Catching up with Momina Sibtain

interview

The YouTuber talks to Instep about her online show and what its latest season has to offer.

She has taken us inside Ali Zafar's house, had a quickfire chat with Brazilian footballer Kaka, driven along the streets of Islamabad with Momina Mustehsan, and conversed with the likes of Maya Ali, Ali Sethi, Ahmed Ali Butt, Gohar Rasheed, Ayeza Khan, and Faraz Manan, among many others.

Momina Sibtain is now giving us the third season of her YouTube venture – the fashion, lifestyle, entertainment, and travel channel Momina's Mixed Plate – interviewing more celebrities in her chatty, bubbly style.

Instep caught up with Momina to find out more about her experiences with MMP and navigating the world of online content.

Instep: What inspired you to create Momina's Mixed Plate?
Momina Sibtain: I think initially when I was starting and developing the show, I saw the market and there wasn't anything like MMP that existed on YouTube or on television. The idea behind it was to create a light-hearted show that wasn't crass, that was not driven by controversy. Over time it has evolved into something that is a lot more wholesome, I believe, and the conversations have definitely changed, but, again, the initial inspiration was to have something like Jimmy Fallon and Ellen, something along those lines, which is light-hearted and chill and more accessible, especially in English, because I thought that, especially with Pakistani content growing amongst the diaspora, no show in English existed, so this was one way of adding to that.

Instep: What sets MMP apart from other local celebrity/showbiz-focused YouTube channels?
MS: I think what sets it apart is that obviously the language is different; it's not in Urdu, it's more minglish and more English, so it is targeting a different audience altogether. But I think I’m a huge part of the show itself, and my personality is a big part of MMP. And while a lot more show can exist of the same format, my voice and my personality itself adds to the mix; I'm not trying to be conceited or self-absorbed, but I just think that it is what sets it apart – that I'm a part of it as well. Like, I’m an equal part of the show as my guest. And I enjoy having conversations and it is all very conversation driven so it's not very pre-planned. I have a loose structure that I follow and as I'm growing, the show is growing, so let's see where it goes.

Instep: How hard (or easy) is it to carve a niche for yourself online in an era of content overload and endless entertainment options?
MS: I believe with anything sustainable, it has to be very organically grown. I feel like one hit wonders or overnight successes don't really amount to a lot in the long run. So yes, it's not easy; I wouldn't say it's easy. But if you love something, you have to chip at it consistently. There are frustrating days and then there are great days and then there are days where it's completely stagnant and then there are days when you see a decline and then there are days when you see an upward graph. So you have to kind of just be ok with that and also know that your self-worth or what you're putting out there is not just based on the numbers that you're seeing, so they'll come – they will come at some point. Just keep evolving, see what the audience is enjoying, or if you really believe in a vision then believe in the vision and stick to your guns.

Instep: What can you tell us about MMP season 3?
MS: MMP season 3 is a real labour of love. It is the season that I am most proud of. When I looked at my set, I had tears in my eyes. I didn't know how and when I got to this place where I am. It's a season that's very close to my heart. It shows you a lot of my evolution as a host and season 4 will probably be even more evolution of me and how the show evolves with me.
There's a great line-up of guests. The conversations are fantastic. There are some conversations that when I took them to the editing board, I was very excited and proud that I was able to have these conversations very openly and very candidly. I think, also, as I'm maturing and growing older, I'm understanding just how to converse with people in a slightly different manner. 

Instep: Out of all the people/celebrities you have interviewed so far, who has been your favourite? And why does this interview/experience stand out?
MS: There have been so many that I can't really name one. We record back-to-back, so each episode is like, you're in and out, in and out, in and out. My energy is running super high, and I’m in that consistent mode throughout. So I can't really pick one favourite episode or one favourite celebrity, but if I just take season 3, my personal favourite episodes are … Mathira's episodes are really good, Mansha Pasha and I have this wonderful conversation on marriage, Khalid Malik and I spoke about spirituality. I'm enjoying the conversations a lot more which are more heartfelt, which are more honest and authentic to someone's true self, so I guess now that is what I’m enjoying more.

Instep: What about your least favourite interview to date? Was there ever a time when the conversation just didn't go the way you would have hoped?
MS: Well, the least favourite would be … I think when I was starting out initially, there were one or two guests that … it was my shortcoming that I couldn't connect with them. And I normally don't have this issue but one or two guests I didn't connect with, and I think they were also a bit camera shy, so the interviews didn't come out that well. But I would not like to name people because it's not something nice to say. 

