FC Gold 2023 Winner: Kausar Munir| Jubilee

‘Dekho yeh duniya ke mele Saare ke saare akele.’ — Kausar Munir, Jubilee (2023)

‘Dekhi zamane ki yaari Bichde sabhi, baari baari.’ — Kaifi Azmi, Kaagz Ke Phool (1959)

Like Trivedi's composition-as-odes, Kausar Munir's lyrics in Jubilee, too, hold a deep reverence for references, be it 'Babuji Dheere Chalna' from Aar Paar (1954), 'Ramaiya Vastavaiya' from Shree 420 or Kaagaz Ke Phool's 'Dekhi Zamane Ki Yaari', as seen above. And yet, she also finds ways to spin an evocative phrase, an idiom, comparing the heart aflutter in love to an 'Udankhatola' (flying machine). There is also the notorious joy, the nakhrapan of the times, the 1940s-50s, that she brings out through the songs — pathos with a pinch of haye-uff in 'Voh Tere Mere Ishq Ka' and sadness with a celebration in 'Dariyacha Raja'.