cUlturevulture
A brief look at new music videos by Noori and Ali Gul Pir plus
The Glassworker trailer, in focus.
Aside from being fixated on Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and the will-it/won’t-it-release (in Pakistan) debate, as usual, there are plenty of other releases that merit a discussion.
Our story begins with the trailer for The Glassworker, which arrived earlier this week. Being produced under the banner of Mano Animation Studios, founded by one Usman Riaz, the official trailer is everything MAS crew promised it would be and more.
It is the coming-of-age story of Vincent and Alliz and their relationship’s evolution over time. In the prologue trailer, we are introduced to the characters; Alliz, who is the narrator in this video, is telling Vincent why she hadn’t written to him. We also see Vincent learning the art of glassblowing from his father. Running just over two minutes, simply put, this project has raised the standard for animation in Pakistan. Every frame is just gorgeous and the attention to the smallest details is what sets it apart from all others including Burka Avenger and 3 Bahadur.
To bring this project to reality, Mano Animation Studios started a Kickstarter campaign and raised 116,000 dollars. And upon seeing this trailer, you realize that money was put to great use.
In an interview with Instep last month, Usman Riaz, who is directing the film and also producing the soundtrack, alongside the film’s producer, Khizer Riaz, animation director Aamir Riffat and art director Mariam Riaz Paracha, had explained the vision behind the film. “All we want to do is make beautiful work,” and so far, Riaz and crew have done just that. We can hardly wait for the full film.
Moving on, can I just say that the Noori brothers seem to be having a career-best year. Having won the Best Music Album trophy at the Lux Style Awards earlier this year, they’ve served as music directors on the recently concluded season nine of Coke Studio with flair and have also been making their mark via Cornetto Pop Rock’s first season.
Having collaborated with Qurutulain Balouch on ‘Pyar Wyar’ and with Ali Azmat on ‘Dildara’, the brothers are back with their third video called ‘Yeh Zindagi’ under the Cornetto Pop Rock label. The video, directed by Aleena Naghman, especially the song, is full of hope and happiness; Noor and Hamza, accompanied by drummer Kami Paul, can be seen bicycling, swinging on swings, and just radiating positivity. It all culminates into a performance-esque finale where scores of fans can be seen grooving to the sonic happiness. The young people seem pleased to be in Noori’s company. And aside from the overt ice-cream branding, it’s a winner. The sound is also what we’ve come to expect from Noori: a variation of the pop-rock genre they blend in so well with their blistering riffs and catchy hooks. Since releasing last week, the video has picked up 1.4 million views on Facebook and another 1.2 million views on YouTube.
Also creating just the right kind of ruckus is Ali Gul Pir whose latest, a collaboration with SomeWhatSuper that grills Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally has a video and it’s out.
Much like the amusing, no, downright hilarious song, the video for ‘Modi Teri’ is also equally amusing if not more. Set against the backdrop of a UN meeting, the video opens with the shot of a TV screen with the ticker: “Breaking News: Modi Gone Mad”. As we enter the screen, leaders from United States, China, Saudia Arabia and India are present; Ali Gul Pir is playing a Pakistani representative while Modi can be seen complaining about why Fawad Khan is so cute and how he won’t attend the “SAARC party”. Sharply enough, Kashmir is also a part of the panel but the man representing Kashmir has his mouth taped shut, which is a not so subtle hint on the atrocities happening in Kashmir. The song is actually an anti-war statement. Ali Gul Pir wants a rap battle, not war and this message shouldn’t get lost in the hype and hysteria that often accompanies such satirical creations. The song is elevated by the presence of the music group SomeWhatSuper who have given this song the perfect thumping landscape.
Not surprisingly since releasing the video has picked up over 500,000 views on Facebook. The end.