Instep: The YouTube comments section: do the negative comments ever get to you? How do you handle the criticism?
MS: Like with anything else in life, I think you have your days and I have my days as well. There are moments where I'll ignore negative comments because there are a lot that come through on YouTube especially. But then there are days … I’m human, there are days where I’ll snap and I might be having a bad day and I just … you know you don't want to hear [bad] things about you being written online, like you look bad or about your appearance or about your laugh. So yeah, it can be tough, but over time I’m growing a thicker skin, but again it's a very human process; I don't think there's any one way of handling it. One is that don't read them, but sometimes you do come across them and sometimes they will irk you and trigger you in different ways. I don't think they'll ever go away. In our country, people are just very miserable in their lives and they're just very unhappy people. There's just so much unhappiness around us. Yeah, there are days when they affect me and there are days when they don't affect me at all. As I'm evolving and growing, the days where I actually snap are far less now; it's like once in a blue moon now.

- By Sameen Amer

Instep, The News on Sunday - 19th March, 2023 *

In the picture: Missing

movie review

Missing is a taut techno-thriller that keeps you riveted to its twisty proceedings

Missing ★★★

Starring: Storm Reid, Joaquim de Almeida, Ken Leung, Amy Landecker, Daniel Henney, and Nia Long
Directed by: Will Merrick and Nick Johnson
Tagline: No one disappears without a trace.

Following in the footsteps of 2018's Searching, Will Merrick and Nick Johnson take the screenlife conceit out for another spin in Missing, an intriguing thriller that, like its predecessor, takes place entirely on screens but revolves around a completely different set of characters.

The protagonist, this time around, is teenager June (Storm Reid), who lost her father, James (Tim Griffin), when she was a child and has a loving but somewhat strained relationship with her mother, Grace (Nia Long). After enjoying a week of adult-supervision-free time while her mom is on vacation with her boyfriend Kevin (Ken Leung), June goes to pick the couple up from the airport upon their return from Columbia, only to realize that neither of them made it back to the U.S.

Worried about her missing mother and determined to find out what happened, June puts her sleuthing skills to the test, using technology to her advantage by reaching out to people over the phone while trying to seek help and find answers online. 

We see the proceedings unfold almost entirely through June's phone and computer screen, as it becomes increasingly clear that things aren't exactly how they seem. With the reveal of each secret, it becomes harder to figure out who is in June's corner and who might be responsible for her mother's disappearance.

There are several twists and turns on offer here along a fairly well-crafted route that sometimes stretches credulity but still remains riveting from start to finish. The movie keeps you guessing as it shifts suspicion several times, and its solid cast makes sure that you stay invested in their characters' fate. Reid makes a likeable protagonist, while the supporting actors deliver engaging performances, making it hard to figure out who the culprit really is. And even though we have experienced the screenlife gimmick before, it still remains an interesting, effective device that is visually intriguing and a powerful comment on how tech immersed modern life has become.

All in all, despite taking the occasional turn that isn't quite convincing, Missing keeps you hooked to its central mystery, delivering its drama through compelling characters and an unconventional style that fits the story well.

- By Sameen Amer

Instep, The News on Sunday - 19th March, 2023 *

Potpourri: of love and hate

potpourri

Watch

What's Love Got to Do with It?

In her screenwriting debut, Jemima Khan takes a cross-cultural look at love in What's Love Got to Do with It?, a delightful film that spruces the British romcom formula by garnishing it with Pakistani flavours. Lily James's loverlorn Zoe decides to follow her best friend, Shahzad Latif's Kaz, as he opts for an arranged marriage with a bride from Pakistan, documenting his journey for her next film. Things don't go quite as planned, however; although when it comes to matters of the heart, you can't really expect them to.

With a terrific cast (that also includes the likes of Emma Thompson, Shabana Azmi, and Sajal Aly) and a sweet script, What's Love is a downright charming romcom with lovable characters, touching (albeit predictable) drama, and a refreshingly warm look at Pakistani culture.

Read 

Spare by Prince Harry

The bizarre saga of the publicity-obsessed Sussexes continues in Spare, a memoir by Prince Harry that finds the writer spilling the tea on the mess that is the British royal family. The biography takes a look at Harry's childhood and his mother's death, his time in the military, and his relationship with Meghan Markle, while criticising the press and throwing his family – including “Pa” and “Willy” - under the proverbial bus.

