Pakistani singer Ali Sethi wows Coachella crowd with Pasoori

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/18/pakistani-singer-ali-sethi...

The Punjabi track was 2022’s most-searched song on Google and has surpassed half a billion views on YouTube.

A tale of forbidden love with an infectious hook, Ali Sethi’s song Pasoori has become an international phenomenon, fusing poetic tradition with global beats to fuel the rise of the Pakistani singer’s star.

The Punjabi track whose title roughly translates to “difficult mess” was 2022’s most-searched song on Google and has surpassed half a billion views on YouTube, offering a melodic metaphor for conflict between India and Pakistan in the form of an impassioned love song with an eminently danceable flow.

The song’s origins stem from when Sethi was asked to pen a song for the popular Pakistani television programme Coke Studio, which occurred just after an experience where an Indian broadcaster had pulled out of a creative partnership because the 38-year-old is Pakistani.

“You’re a Pakistani, and India and Pakistan are at war, and now we can’t really put up a billboard saying we are working with you because extremists will set fire to our building,” the singer recalls being told.

“As a Pakistani, I have grown up with that… ‘Oh you can’t do this because it’s prohibited, yada yada.'”

‘All true love is prohibited’
The experience got his creative wheels turning. “Of course, the theme of prohibition is such an eternal theme in South Asian love songs – all true love is prohibited,” he told the AFP news agency following an electrifying party of a performance on Sunday at the Coachella music festival in the United States, a cherry on top of his remarkable year.


“So I wanted to write a song that was sort of a flower bomb hurled at nationalism and heteropatriarchy,” Sethi continued, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and black button-up with colourful embroidery alluding to styles of the American southwest. “With all the fun innuendos and all this camp energy.”

Sethi says he drew on Punjabi folk songs of his youth, imbuing the lyrics with puns and double entendres, “a nice way to slip in and subvert orthodox views without really appearing to be out beyond the veil”.

He performs the track with Shae Gill, a singer born to a Christian family in Lahore.

Sethi was “astounded” by the global response to the song, which has the improvisational framework of a traditional South Asian “raga” mixed with the region’s contemporary sounds, along with Turkish strings, flamenco-style claps and the four-four Latino reggaeton beats keeping rhythm for much of today’s reigning pop.

Pasoori: Bollywood remake of hit Pakistani song divides Indians


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-66027341


Indians are reacting sharply to Bollywood's remake of Pasoori, a Pakistani pop song which became a smash hit in both nations last year.

Originally sung by Ali Sethi and Shae Gill, the quirky number featured in Coke Studios Pakistan - the country's longest-running music show.

An Indian version of the song released to mixed reviews on Monday.

Many listeners said they found the rendition unnecessary, but others said they loved the feel of the new version.

Titled Pasoori Nu, the remake features in the upcoming Bollywood film, Satyaprem Ki Katha, and stars actors Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani.

The song's official music video has been viewed more than nine million times on YouTube since its release on Monday.

There had been a lot of excitement around its release - given how the new version is sung by Arijit Singh, one of India's biggest playback singers in recent years, and is penned by Sethi himself along with Indian writer Gurpreet Saini.

The song retains the original chorus along with its catchy pop hook but overall has a more romantic feel to it. Agg lavaan teriya majbooriya nu (Set fire to your compulsions), Singh croons in perfect imitation of Sethi's voice, as the actors dance and embrace each other against the backdrop of snow-capped mountains.


But on Monday, many Indians criticised the music video and accused its makers of "totally ruining" the original song for them.

"Nice try, don't try again," one user wrote.

"No doubt Arjijit Singh is an amazing singer. But you need to stop messing with good songs," another added.

Others said they were tired of Bollywood's habit of rehashing old films and songs into new content. "Can't you people let original things stay original?" a user asked.

However, several others defended the song and accused its critics of being unnecessarily harsh.

"Loved this version of Pasoori," a fan wrote, while another added: "Arijit sir's version of Pasoori, the best gift for every music fan."

Pasoori, a Punjabi word which roughly translates to "a complicated mess", released last year in the 14th season of Coke Studio Pakistan. Produced by the soda company, the show features studio-recorded performances by some of the country's most famous artists and is hugely popular in India.

The song was a massive hit in India, where it garnered millions of views, topped music charts for weeks and inspired a flurry of remakes.

India’s theatrical politics: Bollywood, billionaires and the BJP
PM Modi controls the campaign trail narrative with cinema, tycoons and big business parroting his party’s divisive line

By SEHR RUSHMEEN And WANYA SIDHU
MAY 24, 2024

https://asiatimes.com/2024/05/indias-theatrical-politics-bollywood-...

As the lights dim in theaters across the country, audiences are swept into narratives that do more than entertain; they subtly indoctrinate the masses in the right-wing, BJP-aligned Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) volunteer paramilitary organization’s Hindu nationalism.

By shaping narratives that subtly endorse “Hindutva” ideologies, sometimes even employing Muslim actors to deliver skewed messages, Bollywood contributes to a socio-political echo chamber in favor of Modi’s BJP.

Consider “Pathan,” featuring a Muslim superstar, yet the film weaves a narrative that’s anything but supportive of the community he represents. It’s a clever ploy – use a beloved Muslim face to sell a story that subtly fans the flames of distrust against his own, masking the bitter pill of bias with the sugarcoat of mainstream cinema.

Then there’s “Border,” which dramatizes historical conflicts with Pakistan to such an extent that the enemy image becomes not just a wartime necessity but a peacetime norm. The movie, garbed in patriotism, perpetuates a narrative that sees India at endless odds with its neighbor, reinforcing the “them versus us” mindset that is so critical to the RSS’s broader Hindu nationalist agenda.

“Uri: The Surgical Strike” pumps up the volume on heroism and revenge. It’s not just a flick; it’s a full-blown rally cry that sings in tune with the RSS’s lines. The film turns real-life military drama into a thrilling show of bravery, getting folks riled up while skipping over the tricky questions about what these actions actually mean for everyone involved.

“Kurbaan” is dressed up like a love story but underneath plants seeds of mistrust toward Muslims, portraying them mostly as radicals or villains. The movie stealthily taps into the fears and biases that some might quietly harbor, bringing these ideas into the spotlight. That aligns perfectly with RSS’s strategy of marginalizing Muslims, relegating India’s largest minority to the sidelines under the guise of a blockbuster narrative.

“New York” had the potential to delve deep into the injustices faced by Muslims post-9/11. Instead, it falls back on old patterns, depicting its Muslim characters with an aura of suspicion and menace. The film weaves its storyline around the specter of terrorism in a manner that endorses the RSS’s perspective, subtly reinforcing misconceptions about Muslims both within India and beyond.

Bollywood movies transcend mere entertainment; they convey narratives cleverly crafted to align with the BJP’s political agenda. By consistently portraying Muslims and Pakistan in a negative spotlight, these Indian blockbusters perpetuate a cycle of fear and nationalistic fervor to garner votes for the BJP while discarding the imperative of forging national unity.