Asrar sheds light on the issues faced by Pakistani musicians in a musical short film

With minimal chances for the underground bands and less known singers to get to the mainstream, most of them rather relinquish their passion to earn bread and butter for their families. However, the ones who choose to stay resilient, end up becoming poor with each passing day due to the scarcity of enthusiasts willing to give them a mere chance.

Asrar, known for his enchanting voice and the flamboyant pitch has delved into the aforementioned issue with absolute mastery by making a musical short film on the topic. It starts off delineating a small Lahori house having ‘Ustad Bulbul Khan Lahoria’ on its nameplate.

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It further depicts the Ustad (Master) having a conversation with his wife about what shall she make for the meal. The Video also has his students on Tabla and Sitar while he has a Harmonium on his traditional wooden bed on the rooftop.

As he talks, a man and his son come to him requesting to take the young boy as his student. The father, however, takes a jibe at the Ustad, saying “I have always told my son that singing is a useless career, but I’m helpless because he is my child and I have to listen to him.” He tells him that he has heard a lot about him but haven’t really heard him sing.

After giving him the box of sweets, he hands over a five thousand bill calling it a ‘Sadqa’ (donation). Ustad gives the money to one of his students and asks him to bring comestibles and other important items. He goes to the market and gets back with the stuff and the remaining money. She goes to the room and carefully puts the money in a small container that apparently had threads and needles inside it.

On the other hand, Ustad sings his heart out in Asrar’s voice, shedding light on the issues musicians of Pakistan are facing. In spite of consistent sarcasm by the father, Ustad still offers them tea while singing the song about steel ceiling of his house and about how people are busy in their own lives, paying no heed on humanity and the people who deserve attention.

One of the many exceptional constituents of this song is the flow of its video. The song is shot with a single camera in a single shot without any cut or camera shift which is pretty hassling given the variety of angles it offered. Lastly, after he finished singing, Ustad calls his son and asks him to get up and do something. As he pulls the quit, his son happens to be Asrar himself.

There has always been a glass ceiling over Pakistani singers since the beginning. Notwithstanding the sheer talent they possess, Pakistani singers are often marginalized to a point where they end up finding little to no opportunities to pursue their career.

We hope this song will play a pivotal part in uplifting hopeless and struggling singers. We are certain, the Pakistani music industry will pay attention to the musicians who deserve a platform to shine.

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