Spare isn't exactly a literary masterpiece, and for a salacious tell-all, it's surprisingly dull and off-puttingly “woe is me”. It's ultimately more of a “borrow from the library” than a “spend your money on” volume.

Play 

June's Journey

Follow amateur sleuth June Parker as she solves mysteries and navigates life in June's Journey, a globe-trotting hidden object game set in the 1920s that lets you earn coins by finding objects in scenes, then spend the coins on purchasing decorations to beautify your island(s). For a more social element, you can join a club, share drinks for rewards, and play bi-weekly competitions.

It's a fun game that keeps you invested with likeable characters and interesting storylines. Resist the urge to spend actual money on the game though – Wooga really wants your cash, but June's Journey is very playable without spending a single rupee; you're going to have to watch in-app ads though, which can be kind of a drag.

- By Sameen Amer

Us Magazine, The News - 17th March, 2023 *

In the picture: What's Love Got to Do with It?

movie review

What's Love Got to Do with It? is a fairly conventional British romcom with an unconventional Pakistani slant.

What's Love Got to Do with It? ★★★

Starring: Lily James, Shazad Latif, Shabana Azmi, Emma Thompson, Sajal Aly, Oliver Chris, Asim Chaudhry, Jeff Mirza, Pakiza Baig, Alice Orr-Ewing, and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan

Directed by: Shekhar Kapur

Sometimes there are movies that bring you joy merely by existing. What's Love Got to Do with It? is one of those instances. Not just because it's delightfully charming – which it is – but because it does what few other foreign films do: show Pakistan in a positive light and portray people of Pakistani descent as normal humans. Hurray for that!

Directed by Shekhar Kapur with a screenplay by Jemima Khan, the movie takes its cues from the Richard Curtis school of romcoms to create a sweet drama about the search for love and happiness, giving its tale a slightly different spin by imbuing it with flavours of Pakistani culture.

The protagonist is award-winning documentary filmmaker Zoe (Lily James), an unlucky-in-love Londoner who seems to be looking for Mister Right in all the wrong places. Turns out that a string of dating app swipes and hookups isn't what fairytales are made of, but how else are you going to find love in the modern world?

A potential answer arrives when her childhood friend and neighbour, the British Pakistani Kaz (Shazad Latif), announces that he has decided to let his family arrange his marriage. Could there be some merit to this seemingly quaint approach to finding a partner?

A fascinated Zoe decides to explore the concept, convincing Kaz to let her film his journey that will hopefully lead to matrimonial bliss. But things, of course, don't go quite as seamlessly as everyone would have hoped.

The overall formula may feel familiar, but What's Love drapes its romcom hijinks in cultural tones that usually can't be found in such flicks while touching on topics like racism, conservatism, and interracial marriages. Things never get too heavy though. It's all quite sweet and entertaining, thanks in no small part to the ridiculously charming cast that makes the proceedings warm and touching. It's impossible not to root for Zoe and Kaz when they're being played by actors as winsome as James and Latif. The supporting cast – particularly a very animated Emma Thompson, who portrays Zoe's mother – also bring much life and colour to the tale.

Ultimately, there may not be many surprises on offer here – is it mean to wish for an untidy ending for a romcom? – but What's Love Got to Do with It? still makes for enjoyable viewing and tugs at your heartstrings (especially if you have stumbled in your search for the right person) while leaving you feeling hopeful that there will be more projects – both local and foreign – that will embrace Pakistani culture and people with the same level of warmth.

- By Sameen Amer

Instep, The News on Sunday - 12th March, 2023 *

Crowning glory

cover story

Humayun Saeed talks to Instep about his appearance in the latest season of The Crown and navigating success on both the big screen and the small

It’s the year 1995. Relations between Prince Charles – the heir apparent to the British throne – and his estranged wife, Princess Diana, are becoming increasingly strained. What started with a fairytale wedding is now inching towards a nightmare divorce. The very public airing of dirty laundry is giving the House of Windsor a splitting headache, and Queen Elizabeth has supposedly advised that her eldest son and his bride of nearly a decade and a half officially part ways. 

Amidst all this royal drama, Diana has formed an attachment with a British Pakistani heart surgeon, Dr. Hasnat Khan. Their friendship soon blossoms into a relationship. 

