Roshni (album)

Roshni
Studio album by
Ali Zafar
Released20 December 2025 (2025-12-20)
GenresAcoustic pop
Deep house
Length40:05
LanguagesPunjabi
Urdu
English
LabelsLightingale
Silent Roar
Ali Zafar chronology
Teefa in Trouble
(2018)		 Roshni
(2025)
Singles from Roshni
  1. "Zalim Nazron Se"
  2. "Ruxaana"
  3. "Shiddat"

Roshni (Urdu: روشنی, lit. 'Light') is the fourth studio album and seventh overall album of Pakistani singer-songwriter Ali Zafar. It was released on 20 December 2025 by Lightingale Records via various music streaming services.

Background

Ali Zafar, a Pakistani singer-songwriter, released his third studio album titled Jhoom in 2011.[1] Since then, he has worked in a number of Hindi films. He debuted in Pakistani films with Teefa in Trouble in 2018. Meanwhile, he has also released three soundtrack albums.[2] He also kept releasing singles, and launched a record label, titled Lightingale Records, in 2020.[3][4]

Promotion and release

Zafar announced his new album on 21 November 2025, when the music video of the first single "Zalim Nazron Se" was released in collaboration with Ali Haider;[5][6] the two also premiered the song at the 2025 Hum Awards in Houston.[7] At the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Zafar premiered some of the album tracks during the opening ceremony of the 2025–26 International League T20, and announced the album title to be Roshni.[8][9]

Zafar's alma mater, the National College of Arts, Lahore,[10] hosted the launch event for the album on 19 December.[11] The music video for the second single "Ruxaana" was released along with the complete album on 20 December.[12] This is Zafar's fourth studio album after more than 14 years and 10 months since his last album.[1][5] Consisting the tracks of acoustic pop and deep house genres,[12] he called it as a celebration of Pakistani music icons,[6] and "a journey through light and shadow" to "confront one's inner truths".[12]

In January 2026, Zafar appeared on Hasna Mana Hai, a late-night show hosted by Tabish Hashmi on Geo News, to promote the album,[13] and announced a social media challenge to conceptualize, create, and post the fan videos, based on any of the tracks from the album.[14] The Express Tribune reported that hundreds of fan videos featuring "AI-generated visuals and experimental storytelling" were shared online. In April, 15 videos were shortlisted and published by Lightingale Records.[15][16][17]

In May 2026, Zafar released third music video "Shiddat", derived from his painting for his 2002 thesis and directed by Fawaz Rehan and Ayelah Asim using the AI.[18][19]

Track listing

The album artwork along with the track listing was revealed on 6 December 2025.[20] Musician Shani Arshad also collaborated with Zafar in producing some of the tracks;[a][6] he had also collaborated for Zafar's different projects since his debut album Huqa Pani (2003).[21] The song "Chal Dil Mere" from his debut album[4] is also recreated by Zafar himself in collaboration with Talha Anjum,[a][12] a hip-hop artist and the most-streamed on Spotify Pakistan in 2025.[22] The album also contains one of Jaun Elia's poetries, "Be Qarari Si",[a][12][23] and a recreated track of the band Vital Signs' second album, "Saanvali Saloni" featuring Alistair Alvin.[a][12][24] The album also features the remake of the critically acclaimed song "Mera Pyar" featuring DJ Shahrukh, originally performed by one of the most influential guitarist of Pakistan, Aamir Zaki, for his 1995 album Signature.[b] The song "Zalim Nazron Se" was originally created by Roshan Nagianvi and Jawaid Akhtar, and popularised by Ali Haider, which is itself an Urdu version of a Pashto song "Da Spogmayy Khorey" by Mashooq Sultan.[5][6][30]

According to the album notes, the title song "Roshni" is dedicated to Zafar's wife, Ayesha Fazli, whom he calls the strength that kept him from collapsing into uncertainnes. "Ruxaana" is described as a conversation about a boy's boundaries against a girl's madness, and shifts from Punjabi street poetry towards modern English attitude. The song "Mamacita" contains Punjabi flirtatious lyrics with a Latin melody, and features the character names Escobar and Rihanna. The songs like "5 Star" is called as an emotion between heartbreak and comfort, "Shiddat" as a devotion of choosing love when trust is broken into burns, "Dhoondta Hoon" as a repeated search of the doors of memory that will never open again, and "Tere Bin Mein" as a quiet truth about someone who surrenders to the risks of accepting a love.[a]

No.TitleLength
1."Ruxaana"2:55
2."5 Star"2:31
3."Mamacita" (featuring Alistair Alvin)3:17
4."Saanvali Saloni" (featuring Alistair Alvin)2:43
5."Roshni"2:38
6."Shiddat"3:27
7."Be Qarari Si"3:56
8."Dhoondta Hoon"3:58
9."Tere Bin Mein"3:20
10."Chal Dil Mere" (featuring Talha Anjum)3:52
11."Mera Pyar" (featuring DJ Shahrukh)4:00
12."Zalim Nazron Se" (featuring Ali Haider)3:28
Total length:40:05

Personnel

The credits are adapted from the album playlist on YouTube.[a]

