When it comes to the growing genre of drama serial OSTs, the songs for different serials serve as a platform through which artists can reach a much larger audience. We’ve heard the likes of Ali Sethi and Jimmy Khan test waters. In that context, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is an old and very successful hand.
Breaking all sorts of records within the genre is the OST for GEO TV’s Khuda Aur Mohabbat 3 that is sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Nish Asher. Having crossed 100 million views on YouTube, the song is composed by Naveed Nashad with lyrics by Qamar Nashad and is a lament for the beloved. But since the music backed by eastern and western instruments is devoid of unnecessary noise, its success is striking and makes sense. Ultimately reveling in old-school romance with a sense of loss, a greater love and RFAK in great form, it’s a good soundtrack to what is one of the most watched TV drama serials in the country. The lyricism is what takes the song to the next level and has what it takes to appeal to the national audience without losing purpose.
It’s good to see production houses like 7th Sky Entertainment investing in original songs since they cater to a South Asian diaspora and an audience that goes beyond Pakistan. The success of Khuda Aur Mohabbat 3, of course, is unprecedented in Pakistan’s huge drama landscape. Written by Hashim Nadeem and directed by Syed Wajahat Hussain, the drama features Feroze Khan and Iqra Aziz in lead roles and breaks records with every episode.
Abdullah Siddiqui to perform at upcoming Hum Style Awards
The juggernaut behind some of the most prolific drama serials, the fifth edition of Hum Style Awards is set to happen next week. But what’s most interesting about the upcoming ceremony is that young and prodigious Abdullah Siddiqui is among one of the performers. This is one performance we will be looking out for.
Speaking to Instep ahead of his performance, Abdullah said, “I’m super excited to be performing at the HSAs. It’s the first time I’m performing at an awards show and it’s also the first live performance I’m doing in well over a year because of COVID. I am a little nervous because this is definitely the biggest stage I’ve ever taken, and I’ve never really been a natural performer. But I’m super proud of the track we’ve come up with and I have a feeling it’s going to go really well.”
Abdullah Siddiqui – in a short span of time – has dropped three albums and has worked with the likes of Meesha Shafi, Fawad Khan, Aima Baig, Natasha Noorani and Shamoon Ismail amongst prominent mainstream artists. He has also bagged corporate work due to his exceptional ability to create content. Just recently, Abdullah also made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
In an earlier interview to Instep this year Abdullah revealed that he plans to release a new album by the end of the year so if you haven’t explored his full length albums such as Metannoya, Heterotopia and dead Beat poets, the time is now.
As for music portion of Hum Style Awards, we get that categories are designed with ‘style’ as the peg and so it’s good to see Ali Sethi, Shamoon Ismail and Uzair Jaswal with Meesha Shafi being the only female artist on the list. Can we also suggest a couple of other female acts such as Natasha Noorani, Natasha Humera Ejaz and Wajiha Ather Naqvi, to name just three?
Bilal Saeed’s OST for Dhoop Ki Deewar
is a winner
Bilal Saeed is a musical chameleon and one of the most followed musicians in and outside the country. His statistics of several songs reside in the millions. From 21 million to 85 million views to 118 million views for one song or another, the proof is in the pie.
So, it isn’t surprising that Bilal Saeed was roped in for the OST (original soundtrack) of Dhoop Ki Deewar, a web series written by Umera Ahmad and directed by Haseeb Hassan. The first two episodes of the series were scheduled to release this weekend and you may have seen them already.
For Dhoop Ki Deewar, which stars Sajal Aly and Ahad Raza Mir as protagonists, Bilal Saeed composed and wrote lyrics for the song called ‘Judaaiyan Kyun’; he also co-sang the track alongside Mehr Tahir. Accompanied by a music video that is a showcase of the larger ideas behind the film, the song is drenched in subtle romanticism. Bilal’s singing as well as the music video itself - during which at one point Ahad is playing the guitar – drive home the point, or rather the question of why there is distance between two lovers. It can be physical distance or an emotional one or both. But sung with grit, it has the power to appeal to a huge diaspora of South Asian audience at minimum. For a collaborative web series that extends to neighboring India, this is a good song that works well with the idea of the series.