It is one of the most highly-publicized romances of the princess’s life, and now, nearly a quarter century later, it is one of the storylines in the latest season of the massively popular Netflix series The Crown, a show that has taken the endless supply of drama that spills out of the British monarchy, plumped it up with a generous dose of imagination, and turned it into riveting television.

Netflix’s crown jewel

Centered primarily on Queen Elizabeth II, the series has charted the life of the now-late sovereign and her family from the 1940s onwards, with wholesale recasting every two seasons. Now in its fifth and penultimate season, the show has arrived at the ‘90s, a challenging decade for the British royals, when tumult and scandals were frequently rocking the monarchy and gossip mills were in perpetual overdrive.

It’s the latest 10 episode batch – not yet released as I write these words but out by the time you’re reading them – of Peter Morgan’s series, and the entire cast has, once again, been overhauled. But perhaps what is most pertinent this time around, at least from a Pakistani perspective, is the presence of a very familiar face: that of the great Humayun Saeed, one of the most prominent names in our industry. He is portraying the aforementioned Hasnat Khan, the doctor who won the Princess of Wales’ heart and had a two-year relationship with her that ended just weeks prior to her untimely death in 1997.

It’s a relatively short but vital role – Humayun appears in episodes seven and eight of season five – and one that gives the performer an excellent chance to make an international mark, a chance that came about when talent collided with serendipity.

A right royal role

“It all started with a call from Hamid Hussain, who is now my talent agent,” the actor tells Instep. “I knew him from before. He used to manage Bollywood star Nargis Fakhri, and some time ago, before the COVID pandemic, I was planning to work with her on one of my projects.” That project did not pan out, but Humayun and Hamid remained in touch. An altogether different opportunity eventually presented itself. “One evening, out of the blue, I got a call from Hamid, who was in London then, and he told me he wanted me to audition for a role. Before he could tell me about the part, I was required to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement), and then when he shared details, I was pleasantly surprised.”

Then came the audition. “I had not auditioned after my first project, so recording my audition was a unique experience this time,” Humayun reveals. “Soon after this, I had online reading sessions with the director and then Elizabeth Debicki [who portrays Diana]. After this Hamid disappeared for a good ten days and I assumed that maybe the role went to someone else, but then I got a call from him on the tenth day confirming my selection for The Crown!”

And so he landed a role on one of the most critically acclaimed shows in the world, and with the part came the challenge of portraying a real life person on screen. Did he feel any extra pressure or added responsibility, given that the character was based on an actual person? “As an actor, this is the first time I am playing a character based on a real life person and it is challenging to pick up someone’s persona and to portray that person accurately on screen,” he replies. “Dr. Hasnat Khan is known to a lot of people due to his connection with Princess Diana. Everyone has their own feelings about public figures and a sort of attachment to them, so portraying a real life character always builds extra pressure as you are always thinking, what will people think about this, what will the real Dr. Hasnat Khan think about this?”

Humayun describes Hasnat as “an ordinary looking, introvert man who was the total opposite of Princess Diana,” and feels that it was his simplicity that brought the two closer.

To prepare for the part, the actor had to learn more about the man that inspired his character. The show’s creatives shared their research with the performer, and Humayun even had to attend a workshop with a real life surgeon to understand how a surgeon would react and behave in a hospital setup and operating room. He also had to alter his appearances and style to match that of the person he was portraying. “For this role, I look completely different,” he says. “I have a specific hairstyle. The way I talk and act is all based on what I understood from the research material. I even put on some weight for this role.”

It also helped that the actor was performing alongside the very talented Elizabeth Debicki, the Diana to his Hasnat. “She is an amazing co-star,” Humayun gushes. “Most of my scenes in the show are with her and the director had done a joint online reading session with us to see our chemistry before I was confirmed for the role, so we had already interacted with each other before we met on the first day on set. She is so particular about everything, and the effort she puts into her performance and preparing for it totally amazed me. In our conversations, I spoke about Pakistan and she wanted to know more about our culture, our people, and also our entertainment industry.”

King of the hill

Speaking of our industry, how different was the experience of working on a foreign show like The Crown versus working on local projects? “It is never fair to compare a production like The Crown to Pakistani productions as they work on different scales,” the actor answers. “Having said that, there is definitely a lot for us to learn,” he concedes. “I feel that the perfection that I saw on The Crown's production was on the next level. There were so many people on set, but everyone knew what they had to do and they were doing it all effortlessly. We need to learn and bring this level of professionalism to our industry.”

