Coke Studio Pakistan’s ‘roaring’ success in India reignites hopes to amend broken cultural ties

Artists are aching to learn from one another as political hostility sustains between both countries.

The YouTube comment section of Coke Studio Pakistan has turned into a safe haven for those exacerbated by trolls, hate mongers and fascists on the internet. It has become a retreat from the propaganda machinery that runs on Twitter, an escape from the constant need to fit in brought to us by Instagram, and a lover’s jukebox.

Pakistan's longest-running music show that features studio-recorded performances by some of its most gifted artists, has been trending off-late due mainly to Pasoori – the Ali Sethi, Shae Gill number international outlets credited for reconnecting nations split by ideological differences. True to its roots, the song remains a fan favourite, still playing on loop for many Indian celebrities.

Now, the show’s enduring popularity in the neighbouring country is reigniting lost hope for renewed cultural collaborations and serving as a lesson for composers who have spoken to BBC about its “roaring” success. Especially since Pakistan and India have long harboured hostile sentiments towards one another, sentiments that have often impeded cultural exchanges despite their shared history.

"Even Coke Studio Pakistan never imagined that it would get this much love from India – so much so, that it became more successful than India's own Coke Studio. I think that's incredible!" renowned Indian composer Shantanu Moitra told the outlet.

Irrespective of fractured relations, Indians and Pakistanis share a deep affinity for each other's culture. Millions of Indians still hum along to legendary Pakistani singers like Ghulam Ali, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Abida Parveen. Generations of Pakistanis have grown up watching Indian films and Pakistani television soap operas are hugely popular in India, garnering a fan-following still.

Up until a few years ago, Indian and Pakistani artists collaborated for numerous music and film projects. But when political hostilities penetrated into the cultural arena, Bollywood dropped Pakistani actors and Pakistan banned Indian films. Despite all that, the love for Coke Studio endures.

Rohail Hyatt, who launched the show 14 years ago and produced nine of its seasons, spoke to BBC about his “grand awakening”, which eventually helped build a platform like CS. As a young man in the 1980s, Hyatt was Happiest when jamming to Pink Floyd and The Doors. He reminisced living in this "westernised bubble” since listening to local music was “unsophisticated or uncool” back in the day. His belief was challenged when he began working as a producer with famous qawwali artists like Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.

"I realised that there's so much depth to our music. It was a moment of grand awakening for me,” he said. Hyatt began experimenting with fusion and eclecticism, digging deeper into Pakistan's traditional sound and coming up with new ways of layering that onto the electronic landscape. "The idea was to share our traditional music with the world, but in a palatable sound scale," he explained.

In 2005, Coke Studio was adapted from a promotional project the company did in Brazil. There were challenges. Hyatt recalled facing “plenty of scepticism and was only allowed to do three-four songs as an experiment.” The first season was released in 2008. "But those songs ended up becoming the most popular. So, from Season two, I went all out,” he said.

More than a decade later, Coke Studio Pakistan is still going strong with millions of fans across countries. Both India and Bangladesh now have their own versions, but the original remains to serve as an inspiration. Fans say they can't get enough of the unconventional feel of the show, as it goes on to blend or exist between genres. "There's so much history and soul in every song but there's also the funk and groove that makes you want to just get up and dance,” remarked an Indian fan who has followed CS Pakistan for years.

“Coke Studio took all of Pakistan's music – from pop to qawwali – and put it on a single platform,” said Faisal Kapadia, the lead singer of former pop act Strings, which produced four seasons of the show. The show is believed to have maintained its now cult-like followership because it is reimagined all too often everytime producers change.

"Whenever a new producer takes command, they put their own touch to the music. You get a different flavour every season," Kapadia told the BBC. So, while Hyatt intentionally added a psychedelic feel to the music to "take it to that zone", Strings drew heavily from the traditional poetry of Sufi saint Amir Khusro, along with the pop rock elements that were signature to the band.

"It's a bit like James Bond movies. Every time the actor changes, the theme remains the same but the feel of the film changes," Kapadia informed. For Hyatt, the goal was to reinvent the music without turning it into something facile. "It was an exercise in how close we can be to the original, but also relatable to the west," he said.

Singer Zeb Bangash, who is an on and off participant on the show, said this is one reason for its popularity in India. "Indians are no strangers to fusion music. You look at songs composed by [Indian music director] RD Burman – he constantly brought jazz and Afro-funk beats, tunes and interludes and married them into traditional sounds," she said. But Coke Studio also proudly adapted and showcased local, folksy, musical traditions like never before. "This, along with the slick sound, captured imaginations across borders," Bangash added.

Moitra feels Coke Studio is refreshing for Indian listeners because Bollywood acts as a "heavyweight" even in terms of music in the country. "Bollywood is like a blotting table. It takes anything good and makes it its own, including alternative styles of music or lyrics," he said. It's also a spectacle-driven industry, often showcasing actors singing maudlin love ballads and larger-than-life visuals.

"Coke Studio, on the other hand, puts the musicians at the centre stage. And I think that really makes all the difference," Moitra remarked.

For most, the show's success is a heartening reminder that even in adverse political circumstances, music is force to be reckoned with. Moitra said it also offers hope of cultural ties reviving between India and Pakistan. "There are dark phases but there are also better phases and I think once that happens, artists will once again work together," he said. The sentiment is shared by his counterparts across the border.

And while Bangash remembers the "beautiful and incredible" experience she had in 2011 while working with Moitra and other musicians, Kapadia also can't wait to come back and perform in India.

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