Tahir Shah tries to mesmerise with his eyes and flowy hair. PHOTO: FILE
It is possible that you still haven’t heard of him considering that he does not have any previous records to his credit. However, he is one of those artists who has garnered so much fame in such little time that any upcoming artist would end up feeling guilty of struggling endlessly to get only even a tenth of what Shah has gained as an artist.
Perhaps he and the likes of Ali Gul Pir have finally brought forward a perfect solution to the epic question bothering today’s musician: What does it take to be a hit in 2013? A catchy melody, a weird getup, some earth-shattering dance moves and minimal lyrics — there you have it! You have successfully influenced the popular culture for the next 240 Facebook hours.
In times when audiences are going crazy over Bieber and Gangnam Style, you desperately need a wow factor (read: some kind of hair) to stand out.
While Saeen used his signature moustache, Shah relies on the power of his gorgeous curly locks and spectrum eyes; and beware as those fabulous eyes will soon be endorsing some major brands around town.
With no YouTube access, Pakistan has managed yet another viral sensation and God knows how many are to follow. It is both happy and sad to see that people like Shah might as well be the pinnacle of entertainment for generations to come. Can such absurd innovations and artistic blunders really be blamed on the instability of the music industry? Desperate times do call for desperate measures but not such brainless attempts.
Yet, unfortunately, as Bieber would be remembered in the history of music so would Shah but more as the Rajnikanth of Pakistani pop culture if not anything else.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 28th, 2013.
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COMMENTS (31)
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Pakistan is so eye to eye
Please take my eyes but stop this eye business
Dear All,
Yes the song is not that good. Neither is the singer. The lyrics are bad and the sentence structure as well. But pls dont make of anyone. For him hes made a song and he is happy with it. Please dont become like todays politicians and anchors where you just make fun of each and every person whose not dashing. If you dont like it dont watch it. but dont degrade someone.
Great song and nice lyrics I like it lot.
Give the guy his due credit. He gave us something to laugh about
@Nzaar The stunts mr. Rajnikanth come up with, in his movies are as absurd and bad as Taher Shah. And sane people unlike you make fun of him as much as they laughed at Taher Shah video ! oh i am sorry, who am I talking to !... a rajnikanth fan... thats a joke in itself !
there is no such thing as bad publicity
LOL you media people knows very well that how to make heroes out of nothing.
Thanks you for all the love.
Make the love of your soul, Eye to Eye.
-Taher Shah
I don't wanna live on this earth anymore.
i love the lyrics and song too :) @yummy yum:
its nt dat bad u ppl are trying to prove it! i feel he has grabbed all the attention wd his understandable acts as per you say...if kolaveri di gangnam style one pound fish are hit numbers despite of being so abstarct and unconventional melodious usic same deserves eye to eye... if u r so much worried about Pakistani music so dnt listen and dnt discuss it or bring in some real good thing
It is a shame that you compare Ali Gul Pir with Tahir Shah. You can not compare Apples and Oranges. Ali Gul Pir did an awesome job in highlighting the saen culture, what did Tahir Shah do? Do your homework!
After listening to the great Pakistani Tahir Shah, I want to go bungee jumping without my legs being tied to the bungee rope!
How can you compare saeen to saeen with this? Saeen to saeen had a good lyrical content that was about an important social issue. What is this about? It doesn't even make sense. And FYI this isn't a hit because people like it, its a hit because people hate it. People have been sharing the video because they wanted to show others what epic fail this is, not because they like it. ANd being hit isn't just about having the most views, its about ppeople liking you, otherwise people like bieber also have million views.
for god's sake no one likes the song!!! its hilarious so its viewed!!! you completely are an idiot to say such a thing showing people as idiots who love his song!!! music is art and any god music is loved. its the heart that accepts a good song and an element of attractiveness. Gandgnam style was yet another funny song but not this idiotic as tahir shah's eye to eye
All in All, its a good effort by Taher Shah, how many artists can get so many hits on facebook like he did.
Rajnikanth has a Demi god status in South India. Comparison down right stupid.
Author didn't take byline for this :P
this article made absolute no sense. The tone was all over the place. a waste of space
haters gonna hate
Boring
Pakistani Idol.
I am no fan of Rajanikanth but this comparison is absurd as Rajani not only has millions in fan following, he also has cult followings in Germany and Japan.
Second thought, you can ridicule anyone you want, but even in that case rajnikanth shouldn't be put at the same level as taher shah... Rajnikanth has exhibited popularity and sustainability almost never seen before.
Haha. Woohoo. Yes. Now get over it.
Hmmm, you just compared rajnikanth to taher shah. The former has had a loyal fan following of tens of millions for several decades. The latter is a Facebook video which nobody likes that people are making fun of for a few days.
The fact that you don't agree with the "art" rajnikanth produces does not justify you ridiculing him.
LOL.