Humayun has unique insight into the workings of our entertainment industry. Not only is he one of the reigning stars of both film and TV in Pakistan – having appeared in movies like Bin Roye (2015), Jawani Phir Nahi Ani (2015), and Punjab Nahi Jaungi (2017), and television dramas including Uraan (2010 – 2011), Dil Lagi (2016), and Meray Paas Tum Ho (2019 – 2020), and winning numerous awards along the way – he also runs the Six Sigma Plus media production house and has witnessed the evolution of our industry firsthand over the last three decades. “From the 1990s to now, the industry has evolved. We have definitely come a long way. But there is still a lot that needs to be done,” he opines. “This year has been a good year for the film industry and I am hopeful this will give producers the courage to make bigger and better films. Our digital OTT (over-the-top) landscape is still in its nascent stage and that will also need to be developed to open more opportunities.”

As for which medium he prefers to work in, the actors says he finds movies and television both challenging and rewarding in their own way. “I have never felt that one is more rewarding than the other,” he explains, “and thus I have always maintained my relationship with both. Also, it is difficult for me to choose as my fans have loved me on both mediums and given me just as much love for my TV series as they have for my films. And at the end of the day this love and appreciation is the biggest reward.” 

That is precisely how he defines success – he thinks it lies in the love, appreciation, and recognition he and his work receive from fans and people in general. “I don’t do work with the intention of how successful that project will be or how successful I will be after that. I do work that I feel strongly about. It’s the same case with The Crown. It is a guest role, but I felt strongly about it and thus I went ahead with it. I didn't want to see how many scenes I will have or how many dialogues I will say; I did it as I felt strongly about it. And fortunately this thought process has always worked for me and people have loved my work.”

What’s next for Humayun? He is looking at some interesting projects at the moment, he tells us, and has also done other international auditions recently as well. “I am not sure what will be next,” he says, “but I know one thing for sure: whatever I do, it will be really good!”

- By Sameen Amer

Instep, The News on Sunday - 13th November, 2022 *

“Early diagnosis could save lives”

pinktober

To observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we speak to Dr. Muhammad Arif about the disease, its symptoms and treatment options, and the very significant importance of early detection

Breast cancer is a pesky interloper that has a cruel habit of cutting lives short in the most unfair of ways. It can sit silently in a person’s body, spreading its tentacles till it eventually strikes with vicious force. It can take over the lives of those in treatment as well as those around them for months, if not years. It can ravage the body and spirit of the patient and leave a permanent scar on the hearts of their loved ones.

But it doesn’t have to.

If detected early, the disease is fairly easy to control with extremely promising chances of survival. But in a country like Pakistan, where awareness levels are low and the healthcare system severely lacking, the outlook is often more grave. By the time most women realize they have the disease, it is already at an advanced stage and far more difficult to manage.

“As a nation, there is a delay in diagnosis and many patients do not survive because by the time they are diagnosed their disease is late-stage,” Dr. Muhammad Arif tells Instep. He is the owner of the Razia Sultana Memorial Cancer and Blood Associates clinic, named in honour of his late mother who also battled the disease.

So what exactly is this nasty malady that seems single-mindedly hell-bent on causing misery? Cancer is basically a group of diseases characterised by the uncontrolled division of cells (which are the basic building blocks of a living being). And what causes this unregulated cell multiplication? “There are a lot of theories,” Dr. Arif replies. “The old theory was that this is genetically determined. But after research into DNA and mutations, we found out that cancer is not necessarily genetic. It is mostly caused by metabolic problems in the body which then trigger cell growth.”

According to the oncologist, about seventy percent of cancers in general are now attributed to lifestyle issues, such as what we consume and how active we are.

Our diet, he says, is one of the fundamental driving forces behind the ailment. “The so-called industrial diet of today, products which are far from natural foods, [damage our bodies],” he explains. He lists the overconsumption of sugar and sweets, bakery products, vegetable oils, chicken and other meats, and Western-styled junk food as contributing factors and explains that we simply are not used to the chemically processed items we are now consuming. “We have evolved millions of years to get to this level, but in the last 100 years or so, our diet has been turned upside down. Things like over-processed oils are a huge factor in this, as are the chemicals and preservatives that are used to enhance the taste and shelf life of food [but that aren’t good for the human body].”

