Omer Tariq replied to the last post on Udeekan:
Arre you cannot separate this song from its video.
My mistake. Here it is.
Shahan Shahid writes:
For me your piece evokes a fundamental debate about music, or art more generally, having critical versus popular appeal. I say so because this song is nothing short of iconic: it's catchy as hell, has an equally iconic video (saawan!), was arguably the biggest hit for both artists involved, and, frankly, how common are male-male duets in the Pakistani music industry?
From a critical perspective, too, I think there's much to like. The "I just don't know" is an attempt at fusion, before that was cool or hip, and because it comes from Jawad Kahlown—who sings in very saaf Punjabi(unlike Shahzaman who has a more urban Punjabi accent)—it has an aspirational quality. The coming together of these two artists (who clearly represent different audiences), without a show or platform, indicates their vision. Finally, much like Faakhir's “Dil Ruba” and Haroon's “Mehbooba”, its musical quirks make a memorable song that we continue to listen to and hum to.
I couldn’t pick between these two songs so I’m attaching both.
Dil Ruba: very Spain; Pantene ad not exactly subtle.
Haroon recently on the Mahbooba video:
When I recorded this song I though wow I would love to shoot the video by the Pyramids. I randomly found a production company online in Cairo, immediately booked my ticket and just got on a plane and flew out there for 3 days. In the end they told me I couldn’t afford to shoot by the pyramids and it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars; and that I should just shoot the video in Pakistan on a fake Egypt set. I was really devastated. The day I was leaving they asked me to play them the song. When they heard it they LOVED it. The lady producer said I love this song so much I will make it happen no matter. She called in a favour from her best friend who was married to the owner of the local Cairo production company that worked on the film Lawrence of Arabia. I came back a couple of weeks later with the Pakistani film crew. Including directors Ahsen Rahim and Amena Khan.
p.s. I’ve heard that some videos I’ve attached have not played in Pakistan. Will be more careful when choosing links. If you prefer being linked to other music services let me know.