The internet was set alight with speculation when Sajjad Ali posted what some would call a cryptic video on his social media accounts. Taking to his Instagram on December 26, Ali had posted a video under which he shared the following statement, “After listening to a new movie’s song, it reminded me of my song I released 26 years ago, Ab Ke Hum Bichare. Enjoy!” Although Ali did not mention the name of the song or movie, netizens both in India and Pakistan were quick to point out that the Cinderella singer might be talking about the song Besharam Rang from the upcoming Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone film Pathaan. Given the amount of songs the Indian film industry is churning out which are either reworked versions or blatant copies of older Pakistani classics, many fans considered it plausible that the Pathaan song had been influenced by Ab Ke Hum Bichare and that Ali was calling attention to it. However, after the internet had gone down the rabbit-hole of theorising, Ali himself put out another video to put all the unnecessary speculation to bed. The singer stated, “After watching my previous video, many people started saying that ‘Sajjad Ali is claiming his song has been copied.’ First of all, when did I even say this? Please see the clip again and observe how I never used any singer’s name, never called out any song, music director or even actor.” Ali went on to say that he had no reason to make such allegations, nor was he trying to get involved in any controversy. He also clarified that songs composed in Raag Bhairavi often sound similar, and that people who do not understand the technicalities of music should not speculate about such things unnecessarily.

The Good and Bad of ‘Kyun Ke Main Green Hun’

Upcoming TV channel Green Entertainment is yet to launch its dramas but its official OST is out and it is impressive. Featuring some of the top vocalists in the country like Atif Aslam, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan, and Abida Parveen, Kyun Ke Main Green Hun stands out as possibly the best channel OST in two decades. Composed by Sahir Ali Bagga and written by Imran Raza, it makes you want to listen to it again and again, such compelling is its beat, its lyrics, and its execution.

The music video has been directed by Sohail Javed who is back to what he did best in the 1990s that is directing peppy music videos. It must have been a tedious task to make a music video featuring nine top singers which reminded one of the greatest music videos of all time Hai Meri Sar Zameen Roshan which featured 15 top singers of the country including Reshma, Farida Khanum, and Junaid Jamshed.

Not everything is great about this video though; there are some issues and the biggest of them is preferring Sahir Ali Bagga over the likes of Faakhir, and Ali Azmat. While Ali Azmat is the most senior male singer in the group, and is more popular than the music composer himself, he should have featured at the start instead of dominating in the end. The same is the case with Faakhir who appears in the music video even after Gul Panra when in fact it should have been Sahir Ali Bagga who deserved to be in the supporting role.

Also, the section featuring Abida Parveen sort of put the brake on the fast-paced number, and either she could have ended the song or begun it, not used as a connection between two separate groups of singers. Like Farida Khanum in the aforementioned song, she could have started the proceedings considering no one matches her experience, her range, and her popularity amongst the group. On the whole, it’s a fabulous song and has already made the listeners curious about the channel which might be coming to your screen, sooner than you think.