गुलफ़ाम

Stebin Ben — who broke into national consciousness with 'Ranjha' (Shershaah, 2021) — brings his bright contemporary tenor to 'Gulfam' from Mannu Kya Karegga (2025). The word 'gulfam' (rosy-faced, blooming) is a deliberately archaic Urdu endearment chosen by Javed Akhtar to give the song a classical literary flavour at odds with its contemporary production. Lalit Pandit's Khamaj-based composition provides the sweet, major-key warmth that the lyric's celebration of beauty requires.

Lalit Pandit's 'Gulfam' is the album's most upbeat romantic composition — a Khamaj-based melody with a natural ascending character that suits the lyric's celebration of beauty. Stebin Ben's voice, trained in Western and Indian music, navigates the Khamaj's sweet intervals with facility. The arrangement — acoustic guitar and piano with light strings — keeps the song intimate despite its celebratory mood.

Javed Akhtar's choice of 'gulfam' — a Persian-Urdu compound meaning 'rose-coloured' or 'rose-named' — is a reminder of his deep classical literary training. The word appears in Urdu ghazals from the Mughal era and in the poetry of Mir and Ghalib. For a 2025 college film, Akhtar brings a word from 17th-century Mughal gardens and plants it in Dehradun's streets.

Stebin Ben's rising profile in Bollywood — from a relatively unknown singer to a streaming phenomenon post-Shershaah — made him an attractive choice for Mannu Kya Karegga. Lalit Pandit specifically sought a voice with Stebin's quality of warm brightness for 'Gulfam,' a song that needed to feel simultaneously youthful and rooted in something older.

As one of Javed Akhtar's two contributions to the Mannu Kya Karegga soundtrack, 'Gulfam' demonstrates the veteran lyricist's ability to work across film scales — from multi-crore action blockbusters (where he has also contributed) to intimate coming-of-age indie films. For Stebin Ben, the song extends a post-Shershaah run of quality placements in Bollywood soundtracks.