gunday featured the popular track “Dil Mein Baji Ghantiyaan,” while Parivarik ManuRanjan introduces “Dil Mein Baj Gayi Jingle Bell.” Sharma joked that Zafar’s musical journey had come full circle—from making a bell ring in Gunday to bringing a jingle bell into his latest production.
The connection offers a charming reminder that creative ideas can resurface in unexpected ways. A playful phrase from a film set, a melody hummed in private or a familiar sound from an earlier project can eventually find a new home in a different story.
A creative partnership built over time
Zafar also praised Sharma, describing the director as someone close to him. Sharma previously worked as Zafar’s assistant and co-writer on Bharat, giving the two filmmakers an established working relationship. That familiarity likely helped make it easier for Zafar to share unfinished musical ideas and for Sharma to test them against the film’s scenes.
For Sharma, Zafar’s composing debut did not come entirely out of the blue. He noted that Zafar has a strong instinct for film music, pointing to the memorable songs associated with projects such as Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Gunday and Sultan. Zafar also composes for personal interest and can play the keyboard, Sharma said.
Parivarik ManuRanjan therefore adds another dimension to Zafar’s Bollywood career. His shift into composing began not with a formal plan, but with tunes he had carried with him and scenes that needed the right musical touch. The result is a set of songs closely connected to the film’s characters, setting and humour—and a fresh reason for audiences to look at the filmmaker’s creative range in a new way.
