Music has always been the main bridge that joints Pakistani and Indians together. This bridge was established a long time ago and it’s still standing with the help of outstanding lyrics. This time, the bridge upgraded and became stronger after the release of Coke Studio 14 tracks.
Since the tracks released, people have been grooving over and over to their favorite songs. But one song that created a landmark since the day it got aired that’s none other than Pasoori. Pasoori sung by famous Ali Sethi and debutant Shae Gill both of them raised the bar of the season with this track hitting over million views.
It attracted not only a domestic audience, but Pasoori also crossed the bridge to travel India and made everyone love the track endlessly. That’s the reason Netizens believe Pasoori unites Indians and Pakistanis.
Pasoori bringing Pakistanis and Indians closer
Undoubtedly, Season 14 of Coke Studio was a masterpiece Xulfi and his team did an amazing job. Xulfi’s composition, the team’s hard work, and vocal lyrics spread all over the world.
A recent article in The New Yorker has ruffled some feathers. Written by an Indian journalist, Priyanka Mattoo, she shed light on how the Coke Studio banger is ‘uniting India and Pakistan.’
The article also talked about how Ali Sethi the guy behind Pasooir came up with the idea of the song during his tours in India. If you don’t know, Ali Sethi revealed that it took a whole year to make Pasoori.
“The idea for the song began when Sethi, who lives in New York, was invited to collaborate on a project in Mumbai, which he had visited many times before for literary festivals and music gigs,” The New Yorker feature read.
“People are streaming ‘Pasoori’ in villages, in cities, in regions where people don’t even speak the language but furiously feel the vibe.”
Netizens in defense of Pakistani music
Matto came in defense of Pakistani music where she fully praised the aesthetics of the song where she compared Laal Kabootar famed director Kamal Khan’s vision of quintessential Bollywood.
“The video, shot in old-Bollywood, Technicolor style and directed by Kamal Khan, introduces Sethi and Gill, dressed in boho interpretations of traditional outfits—he in a striped kurta pajama in jewel tones and a matching cap, she in a flowing white dress and embroidered vest—as they sing in the courtyard of an ancestral home,” it further read.
Soon the article was published, and many Pakistani users came up and called out the writer. One user wrote, “Find some Pakistani writers first. It’s not Indian in any sense. And the music on this side of the border is a million times better than the Bollywood bullcrap.”
One more added, “No, you clown. It’s a Pakistani song with Pakistani singers. India has nothing to do with it. The New Yorker is this the kind of biased and shoddy journalism you support?”
One user shared, “A peculiar observation but Pakistanis have been consuming Indian media for decades without writing anything of this sort. Why is it that every time something Pakistani gains international prominence, Indians somehow drag in India, partition, and the ‘subcontinent’?”
The writer didn’t discuss the talented Shae Gill
Shae Gill is one of the prominent faces in the song that gained rapid popularity overnight with the song. Many of the users were pissed off at how the writer didn’t mention her and discussed her throughout the article.
One user penned down, “Imagine ruining the whole article surrounding Bollywood and not mentioning Shae Gill, Why’d you ask an Indian to write about a Pakistani song, Pasoori is a Pakistani breed, Coke Studio is unmatchable, grow your standards.”
Another added, “It’s disappointing when female writers from the subcontinent diminish women too. Shae Gill barely finds mention, this reads and is Ali Sethi’s profile. Apart from the top class name dropping on here, this is Shae Gill’s song. She is reduced to an ancillary act here.”
One more tweep added, “Ali Sethi and *Shae Gill’s. Please commission Pakistani writers to write about Pakistani culture and media.” Another commented, “Ali Sethi and Shae Gill. You missed the breakout star of this song.”
One user enjoyed the article but also criticized it for not mentioning Shae Gill enough in the piece. “I enjoyed this article, but I wish you also included or reached out to Shae Gill. Also, it makes me a bit uncomfortable how you mentioned what she’s studying + her being part of a minority faith in Pakistan (which is very private) without even interviewing her.”
Netizens are the ones who believed that this year’s Coke Studio 14 is the best season ever produced so far.
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