Okay so the famous-long-before-they-were-meant-to-be-famous KOSTAL debuted just recently on the screen with their much awaited track, 'Jaan Jaye' and man, everyone is groovin' with the guys!
When I saw the video; my first reaction was a smile at how cute Ali Saleem aka Begam Nawazish Ali acted in it. It begins as she walks into the kitchen, calling her cook, Omran Shafique aka Rafique and then like a typical Pakistani woman, she scolds him while he meekly smiles. Then she leaves for her car; near which Taha Malik, her gardener (maali), is busy cutting the grass. The moment she's out; Taha or the maali dashes inside the house, awaited by Omran who's already in the mood to party. They turn on the TV and watch pretty ladies on the ramp and then snooze off. *Scene changes* There are girls and girls, all so thin and lanky and wearing black catwalking and dancing around as the music plays on. Omran starts singing the course and Taha interrupts with his rap and Omran starts up again and then one of the thin girls is sitting on the table coloring her lips when Omran jumps on the bed behind and she signals him to come near at which he pops a rose in his mouth and crawls to her when all of a sudden; the lady of the house, Begum Nawazish Ali opens the door of the room and screams, scaring Taha off the stool and Omran to drop open his jaw.
Wah-oW!
So the best thing about the video is the concept. Like I always cry before; it's the concept that makes a video worth watching. So this one blows off. However, I must say that Begum Nawazish Ali gets all the credit for it. Honestly. She (or he) makes it a good laugh all over. Another thing that adds over to the video is the variety of colour dimensions the director has used. The whole spectrum makes the video iridescent which in turn makes it very stylish and good to the eyes.
The music is not unique; yet it does makes a mark. It'll leave you dancing along the song for sure. However; maybe because I'm no big fan of rap music, I did felt that the little piece by Taha was completely unnecessary. It feels as if he's tried to push himself in the chords where Omran has already made space for himself. No offense. The lyrics are very chic. Omran sings, 'Meri jaan jaan jaye, Mujhe chaine nahi aaye, Mujhe aisa tarhpaye, Jaisay mann choo jaye..'And the classy tone to his voice just does the trick. Somehow, when you close your eyes and listen to the vocals, it's like Mauj gone groovy.
The guys carry their style in the video (including Ali Saleem) but the models were a fashion disaster. C'mon! What's with the masks? Take them off! And the black color chronology?
So the whole video is a big hit already, for sure I'm convinced. The fact is; only the concept and the vocals make it memorable. It's how Omran 'Har fun mola' Shafique guides the duo to another level of entertainment and how the spectral (here, I derived it out of spectrum) Uns Mufti directs a fine piece for the people to laugh and enjoy. I bet it's number one on your play list by now. hi5!
The door creaked open; giving way to a beam of light to enter the darkness of the room. Me stepped inside, followed by You who was carrying a bag and turned the lamp on. They walked to the table in the middle. While You pulled out a chair for Me to sit; Me grabbed the note they had put on the table before and crumpled it in her fist.
Once they both were seated; You took out the laptop and a pad out of the bag. He passed on the electronic to Me; who turned it on and began searching for her playlist.
You: Shall we start?
Me: Yep.
You: We have...co-VEN's latest track, 'Ready to die'.
Me scrolls and then plays the video.
...And it's over.
You: Carry on.
Me: Okay so; this was a long awaited video of a band. And to be very honest; I didn't find it worth waiting for.
You: Wow. Why?
Me: Well; let's just say I had heard so much about its release months ago and I was waiting so anxiously for another conceptual classic like there had always been from the boys. Another fact that the guys at ROLA are famous for their creativity. The point is; a conceptual video adds a subtle flavour to every song. And especially when it comes to a rock band like co-VEN, people get so tired of watching performances normally. They want creativity! Concept! Especially when the band has such good actors; why not one?
You: What could have been a good concept?
Me: I don't know. Maybe a little political and military flare could have been added. Me think a little touch from Noori's video's could have been an inspiration too. (laughs) C'mon! Mandana Zaidi is one too good director; but all Noori videos are just so similar!
You: (laughs) Yeahh. Ahaan so how about the vocals?
Me: The vocals, however, I'm in love with them! Someone tell Hamza Jafri that his piece in Urdu does the trick in the song! When he says, "chali shatranj ki baazi aur haari haari; Iraqi, Irani, Saudi, Afghani, Pakistani!" I was simply spellbound at how wondrous it is! The lyrics are very good too! Very ravnous and meaningful. Actually; I'm loving the fact bands like these are raising so much awareness in the youth by their songs. I love the beat, the drums this time are too cool! Purely natural. co-VEN's getting better with the music, baby!
You: Of course they are!
Me: And, on the brighter side of the video; let's say apart from no concept; I would give the director an 8 on 10.
You: I saw some ratings online; people think the song is awesome.
Me: It is, apart from the video. The melody of the song was not what co-VEN gave us before. So you know; it was new for co-VEN listeners and therefore they enjoyed.
You: Acha you think the band members lacked something this time? A litlle persona? I felt that maybe it was the couture's fault; but there wasn't much of an attention grabbed by Sameer nor Sikander. Neither was Omran in the video. Maybe because Hamza was singing tou we didn't notice him.
Me: Yeah in a way; I did feel that Hamza stood as a performer this time. I loved the drums, like I mentioned before, but the fact that I didn't notice Sikander himself. I won't say it was the director's fault; maybe it was up with the beat. If you just close your eyes; you won't want to see who's playing the guitar or the drums; you'd want to see who's singing.
You: Haha. So, story's over?
Me: Not yet. Write that the TV guys should play the video more often on private music channels. We need a better horizon for the public to listen to guys like these.
You: Aye.
Me's cell phone rings. She picks it up. After some seconds, she notifies You.
Me: To the boss.
You: (starts collecting the stuff back in the bag) Yeah I got that.
They both leave, turning off the lamp and slamming the door behind.
Posts
