‘Pawri’ Girl Hopes Her 5-Second Viral Social Media Clip Pulls Pakistan & India Closer!

Pawri

A 19-year-old Pakistani student recently shot to fame after her five-second video went viral on social media across the subcontinent. She hopes numerous renditions of her monologue will translate into more dialogue between Pakistan and India.

The short video is shot by Dananeer Mobeen in the Nathaigali mountains of northern Pakistan. She uploaded it onto Instagram which shows a group of youngsters enjoying themselves by the roadside.

Image: Reuters

Swinging around the device she is filming on, Mobeen says in Urdu, “This is our car, this is us, and this is our party taking place.”

Seemly innocuous, she deliberately mispronounces the English word “party” as “pawri” to poke fun at South Asians who adopt Western accents.

‘Pawri’ in India!

It immediately struck a chord in both India and Pakistan. The video sparked top trending hashtags on social media, and garnering millions of views and hundreds of spin-offs.

“It was the most random video. I initially had no intention of uploading it,” Mobeen said. She expressed surprise at how viral it had gone, said Reuters. Moreover, she added the trend showed the power and reach of social media.

Meanwhile, “Pawri” monologue renditions have been used by police in India. The Delhi Commission for Women has also used it in their social media outreach campaigns.

In one video, two Indian soldiers deployed in snowy mountains give it their own spin with “This is us, this is our gun, and we are patrolling here.”

Meanwhile, Bollywood actors Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone each did a version that also went viral.

Indian dairy company Amul is known for inculcating trendy takes on current issues in its advertisements. It did a “this is our pav-tea” version here, in a nod to a popular bread snack eaten with tea.

Even politicians jumped on the bandwagon. A leader from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party using the catchy hook at an election rally.

“I’m honored and grateful for all the love across the border,” said Mobeen. She expressed her happiness at fostering some rare friendly cross-border dialogue.

Tensions between Pakistan & India

India and Pakistan are both nuclear-armed nations. They have fought three wars and often had tense relations since gaining independence in 1947.

Meanwhile, relations had soured over developments in the Indian-Occupied Kashmir (IOK). Moreover, both control Kashmir in parts and claim in full.

Last week, their militaries agreed to observe a ceasefire along the disputed IOK border.

Mobeen said she has been inundated with acting and modeling offers, along with requests for product endorsements. Instead, she says she aspires to join Pakistan’s foreign services.

Meanwhile, some social media users claimed that another Pakistani influencer actually started the ‘Pawri’ trend. Nevertheless, Pakistanis are still going crazy over Dananeer’s video.

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