Shahvaar Ali Khan: ‘I want peace, not pieces’

Pakistani musician Shahvaar Ali Khan on his latest single ‘No Saazish, No Jang’.

KARACHI:

Music is said to be one of the most powerful mediums of mass communication and if good music is accompanied by an even more expressive video, the impact on the audience is enhanced. One such example is “No Saazish No Jang” by Lahore-based musician Shahvaar Ali Khan.

The message, “I want peace, not pieces” hooks the listener, and is followed by the stunning visual effects and choreography. However, as the images of world leaders like Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Mahatma Gandhi, Barack Obama and Benazir Bhutto and Imran Khan are shown, one might confuse it with one of those so-called ‘revolutionary’ videos but Khan has another explanation.

“It’s not a revolutionary song, it’s an evolutionary song, please don’t confuse the two,” says Khan. “It doesn’t make any claims of a revolution but provides facts in a subtle way.” The song is about the plight of the common man in the subcontinent who is suffocated by colonialism and religious extremism. The singer explains that the central theme of the song is: “Don’t bother us mullahs, don’t bother us foreigners; let us be the way we are because we are primarily a ‘malang’ nation”.

This piece of poetry initially struck Khan when he found out about the ill-feelings harboured by Indians about Jinnah and those harboured by Pakistanis about Gandhi. “Jinnah’s name is a no-go area in India while the same can be said for Gandhi’s in Pakistan, even though, in reality, both of them wanted peaceful coexistence,” Khan laughs. “Hence, it was necessary to use their clips in the video while Benazir Bhutto represents democracy not Pakistan Peoples Party and Imran Khan represents the aspirations of the youth.”

That said, the song is not completely free of controversy. In “No Saazish, No Jang”, the word ‘kaaliya’ has been repeatedly used to address US President Barack Obama, which, at places, sounds racist and does not fit well in a peace song. “Kaaliya is not derogatory,” laughs Ali.  “In Punjabi ‘kaaliya’ is a funny way to address a friend.”

The singer believes that, as a nation, Pakistan is suffering from an identity crisis which takes precedence above any other problem as people are yet to decide whether they are the nation of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Mumtaz Qadri, Ziaul Haq or Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai.

Meanwhile, when asked whether he also plans to join the bandwagon of musicians openly declaring their political stance, Khan replies, “My job is to make music, not to represent a political party.” The singer vociferously criticises the way many musicians have capitalised on rallies, treating them as alternate to concerts. “With due respect to the musicians involved, supporting Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has become fashionable just because you are getting a chance to play in front of a larger audience,” says the musician. “Beyond politics, I’m a well-wisher of Imran Khan and the fact that he is inspiring the youth of the day is admirable,” says the musician, while adding that he has no plans of jumping on the PTI bandwagon.

Currently, Khan is in the process of planning a video of “Filmein Shilmein”, his song that featured as the background score in the Bollywood film Desi Boyz.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2012.