In a quest to explore the impact of India’s Partition on the classical music traditions of South Asia, Delhi-based filmmaker Yousuf Saeed spent about 6 months in Pakistan in 2005.

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After traveling in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad - interviewing musicians and scholars, attending music concerts, and observing the teaching of music in various institutions, Yousuf not only documented some of the surviving practitioners and patrons of classical music, but also raised many vital questions, about cultural identity, nationalism, legitimacy of music in Islam, Pakistan's popular culture and its affairs with India, and the survival of classical music itself in South Asia. This quest has resulted in a musical documentary film, Khayal Darpan, featuring some well-known as well as many lesser known but talented musicians of Pakistan.

Since its release, the documentary has been reviewed well by numerous media outlets in India. The Economic Times reports that Ilm-e-Mausiqi (The Art of Music), if not anything else, should bring the two countries together. Yousuf Saeed's documentary chases the roots and the current state of classical music in the other half of the subcontinent (sic).  The movie uncovers moments where broken musicians recalls the days of baithaks and takias of Lahore. It looks at the musical traditions before and after partition - through reminescences of eminent musicians who performed then or who grew up hearing about them.

It also highlights the death of many traditions with partition. Through the voices of musicians and music experts, it shows the impact of laws that banned various forms of classical music - often terming it as Hindu - especially in the Zia years. Yet, through all of this, various efforts, often led by musicians themselves have attempted to maintain, revive and strengthen the traditions, often with little result. Yet, the tradition continues to live, though not thrive, and might even see influencing modern music in Pakistan.

A preview of the film is also available on youtube and the website has dvds for sale.