Unhealthy and fatty diets alongside a lack of activity, like exercise and walking, lead inevitably to weight gain. “In breast cancer, one of the highest risk factors is obesity and inactivity,” he says. Stress can also make the disease worse in patients who already have it. And then there are elements that cause a disruption in our internal metabolism but which we can’t easily influence, like our environment, the toxic chemicals that have been sprayed on the vegetables and fruit we consume, fertilizers, pollution, and water supplies contaminated with factory runoffs.

Specific to breast cancer, a woman’s familial history (first degree relatives with breast cancer) as well as reproductive history (early menarche, late menopause, and late first pregnancies) are often cited as risk factors. 

Altogether, these elements play a role in triggering a disease that disrupts the lives of millions of women – and even some men – every year. According to the World Health Organization, in 2020, there were 2.3 million women diagnosed with breast cancer as well as 685,000 deaths globally. While real data about the prevalence of breast cancer in Pakistan is not available, Dr. Arif says that according to estimates, about 1 in 7 or 8 Pakistani women will develop this disease in their lifetime, with Pakistan being among the highest risk countries in the breast cancer category worldwide. 

Detecting the disease in its earliest possible stage is the best way to combat this life-threatening adversary. And awareness of the symptoms certainly helps. “The most common sign of breast cancer is a lump in the breast. Sometimes there is a discharge from the nipple, swelling, or skin discolouration,” the doctor details. If the disease has spread, then it can cause any sign or symptom anywhere in the body, like pain in the back or in a bone (bone metastasis), a cough (if it has spread to the lungs), or swelling in the neck (if there are tumours in the neck nodes). “I think, as a general rule, any symptom that is new and persists beyond a few weeks should be investigated properly by a qualified physician,” he says. 

Thanks to scientific advances, we now have several treatment options for breast cancer. Surgery can remove a tumour; chemotherapy kills cancer cells with medication; radiation therapy sterilizes the area affected by the disease and destroys the cells responsible for the growth; and targeted treatment, like hormone therapy and immunotherapy, attacks specific elements to slow down or eliminate the growth. 

Treatment options are dictated by how advanced the disease is. If diagnosed at an early stage, the treatment is likely to be less taxing and more effective. With metastatic disease, surgery is no longer an option and the symptoms are basically managed with medication and radiation but the intent is generally palliate and no longer curative.

“Stage I breast cancer – where there is a small tumour in the breast which is less than 2 centimetres in size – has an 85 percent rate of survival. In Stage II, the chances of survival go into the 60s and 70s. Once it’s Stage III, it’s not only in the breast but is in the axilla as well, having spread through the lymph nodes, and the survival rate drops to less than 50 percent. When the disease is at Stage IV and has gone beyond the breast region and spread to another organ, then the five year survival is less than 10 percent.”

Dr. Arif strongly suggests that women, especially those who have close relatives – mother, sister, aunt – with breast cancer, pay special attention to any and all changes in their breasts. “In other countries, there is a lot of screening which leads to early detection and people get treated. [The lack of screening here] is a major factor why our mortality rate is very high,” he says. “By Western standards, the recommendation is that any woman who has a strong family history of breast cancer should get a mammogram every year after the age of 50. In the Pakistani context, I think it is not feasible to perform a mammo on every woman every year [because of high costs and lack of facilities]. So I think the most important thing for a woman would be to pay attention to the symptoms, pay attention to any lump they feel in the breast, and get the lumps investigated with an ultrasound and mammogram immediately.”

He also reasserts that special attention should be paid to prevention. “[It is essential] to take care of the lifestyle factors, like a proper diet, weight control, exercise, and stress management. Then there is self-examination; if you notice anything new, any symptoms at all, try to pay attention to it right away so that there is no delay. Early diagnosis could save lives.”

So try your best to take good care of your bodies. And no matter what your age, gender, or lifestyle habits – this disease can affect anyone, irrespective of their risk factors, after all – monitor any changes in your breasts (or elsewhere), get regular clinical examinations, follow the advice of the experts, and encourage your family and friends to do the same. Be vigilant, and spread the message. It could ultimately make a world of difference.

- By Sameen Amer

Instep, The News on Sunday - 30th October, 2022 *

Bringing it home

cover story

As Coke Studio takes its live show to Dubai, Instep asks industry insiders about the issues associated with live events in Pakistan and what can be done to have bigger, better concerts here.

Coke Studio is going live! The country’s biggest music platform is taking its magic from television to stage for an evening filled with song and dance.

It’ll be huge! It’ll be amazing! It’ll be ground-breaking!

