Zeb and Haniya: Scent of a woman

The celebrity duo discuss singing “Bibi Sanam Janam” and the Coke Studio experience.

KARACHI: On Friday evening, the lobby of Karachi’s Park Towers mall was fragrant with Gucci’s new scent, the decor was black and gold and “Bibi Sanam Janam” blared in the background. The song is a cover of an old folk song, which was performed by Zeb and Haniya during the third season of Coke Studio.

Zebunissa Bangash and Haniya Aslam, who attended the event, said, “It is good that international brands are opening up here.” The duo is currently working on its second album.

Bangash said her Coke Studio experience was “fantastic”. “It was an amazing experience to be part of the show twice. Having been able to perform twice, I don’t think we will be asked to perform in the next season for we believe others should be given a chance too.”

Haniya Aslam said about the hit cover, “We have been listening to it since our childhood. We get a feeling of nostalgia when we listen to it. We would like to say a big thank you to everyone for liking our music. We never thought it would be so.”

The duo was mobbed by television channels looking to get soundbytes, prompting Aslam to comment, “With so many cameras, which one should I look in to?”

Zeb and Haniya said among their next performances would be a concert featuring Ali Azmat and Mauj.

Also spotted at the event were choreographer Imran Kureshi, and the star couple of the old PTV television serial Aroosa - Adnan Siddiqui and Mishi Khan. While Siddiqui was busy giving autographs to children at the mall, Khan was all smiles.

Surprisingly, the organisers of the event distributed a press release that listed several celebrities would be at the event, none of whom showed up. This could be attributed to the fact that the mall is close to Abdullah Shah Ghazi’s shrine, where twin bomb blasts took place on Thursday night.

While the attacks don’t seem to have dented social activities, Fashion Pakistan Week (FPW) isn’t scheduled to take place anytime soon.

Tehmina Khaled, who was handled public relations for the first two editions of FPW said at the event, “Keeping in mind the current situation in Pakistan and the recent floods, what would the international media think if we go ahead with fashion week? Let things subside a little and then we will see what we will do about it.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2010.