Updated October 2026: this article has been expanded into a full guide to Manmohini Morey, the Yuvvraaj soundtrack and A. R. Rahman's classical-based film songs. Gaurav Aradhye's original 2012 article is preserved in full further down the page.
Manmohini Morey is a semi-classical song from Subhash Ghai's film Yuvvraaj (2008). It was composed by A. R. Rahman and sung by Vijay Prakash, and Gulzar is credited as lyricist for the soundtrack. Just over three minutes long, it is built like a bandish, a fixed composition of the kind classical singers use as the backbone of a performance, and it peaks in a rapid sargam passage (sung note names) before the voice lands back on the beat.
The film flopped, but the song found a second audience, including through a cover by the clarinettist Shankar Tucker. Here is everything worth knowing about it, plus the rest of the album and the Rahman songs to play next.
Who sang Manmohini Morey?
Vijay Prakash sang it. He was born in Mysuru to Carnatic musicians Lopamudra and L. Ramasesha and trained in Carnatic music himself, then moved to Mumbai in 1996 and became a student of Suresh Wadkar, the singer and teacher Gaurav mentions below. He reached the mega-finals of Zee TV's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in 1999, and his first song for Rahman was in Swades.
Rahman has used him repeatedly since. He is one of the credited singers on the Oscar and Grammy-winning Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire, and he sang Hosanna in the Tamil film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010). He has also won two Filmfare Awards for Best Male Playback Singer in Kannada. In Hindi film, Manmohini Morey is still the best showcase of his classical side: a short song that gives him room for breath control, ornament and speed.
Manmohini Morey | Vijay Prakash | YuvvraajThe Shankar Tucker version that first hooked Gaurav, as he explains in the original article below, is sung by Aditya Rao, with Ajay Ravichandran also featured, and Tucker's clarinet weaving around the vocal line.
Manmohini Morey | Shankar Tucker Cover ft. Aditya Rao and Ajay RavichandranWhat raga is Manmohini Morey based on?
The song is generally identified with raag Bhimpalasi, the Hindustani afternoon raga whose Carnatic counterpart is Abheri. Wikipedia's list of raga-based film songs files it there as a bandish, and Gaurav reached the same conclusion in 2012. We could not find Rahman or Vijay Prakash naming the raga themselves, so treat it as a listener's identification rather than an official credit.
Bhimpalasi belongs to the Kafi family: its third and seventh notes are flattened, and its ascent skips the second and sixth notes while the descent uses all seven. That shape gives it a yearning, devotional colour.
Manmohini Morey in the film
Yuvvraaj was released on 21 November 2008. It follows three estranged brothers, played by Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor and Zayed Khan, who fight over their late father's fortune. Anil Kapoor's Gyanesh, who inherits everything, is a savant with a gift for music, and Katrina Kaif plays Anushka, a cellist in an orchestra who is amazed by his singing. Much of the story takes place in Austria, with outdoor scenes shot in Tyrol and Innsbruck.
Manmohini Morey belongs to Gyanesh's side of the story, and the official clip from the film, embedded in the original article below, features Anil Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. It was a costly production, with a reported budget of ₹48 crore, and Box Office India declared it a major flop despite a good opening. Gaurav himself only discovered the song four years after the film's release.
The Yuvvraaj soundtrack
The album was released on 15 October 2008 by T-Series and Tips, with all lyrics by Gulzar. Rahman's score was performed by the Chennai String Orchestra and mixes Western classical music with retro disco; the orchestra even plays Beethoven's Fifth Symphony in the film. Rediff gave the album four stars out of five. Besides Manmohini Morey, it contains the party songs Shanno Shanno and Mastam Mastam, the duet Tu Muskura with Alka Yagnik and Javed Ali, and these three:
- Tu Meri Dost Hai (Yuvvraaj, 2008): Benny Dayal, Shreya Ghoshal and A. R. Rahman on the album's big romantic number, over six minutes long.
Tu Meri Dost Hain | Yuvvraaj | Shreya Ghoshal, Benny Dayal | A. R. Rahman - Zindagi (Yuvvraaj, 2008): Srinivas sings the album's other semi-classical track, the natural companion to Manmohini Morey.
Zindagi | Srinivas | Yuvvraaj - Dil Ka Rishta (Yuvvraaj, 2008): the longest track, at over seven and a half minutes, with Sonu Nigam, Roop Kumar Rathod, Rahman and a large cast of voices including Clinton Cerejo, who later produced the Coke Studio @ MTV track Madari.
Dil Ka Rishta | Yuvvraaj | Sonu Nigam, Roop Kumar Rathod | A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman's other classical-based film songs
If Manmohini Morey is your way in, these are the natural next steps. For the full albums they come from, see our ranking of A. R. Rahman's best albums.