It’ll be ... in Dubai.

That sound you just heard … that was our enthusiasm collapsing in on itself to form a giant black hole of disappointment.

Coke Studio Pakistan! Live! In the U.A.E.?!

So, what exactly is going on? Here’s a quick recap. 

Once upon a time – back in the good old days of yore when corona was just that luminescent ring around the Moon and Donald Trump was just that guy from The Apprentice – one Rohail Hayat took the idea of a concert-like platform from Brazil and turned it into the most successful music show in the history of Pakistani television. It was an audience-pleasing, career-making hit from the get-go, combining traditional and classical music with contemporary sounds to create irresistible fusions, with Rohail himself spearheading the production.

Several seasons, and a couple of personnel shuffles, later, the long-running series ended up in the very capable hands of Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan, a.k.a Xulfi, who breathed new life into the by-then tiring franchise. The result was stellar. From the stratospheric success of Ali Sethi and Shae Gill’s ‘Pasoori’ to the infectious charm of Kaifi Khalil, Eva B, and Abdul Wahab Bugti’s ‘Kana Yaari’, the fourteenth season offered plenty of bops and earned well-deserved global attention.

Then came the announcement of a live gig, the first show of its kind, which, unlike those Coke Fests that insisted on putting food and music together, would focus solely on the performances. 

Recruited for the show are the likes of Faisal Kapadia, Hasan Raheem, Karakoram, Young Stunners, and Justin Bibis, as well as the aforementioned Ali Sethi and Shae Gill, stars of the latest season who will perform their hits at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai later this month. Spectators will also have the chance to witness the moves of Norwegian hip-hop dance group Quick Style. And we can only assume that a handful of surprises are also in store.

Instead of debuting the event in Pakistan though, Xulfi and his team have opted to go straight to Dubai. So, yeah dude, what gives?

“The Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai is an arena for global events,” the producer tells Instep. “We see Coke Studio as a language we speak to the world, the language of art from our part of the world, from Pakistan. Also, Coke Studio 14 has had a heart-warming global response. So it’s crucial that part of our focus should always include an approach that’s transcending boundaries.”

All fair points, plus you can’t fault him for reaching for the stars. He clearly aims to put on a show of international calibre, and knowing Xulfi, it’s safe to assume he’s crafting something special. “A representation of Pakistan with so many of our artists performing together hasn’t happened on this scale before,” he says. “Think of it as a medium for aspiring musicians from Pakistan to express and perform live in front of the world.”

When Bryan Adams came to town

While it would have been nice to have the Coke Studio artists serenade their local fans, we must concede that it is still all kinds of cool that the show will be abroad and we finally have a bona fide musical export that excites the world. Plus it’s fairly obvious that putting together a massive event in Pakistan comes with many challenges. Just ask Shehzad Roy. The singer – who has not only spent nearly three decades in the music industry but has also made an impact with his philanthropic work – was the driving force behind what remains one of the most memorable concerts in the country’s history: the performance by Canadian musician Bryan Adams (who happens to be Shehzad’s friend; you have our permission to be impressed) in 2006 at Karachi’s Arabian Sea Country Club.

Shehzad remembers the Rock for a Cause gig with fondness. “It was an amazing experience,” he enthuses. “We’ve all grown up listening to the music of Bryan Adams. Singing ‘Summer of ‘69’ and ‘Let’s Make a Night to Remember’ with him – we sang those songs together – was also a terrific experience.”

The event served as a fundraiser for Shehzad’s Zindagi Trust and to aid the victims of the devastating earthquake that had hit the country a few months prior. And although the ‘Saali’ singer and his team pulled off the concert without a hitch, putting together the show was easier said than done. 

“Organizing anything at this scale is very difficult,” he says, citing everything from security concerns to technical issues. But the main problem his team ran into was the lack of a proper venue. “We couldn’t figure out what the venue should be,” he says. They needed a space that could offer a proper concert environment, plus handle everything from ticketing to the technical elements. The right place was hard to find. “We had to set up a whole infrastructure at the eventual venue. So that was a huge issue. There is no infrastructure here for events like that. Plus there are things like security and other considerations. There are venues available in other parts of the world – you go and everything is arranged. But I think venue was the biggest issue for us, because we don’t have places where we can arrange big concerts with the required equipment and all things necessary.”

