Review: Salman Ahmad’s ‘Kaise Bolun’ is an insult to his artistic prowess
The video has an uncanny resemblance to song sequences from David Dhawan comedies of the 90s. PHOTO: PUBLICITY
There are times when you do not expect anything and yet you’re terribly disappointed. The displeasure hits you in a way that you really don’t know what to say except, Kaise bolun? It leaves you scarred and it actually takes you a while to come to terms with your own reality.
This is exactly what comes to your mind when you hear singer-activist Salman Ahmad’s latest track, ironically titled Kaise Bolun. If you feel Eye to Eye wasn’t enough to completely express your emotions for your beloved, then this “Soul to Soul” concept is made for you.
Film on Junoon might be next step for me: Salman Ahmad
Kaise Bolun is part of the upcoming Adeel Chaudhry-starrer Rhythm. The video has an uncanny resemblance to song sequences from David Dhawan comedies of the 90s and Ahmad himself resembles the Piyush Mishra of Anurag Kashyap’s Gulaal. While the music is bland and substandard, the lyrics make us gasp in horror; this is the same artist who composed the brilliant Saqi Nama of Allama Iqbal. It’s sad to see someone who is revered as one of the greatest guitarists of Pakistan to come up with a composition that actually insults his own artistic prowess, body of work and Junoon loyalists (that is, everyone).
Ahmad’s own comeback attempts also merit some pontification. While we shook our heads in disbelief when Naya Pakistan came out and thought there must be something wrong when Chand Sitara hit the screens, Kaise Bolun has literally left us speechless. To quote Kurt Cobain, “It’s better to burn out than to fade away.”
Ahmad took to Twitter to share his latest single.
And not surprisingly, fans were mortified by the singer's latest offering.
But does he care? Seems highly unlikely.
Check out the song here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1EIZZXf70M
Published in The Express Tribune, February 27th, 2016.