- Radha Kaise Na Jale (Lagaan, 2001): Asha Bhosle, Udit Narayan and Vaishali Samant, with lyrics by Javed Akhtar. Labelled Raga Bhimpalasi on the album, it is Manmohini Morey's closest relative. Javed Akhtar won the National Film Award for Best Lyrics for this song and Ghanan Ghanan.
Radha Kaise Na Jale | Lagaan | Asha Bhosle, Udit Narayan - Naina Neer Bahaye (Water, 2005): a Sadhana Sargam solo with lyrics by Sukhwinder Singh, from the soundtrack to Deepa Mehta's film.
Naina Neer Bahaye | Water | A. R. Rahman - Mann Mohanaa (Jodhaa Akbar, 2008): a semi-classical number sung by Bela Shende, her first song for Rahman. He created it with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in mind, and it is used twice in the film.
Mann Mohanaa | Jodhaa Akbar | Bela Shende | A. R. Rahman - Bhor Bhaye (Delhi-6, 2009): based on raag Gujri Todi and adapted from a recording by Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, the Patiala gharana giant whose tradition Kaushiki Chakraborty carries today. Shreya Ghoshal's vocal is laid over parts of the Ustad's original.
Bhor Bhaye | Delhi 6 | A. R. Rahman | Shreya Ghoshal - Sowkiyama Kannae (Sangamam, 1999): from Rahman's Tamil soundtrack for a dance film, sung by the Carnatic vocalist Nithyasree Mahadevan.
Sowkiyama Kannae | Sangamam | Nithyasree Mahadevan | A. R. Rahman
Frequently Asked Questions
Who sang Manmohini Morey?
Vijay Prakash, the Mysuru-born singer and disciple of Suresh Wadkar who is also one of the credited voices on Jai Ho. The music is by A. R. Rahman.
Which movie is Manmohini Morey from?
Yuvvraaj (2008), directed by Subhash Ghai and starring Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Zayed Khan and Katrina Kaif. The song is track eight on the soundtrack and runs 3 minutes 11 seconds.
What raga is Manmohini Morey in?
It is usually identified as raag Bhimpalasi, known in Carnatic music as Abheri. Rahman has not, as far as we can find, confirmed the raga himself.
Who sang the Shankar Tucker version of Manmohini?
Aditya Rao sings the cover, which also features Ajay Ravichandran, with Shankar Tucker on clarinet. It is on Shankar Tucker's official YouTube channel.
Who wrote the lyrics of Manmohini Morey?
Gulzar is credited as the lyricist for the whole Yuvvraaj soundtrack, which was his first film with Subhash Ghai. Rahman and Ghai had worked together before, on Taal (1999); Yuvvraaj added Gulzar to that partnership.
Our Original Article (2012)
Gaurav Aradhye wrote this article in October 2012. It is preserved below as originally published.
Composer – A R Rahman
This is sensational composition from Rahman, and an ultimate example of his incredible versatility! He literally gives us goose-bumps with his classical based compositions and “Manmohini Morey” is no exception for that!
This one is from film Yuvraaj and I wonder how I had not come across this track for so long! Few weeks back I was browsing through Shankar Tucker‘s videos on Youtube and that’s when I heard his version of this song, sung by Aditya Rao. It left me mesmerized and I kept playing it the whole night! Back then I was unaware of the original song until few days later a friend asked me to listen to a track from Yuavraj. How did I miss this track?
Manmohini Morey | Katrina Kaif | Anil Kapoor | Vijay Prakash | AR Rahman | Yuvvraaj | Classical SongSung brilliantly by Vijay Prakash, Manmohini Morey is a type of Bandish. Vijay Prakash shows us that he is shishya of Suresh Wadkar by the amazing control over his breath and flow of voice throughout the song! The “saragams” in the song is THE part I play in loops n loops! And how Vijay Prakash picks up the rhythm at the end of the saragam (in Marathi, “samever yene“), wow! And Rahman has added the famous Yuvraj theme tune after the saragams quite brilliantly. It feels like a journey; this song is indeed an experience through a different world.
The Shankar Tucker version of this song is something different to listen to than the original because it features Shankar’s Clarinet. Ohh I love the clarinet! Salute to Shankar Tucker for mixing it with this song in such a way that it sounds so homogeneous!
Classical details: The song is based on Raaga “Abheri” which is a Carnatic Raaga, not so used in North Indian music, but a little research told me that this is also known as Raaga “Bhimpalasi” in North India. The Raaga has been extensively used by south Indian composers in film music also, and some of the examples of the songs in this Raaga are – Tum Mile Dil Khile, Kismat Se Tum (Pukar), Khilte Hai Gul Yahaan, Khoya Khoya Chand etc.
Emotion: The primary emotion of this Raaga Abheri is “complete surrender (Sharanagati)“.