Local fans of international artists would have hoped that the Canadian singer’s show would be the first of many of its kind, but that was not to be. “[After the Bryan Adams gig], several international artists [expressed interest],” Shehzad reveals. “In fact, I did a show – a fundraiser for our organization – with Guns N’ Roses but in L.A. because it was difficult to do it here and there were multiple other reasons as well. There are several artists I have met that were all willing [to perform here], but this isn’t my job plus it’s very difficult to arrange.”

So what makes it so challenging to arrange a show in Pakistan? “I feel like there’s an issue of uneven growth [here],” Shehzad answers. “You have one of the top hospitals, top buildings in Karachi, and there’s an open gutter nearby and the garbage isn’t being removed. Just like that, when you arrange anything, some things are very organized, while others very disorganized. Especially in concerts, you have things like … the kind of lights and sound system they expect, they then have to bring it themselves. And arranging international concerts is a huge issue.”

The way forward, he thinks, lies in creating a concert culture in the country. “It’s just like movies,” he says. “If your cinemas are being closed, then you won’t get movies. Just like that, if a significant number of concerts aren’t being held, then the system won’t be established. And then doing big concerts all of a sudden will be very difficult.”

Music festivals of the mad decent variety

The other major event that came our way was the Mad Decent Block Party in Islamabad in 2018, an event that was labelled as Pakistan’s first international music festival, and saw the likes of Diplo and Major Lazer Soundsystem performing alongside local artists like Adil Omar and Talal Qureshi.

“When my company, Black Box Sounds, invited Diplo and Major Lazer, two major EDM acts to Pakistan for Mad Decent Block Party, Pakistan was not considered a possible performance destination by any international act,” explains Irshad Ali Khan, the co-founder of the aforementioned company that organized the event. “It took a lot of courage and nerve for us to take on something like this and I am happy that we were able to pull it off successfully.

“There were many challenges, including the perceptions of security in the country, which made it very difficult to convince an international act to visit Pakistan,” he states, expressing gratitude to the artists for committing to visit at a time when the Western media was only running negative stories about the region. “Other challenges from within Pakistan included arranging visas for the artists, scouting for a large enough and secure enough venue, ensuring the right audience, artist insurance, ticket control, security, etcetera. As you know Pakistan did not have the right infrastructure and systems to facilitate such an initiative back then and still there is a lot that needs to be done to make it easier.” 

Irshad also laments the “dearth of good, skilled organizers” and their impact on the overall image. “What we do with a dozen good events gets ruined by one untoward incident at a badly managed event,” he says

Despite everything though, Irshad and his team found the experience very rewarding and cherished the opportunity to create a market for EDM in the country while showcasing Pakistan as a progressive and inclusive society. “I think that tour actually put Pakistan on the map of performance destinations for international acts for the first time. Diplo rightly called it DJ Diplomacy, as with international news outlets such as CNN and BBC covering it, it brought a lot of positive light to Pakistan’s cultural resilience in some of the darkest days for the nation.”

To make bigger events possible, Irshad thinks that we all need to work together. “Make sure that all players involved in the game from artists to organizers to administration and relevant government departments and most importantly the audiences understand that it is important to keep this positive trend of successful events going if we want to bring in more mainstream and well-known artists to Pakistan. We definitely don’t want to be missing out on our place on the global stage. All we need to make this happen is to keep at it, keep trying to do bigger and better events, and never compromise on the essentials that make a good safe entertaining event for all.”

Krewel intentions

As challenging as it may be to arrange massive shows here, music fans have no reason to despair, for there is a lot more on the horizon. Despite any issues, several local platforms – from Lahore Music Meet to Salt Arts – are continuing to put on enjoyable shows. Plus we will see more international acts here as well, like EDM duo Krewella who are all set to tour Pakistan in January next year.

And yes you guy, put down those pitchforks and take a chill pill – Coke Studio Live WILL come to Pakistan. Eventually.

“This is a beginning,” Xulfi says with reference to the show in Dubai. “The vision is that CS Live, at this scale, frequently happens in Pakistan. Not just that, in fact the idea is that the concert space can evolve into an experiential space for the audience. It’s important we do it to ensure the love and interest for a live music experience never wanes.”

And just like that, from the ashes of our disappointment rises the phoenix of hope! All hail the gods of music! Now if someone could help us figure out how many kidneys we’ll need to sell to afford all those darn tickets, that would be a big help, thanks a bunch!

- By Sameen Amer

Instep, The News on Sunday - 9th October, 2022 *