Music producer Saad Sultan sees his life as a video game. Each person he meets is a character with something unique to offer, requiring him to adjust accordingly because every character must be played against in a different way.

Sultan uses the same philosophy when it comes to music.

“When somebody gives me a brief to work on, I find it interesting to push my boundaries and work hard on it,” he said in conversation with Aaj News.

Working with film director Sarmad Khoosat was a different experience for Sultan as he says it was the “first time” in his career he was given full freedom to create the music he wanted.

Starring talent powerhouse Saba Qamar and newcomer Hamza Khawaja, Kamli is a “tale of love, loss and cloaked secrets.”

“The story of Kamli is very interesting. Sarmad asked me to create songs that go with the story instead of asking for hit pop songs,” he said, reiterating that it’s very rare in the industry for directors and producers completely trusting music producers with their art.

“People give briefs later, the first thing they say is that the song should become a hit. It can never be guaranteed and it’s not fun working on such things when you’re only putting in a formula, this project has been different in that sense.”

Another problem with requesting a “hit” song with a reference track in mind is that the new product could never outclass the original song. There would always be a cap on it.

Khoosat recently shared three songs from the film on his Instagram profile. One song is a “raw and soothing” rendition of Baba Bulleh Shah’s ‘Mukhra’ sung by Atif Aslam. The second song is called ‘Kaash’ which is sung by Zeb Bangash and Sohail Shahzad. The third song Khoosat posted is called ‘Main Tu,’ and it contains unfiltered vocals from Reshma Jee. The music for all songs is made by Sultan, who has worked on the tracks for at least two years.

“I’ve had to do a lot of homework to make sure the personality of the film and its uniqueness stays intact in its sound,” he said.

Kamli will be released in theatres across the country on June 3rd, 2022.

Sultan first started playing the guitar in 2001 and has been making music since then. He introduced numerous mainstream artists, including Ali Sethi, Quratulain Baloch, and Momina Mustehsan. The producer has made tracks for films such as Parwaz Hai Junoon, Bol, Baaji, Superstar and Paray Hat Love.

Speaking about the budding talent in the industry, Sultan said that it’s always better to do your own work rather than keep working on commissions for films and dramas.

“Stay adamant on what you believe in. Don’t change your sound to follow trends because they will come and go. I’m not saying that you should stick to one thing and churn out boring music, explore stuff, try out new things but don’t let go of what you believe in.”