  • Ali Zafar – vocals (all tracks); composer (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7); author (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6); producer (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12)
  • Alistair Alvin – featured artist and vocals (tracks 3, 4); composer, mixer, and masterer (track 3); programming (tracks 1, 4, 6, 7); producer (tracks 2, 3, 4, 6, 7); author (tracks 3, 4); drums (track 10)
  • Talha Anjum – featured artist, rap vocals, and author (track 10)
  • DJ Shahrukh – featured artist and producer (track 11)
  • Ali Haider – featured artist and vocals (track 12)
  • Irshad Sheikh – mixer and masterer (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
  • Shani Arshad – programming (track 1); producer (tracks 1, 12); accordion (track 9); director (track 12)
  • Shoaib Mansoor – author (track 4)
  • Muhammad Aayan Saleem – composer (track 5)
  • Hassan Badshah – producer (tracks 5, 8, 9); programming (track 5); synthesizer and keyboards (track 8); arranger (track 9)
  • Jaun Elia – author (track 7)
  • Syed Omar Hussain – composer and author (tracks 8, 9); producer (track 8)
  • Amir Azhar – bass and guitar (track 8)
  • Muzammil Hussain – guitar (track 9)
  • Saeed Qureshi – composer and author (track 10)
  • Vikraah – producer, guitar, and bass (track 10)
  • Aamir Zaki – composer and author (track 11)
  • Ali Mustafa – producer and programming (track 11)
  • Roshan Naginavi – author (track 12)
  • Jawaid Akhtar – composer (track 12)

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The song descriptions and personnel credits are extracted from YouTube.
  2. ↑ Claims and information are extracted from Rafay Mahmood and Rahul Aijaz for The Express Tribune,[25][26] Madeeha Syed for Dawn,[27][28] and Waseem Siddiqui of VOA Urdu,[29] along with Roshni album notes.[a][12]

References

  1. 1 2
    • Naushaba Brohi (12 February 2011). "Jhoom in love". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
    • "Ali Zafar announces new album". The Express Tribune. 19 December 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Maliha Rehman (1 March 2020). "Spotlight: The Path Less Trodden". Dawn. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Nostalgic: Ali Zafar drops lo-fi version of 'Chal Dil Mere' to celebrate 20 years of his music". The Express Tribune. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 "Ali Zafar releases 'Zalim Nazron Se', the first track from his first album in 15 years". Dawn Images. 24 November 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "History gets Remix Ali Zafar's Zalim Nazron Se 3.0 arrives Tonight". 24 Digital. 21 November 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  7. ↑ "Bilal Abbas Khan and Sajal Aly headline wins at the 10th HUM Awards". The Express Tribune. 13 October 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  8. ↑ "Ali Zafar announces 'Roshni', new album drops December 20 after 15 years". 24 Digital. 5 December 2025. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  9. ↑ "Ali Zafar to dazzle at DP World ILT20 Season 4 opening ceremony". Gulf News. 27 November 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  10. ↑
  11. ↑ "The launch event for Roshni". National College of Arts (NCA). 22 December 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025 – via Facebook.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Ali Zafar releases 'Roshni': A new chapter written in light, shadow". Samaa TV. 20 December 2025. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  13. ↑ "Ali Zafar in Hasna Mana Hai with Tabish Hashmi". Geo News. 30 January 2026. Retrieved 7 February 2026 – via YouTube.
  14. ↑ علی ظفر کا البم 'روشنی' عالمی اے آئی ویڈیو لہر کا باعث، پاکستانی تخلیق کاروں کی نئی نسل عالمی اسٹیج پر نمایاں [Ali Zafar's album 'Roshni' sparks global AI video wave, spotlights new generation of Pakistani creators on global stage] (in Urdu). GNN News HD. 22 January 2026. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  15. ↑ "Ali Zafar turns up the heat with cinematic Roshni contest update". 24 Digital. 13 April 2026. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  16. ↑ Roshni Contest playlist on YouTube. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  17. ↑ Qaisar Kamran (29 April 2026). "Ali Zafar's 'Roshni' inspires creative boom". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 19 May 2026. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
  18. ↑ Qaisar Kamran (14 May 2026). "Ali Zafar revives 2002 thesis painting in AI-driven video". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  19. ↑ "The Grapevine". Dawn. 24 May 2026. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  20. ↑ علی ظفر کی اسٹوڈیو البم "روشنِی" کی پہلی جھلک جاری، 20 دسمبر کو دنیا بھر میں ریلیز [First look of Ali Zafar's studio album "Roshni" released, to be released worldwide on 20 December] (in Urdu). 24 Digital. 6 December 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  21. ↑
  22. ↑ "Talha Anjum remains undefeated as Pakistan's top artist in this year's Spotify Wrapped". Dawn Images. 4 December 2025. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
  23. ↑
  24. ↑
  25. ↑ Rafay Mahmood (3 June 2017). "The story behind Aamir Zaki's 'Mera Pyar' in his own words". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  26. ↑ Rahul Aijaz (2 June 2017). "Industry mourns passing of Pakistan's finest guitarist". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 8 April 2026. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  27. ↑ Madeeha Syed (2 June 2017). "The mad genius of Aamir Zaki". Dawn. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  28. ↑ Madeeha Syed (3 June 2018). "Spotlight: Strings of the Heart". Dawn. Archived from the original on 20 April 2026. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  29. ↑ وسیم صدیقی (3 June 2017). "عامر ذکی نہیں رہے، گٹار خاموش ہو گیا". VOA Urdu. Archived from the original on 11 February 2026. Retrieved 6 April 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  30. ↑
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